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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. What does the narrator believe about breaking the laws of grammar?

2. Why doesn't the narrator do any good deeds?

3. What does the narrator define as a phenomenon where a person is unaware of a flash of intelligence?

4. What does the narrator say would be burdensome to him?

5. What does the narrator credit for the idea of romantic love?

Short Essay Questions

1. Explain the narrator's transformation from his day job to his writing.

2. Why does the narrator say he anticipates upcoming events in life?

3. How does the narrator define unconscious intelligence, and to what does he compare it?

4. What does the narrator notice about a bad lithograph? What does he compare it to and why?

5. Explain the narrator's comparison of his dreams and thoughts to a garden.

6. When describing a sunset, what does the narrator wish he had and what makes him wish he had it?

7. What does the narrator say about his imagination as it relates to life?

8. What does it take, according to the narrator, for people to be acceptable the world's standards?

9. Why does the narrator say he writes with scenic description interspersed in his writing?

10. What are the narrator's thoughts regarding travel?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Define the term "sequence" as it applies to nonfiction books. Discuss the sequence of The Book of Disquiet.

Essay Topic 2

A main character in a work of fiction has both good and bad qualities, giving the character dimension. In nonfiction, the main character is known as the subject. Soares is the subject of his own book. What are Soares good qualities? What are his bad qualities?

Essay Topic 3

Discuss the life of Fernando Pessoa. What contribution did he make to literature and how is that contribution relevant to The Book of Disquiet?

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