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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. Beta wrote poems characterized by what?
2. What did Gamma's second wife wear?
3. Beta remained bitter because he was unable to see what?
4. The state methods of teaching give the illusion of what?
5. During Gamma's youth, Poland gradually separated along what lines?
Short Essay Questions
1. Gamma did not even try to save his family when they were deported to Siberia. How is this a vivid example of the communist attitude toward individual lives?
2. Milosz opens Chapter VI with a description of Vilna as it existed during his childhood. Is this simply to introduce Gamma or is there another reason?
3. How could Delta, who was not racist, write such violently anti-Semitic material?
4. Beta saw life only in terms of society rather than in terms of individual man. How was this his downfall?
5. Milosz calls Beta's reaction to the concentration camp life sadistic. How is this true?
6. How did Beta's circumstances lead him to a poetry that constantly moved? Why was it restless?
7. Beta's anger toward mankind became directed toward a fear of self-deception. How did this happen?
8. Milosz writes that Delta could not (or would not) distinguish between truth and fable, even in his personal life. Is this the kind of mind the Party would have wanted?
9. In Chapter VIII, Milosz takes on the tone of a communist to describe the evils of the various classes. How is this more powerful than a mere description?
10. Why is Gamma called "the slave of history"? Whose interests does he serve?
Essay Topics
Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:
Essay Topic 1
The West, in not taking advantage of every artist, wastes a huge amount of talent. Is the East's method better or worse? Is there an ideal system in which exceptional artists are appreciated without conforming to a particular method?
Essay Topic 2
Through Party propaganda and education, communism suppresses man's ability to think for himself. How do the people presented in The Captive Mind either fight or accept this suppression? Consider only the main subjects of the book, including their writing for the underground or for the party.
Essay Topic 3
In different ways, the Polish people learned to contain and even condense their emotions, letting only the most elemental emotions show. What does this say about man's ability to survive difficult times? To what extent were the people reduced to the physiological level of hunted animals? Use examples from the book to show how emotions were stripped down to their most basic level.
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This section contains 1,184 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) |
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