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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 convinces Vladek to flee from Poland?

2. What does Vladek make a sketch of, for Artie in Chapter 5?

3. What does Artie say is Vladek’s relationship with Artie’s comic books?

4. What does the guard find in Vladek’s shoe polish?

5. How does Artie says that his father influenced his decision to become an artist?

Short Essay Questions

1. How are Vladek and his fellow prisoners caught in their bunker?

2. Where does Vladek say he worked in Sosnowiec?

3. How is the “Prisoner on the Hell Planet” different from the rest of Maus?

4. What does Vladek learn from Kahum Cohn’s example?

5. How does Ilzecki save Vladek’s life?

6. How does Artie get out of helping his father fix the roof?

7. Where do Vladek and Anja stay when they return to Sosnowiec?

8. What was life like among the Zylberbergs after Vladek returned from the POW camp?

9. How does Vladek acquire new skills in Sosnowiec?

10. What plan does Ilzecki propose to Vladek, and what is Anja’s response to this proposal?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Vladek and Mala are constantly bickering, unlike Vladek and Anja, in the historical narrative. How does the present-day relationship between Vladek and Mala mirror or revise the larger themes in the historical narrative of Maus?

Essay Topic 2

Most of the action of Maus takes place in Poland as Vladek recounts his experiences there, but Artie is American, and the story also takes place in Rego Park. In what way is Maus an American book?

Essay Topic 3

Write a character sketch of the author based on his style and content. What values does he hold dear? What are his hopes and fears? What kind of person do you think he is? Anchor your sketch in passages in the book.

(see the answer keys)

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