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This test consists of 5 multiple choice questions, 5 short answer questions, and 10 short essay questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. How many stories did Sisovsky's father write, according to him in the discussion with Zuckerman?
(a) Thousands.
(b) One.
(c) Three.
(d) Hundreds.

2. What Czech writer does Zuckerman meet in the beginning of the novel?
(a) Zdenek Kafka.
(b) Damek Kafka.
(c) Damek Sisovsky.
(d) Zdenek Sisovsky.

3. Who does Sisovsky claim he looks like in his family?
(a) His mother.
(b) His grandfather.
(c) His uncle.
(d) His father.

4. Who tells Olga she would kill herself in America?
(a) Lobkowicz.
(b) Sisovsky.
(c) Vodicka.
(d) Bolotka.

5. What does Olga tell Bolotka she will steal tonight at Klenek's party?
(a) A grenade.
(b) A Russian tank.
(c) An AK-47.
(d) A dog.

Short Answer Questions

1. What does Sisovsky claim Eva is with now, which is her ruin, when talking to Zuckerman?

2. What does Sisovsky say his father belonged to, in his meeting with Zuckerman?

3. Who is with the boy Olga shows her vagina to at Klenek's?

4. What is a well-known fact about Klenek's house?

5. What does Bolotka say Olga's lover does all day long?

Short Essay Questions

1. How does Sisovsky describe his father? What does Sisovsky conclude his father belonged to?

2. Why was Eva accused of being Jewish in Prague? Who accused her and how was he reprimanded?

3. How does Zuckerman's view of his Jewish identity evolve from the dinner with Sisovsky through the narrative?

4. What is symbolically alluded to in the conversation between Sisovsky and Zuckerman regarding doubt?

5. What literary allusion does Philip Roth use in Sisovsky's descriptions of his father? Why?

6. When does Zuckerman arrive in Prague? Where does he first attend a party there?

7. What relationship did Sisovsky's father have with the Gestapo? When did he die?

8. Where does the narrative open? What year is it?

9. Discuss the theme of voyeurism and spying in the narrative. How is this shown at Klenek's?

10. Discuss the theme of Jewish identity in Philip Roth's writing. What are his influences? What other works address the subject?

(see the answer keys)

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