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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 game does Jean play with his son?

2. How does Jean describe the passing years?

3. What word does Jean use to describe what he hears in the halls of the hospital?

4. When do Jean's ears give him the most trouble?

5. What confuses Jean about the outside world?

Short Essay Questions

1. What makes Jean's lucky day so funny to him?

2. What condition is Jean grateful not to have and why?

3. How does Jean wake up on his "lucky" day?

4. What does Jean ask of the reader after telling about his time in Hong Kong?

5. What does Jean think about after his trip to the beach with his family?

6. What is Jean's favorite thing to do when taken to the beach by friends?

7. What do Jean's efforts to keep in touch with his friends cause?

8. What does Jean think about as Claude reads Jean the book he has been writing?

9. What did Jean do while in Hong Kong?

10. How does Jean think he will die?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Despair is an emotion that affects a number of the people in this book. Which people are most affected by despair, and how does this change the lives of those people?

Essay Topic 2

Symbolism is a very prevalent literary device used by Jean. What are some of these symbols, and how does their presence affect the feeling of the book?

Essay Topic 3

Training and education are topics of discussion in this book. Where do these topics appear in this book, and what effect do they have on the people involved in those scenes?

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