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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. Who gives Barnabas the letters he is supposed to deliver?

2. Who does K. discover has connections at the Castle?

3. How long does Barnabas have to wait for the letters he delivers?

4. Who does Olga believe is the source of their misfortune?

5. What does Erlanger ask from K.?

Short Essay Questions

1. How does K. answer Frieda's mother's objections about him?

2. What did the townspeople do after Amalia's disobedience became known?

3. Why does K. stay in the corridor after his meeting with Erlanger?

4. What does K. hope that Barnabas' good news was?

5. What did Sortini do when Amalia's family approached him?

6. What does Amalia accuse K. of using Barnabas for?

7. What is Frieda afraid might happen to he if her mother's warnings are right?

8. What reason does Erlanger give K. the request Erlanger is making during the meeting?

9. What did Olga do to try to remove her family's disgrace?

10. What was Amalia's father hoping for at his work, before the family's disgrace?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Discuss THE CASTLE as a religious allegory.

1) Considering The Castle as a religious allegory, what role does Klamm play? What does the nature of Klamm say about the author's viewpoint?

2) What role does the Castle bureaucracy play? Who do Klamm's representatives represent?

3) What moral dilemma does The Castle present about the nature of being good, based on K.'s arguments about intention?

Essay Topic 2

Discuss the town's acceptance of K. as a stranger.

1) How do the people in the town feel about strangers and outsiders? What is the culture's attitude toward outsiders?

2) In what ways does K. become accepted in the town? What role does his relationship with the Castle play in his acceptance? What role does his engagement to Frieda play in his acceptance?

3) In what ways does K. remain an outsider in the town? Is K. responsible for remaining an outsider, and to what extent?

Essay Topic 3

Discuss the unspoken and unwritten rules in the novel.

1) What are the rules of behavior in the village? How do the people in the village know those rules?

2) What are the rules of behavior for secretaries in the Castle? How do the Castle employees know those rules?

3) What does K. think of unspoken and unwritten rules? What is the result of his attitude?

(see the answer keys)

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