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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 job does Gertie take after dropping out of college?

2. What item does Klara place upon each table on the night of her performance at the Cabaret theater called the Committee?

3. On what street in New York City do the Gold siblings seek the fortune teller?

4. What excuse does Simon use when Gertie catches him leaving the apartment on the morning of the day he moves to San Francisco?

5. What tradition does Gertie refuse to partake in at Saul's funeral?

Short Essay Questions

1. What differences between Robert and Simon does the author depict as those that drive Simon to cheat on Robert?

2. Describe the significance of Simon's dream about salmon and how it relates to his mindset at the time of his dream.

3. What evidence does the author provide for the claim that the Gold children in 1969 "are siblings, this summer, in a way they never will be again" (4)?

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

5. How does the novel's setting within the prologue affect the events of the narrative?

6. How does the author depict Simon's mixed feelings about his mother's decision to relinquish him at the police station?

7. What do the Gold children bring to the fortune teller as payment for her services and why?

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

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

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Explicate the theme of family bonds within the novel, particularly in relation to the Gold siblings and their parents. What is the author's message regarding family bonds and how do you know?

Essay Topic 2

What is the author's message regarding motherhood and what themes does the author employ in order to send these messages to the reader?

Essay Topic 3

Analyze the novel The Immortalists from an Existential perspective. What elements of life does it suggest hold the most meaning and why?

(see the answer keys)

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