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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 Hephzibah believe about Libor?
2. Where does Sam go after he stops at his son's place?
3. For what is Julian to blame?
4. What does Julian think a year after being an adopted Jew?
5. Why does Sam drive to Oxford?
Short Essay Questions
1. What does Sam doing after losing a lot of money in online poker and who does he encounter?
2. What interrupts Sam's plans to play online poker?
3. What does Libor tell Julian when Julian mentions his fears about Sam and Hephzibah?
4. What does Julian realize when he returns to the apartment he shares with Hephzibah and what does he decide?
5. How does Hephzibah respond when Sam asks her about a special bond between Jews?
6. How does Julian end up in the hospital?
7. What worries Hephzibah about Julian?
8. How is Hephzibah grieving?
9. Where does Libor invite Emmy and what concerns him about doing so?
10. What does Julian recall about a face-painting incident?
Essay Topics
Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:
Essay Topic 1
Often, authors will write about "what they know," and sometimes knowing a little about the author makes the books more interesting. Discuss the following:
1. Research and give a brief biographical sketch of Howard Jacobson.
2. What in Jacobson's background may have helped him in writing The Finkler Question? What may have influenced the way he depicts various characters and scenes?
3. Do you think there is always some of the author's own life in his/her novels? Why or why not? Give examples.
Essay Topic 2
Because Malkie always played the piano, Libor hired someone to teach him to play after her death. He tells Julian, "Just when you think you've overcome the grief, you realize you are left with the loneliness" (page 14), causing Julian to wonder if it is better to never know happiness at all so there is less to mourn. Unlike Libor, Sam is consumed with anger because of his wife's death, and the distance between them explains his anger.
1. Discuss reasons it was beneficial for Libor to take piano lessons. Why might it have been harmful to him? Use examples from your own life and the book to support your answer.
2. Do you think it is better to avoid happiness than to risk losing it? Why or why not? Why might it have been harmful to him? Use examples from your own life and the book to support your answer.
3. Why do you think Sam has reacted to Tyler's death with such anger? Discuss the reasons that can be found in the book. Why might it have been harmful to him? Use examples from your own life and the book to support your answer.
Essay Topic 3
The Finkler Question belongs to the comic novel genre. Discuss the following:
1. Define the literary term "genre" and give several examples of three other genres in addition to the comic novel genre.
2. Discuss two reasons why it might be useful to label a text by genre and two reasons it might be disadvantageous to label a text by genre.
3. What do you think is the difference between a comic novel and a mystery?
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This section contains 1,238 words (approx. 5 pages at 300 words per page) |
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