View a FREE sample

This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. Who spends the night with Simon in Ward 86 once he is diagnosed with the illness that will come to be known as AIDS?

2. What do the Gold siblings bring to the fortune teller as payment for her services?

3. On what day of the week does Saul's funeral take place?

4. How old is Varya upon the opening of the novel's prologue?

5. What words does Klara whisper to her audience at the conclusion of every show?

Short Essay Questions

1. How did the Gold children's maternal grandmother die and why are the children adults before they find out this information?

2. Compare Varya's ideas about fortune telling with Ruby Singh's.

3. How is the theme of guilt depicted within Gertie's feelings about her son after his death?

4. The narrator takes pains to explain that Klara does not share her magic with people in order to deceive them. What is her true reason?

5. What is the author's purpose for using the allusion to The Statue of Liberty when depicting the children's grandfather Lev?

6. What aspects of Robert's character are depicted as those that make him "stand out" (59) to Simon?

7. When the narrator reveals that Raj has "big plans" (113) for overhauling Klara's act, what kind of changes does the narrator depict?

8. What is Robert's reaction to the AIDS epidemic and how does it differ from Simon's?

9. Who is the first of the Gold siblings to hear about the fortune teller and what action does this sibling then take?

10. What is the significance of Klara's feelings about the phenomenon of red tide?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

How do the themes of deception and secrecy function within the novel and what is the author's message regarding these themes?

Essay Topic 2

What is the function of Klara's character within the novel? Discuss the characterization methods used by the author in depicting Klara and include in your discussion the reasons that the author portrays her in these particular ways.

Essay Topic 3

Discuss the author's use of humor alongside humanist messages within the novel.

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 1,212 words (approx. 5 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample