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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. Natalia says in Chapter 2: "The War" that by the time she was what age, "the ritual of the tigers had become an annoyance"?

2. Natalia says in Chapter 2: "The War" that six months into the war, her friend Zora develops a taste for cigarettes from what country?

3. What musician does the bartender put on the jukebox while Natalia waits for word from the clinic in Zdrevkov in Chapter 5: "The Orphanage"?

4. Natalia and Zora's skull replicas are taken by customs at the border by what river valley in Chapter 6: "The Fire"?

5. What does Natalia respond when her grandfather asks what she might specialize in when she is in medical school in Chapter 6: "The Fire"?

Short Essay Questions

1. What is the significance of the novel The Jungle Book in The Tiger's Wife? Who carries this book?

2. Describe the narrative style of The Tiger's Wife. Is the story related from a first, second, or third-person point of view? Is the narrator involved in the action of the story?

3. What causes the argument between Natalia and Dure in Chapter 3: "The Diggers"? How does the conflict end?

4. What are there portraits of all over the orphanage in Chapter 5: "The Orphanage"? What do these portraits signify?

5. Why are the diggers digging in the vineyard in Chapter 3: "The Diggers"? How does the objective of the diggers relate to the novel's themes?

6. What interrupts Natalia and Zora as they go about fulfilling their mission in Chapter 5: "The Orphanage"?

7. What incident involving being detained by customs officers at the border does Natalia describe in Chapter 6: "The Fire"?

8. How would you describe the change in the style of the narrative in the grandfather's story about the Deathless Man in Chapter 2: "The War"?

9. How is the departure of Gavran Gaile described in Chapter 6: "The Fire"? What does he remind Natalia's grandfather of before he leaves?

10. How does Natalia describe the hunt for the tiger that involved Luka in Chapter 4: "The Tiger"? What themes does this story evoke?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Why do you think so many important characters in The Tiger’s Wife are not given first names? How does this choice relate to the genre of allegory? What would you consider to be archetypical aspects of each of these unnamed characters?

Essay Topic 2

Discuss the tone and mood established in the Prologue and Chapter 1: “The Coast.” How are “tone” and “mood” defined? What differentiates the two? What literary devices does the author use to establish this tone and mood? In what ways are the tone and mood related to the setting and characters introduced?

Essay Topic 3

Discuss the character of Gavran Gaile in the narrative. What are the grandfather’s impressions of Gavran Gaile when he first meets him? What does the grandfather lose in his bet with Gavran Gaile? Why do you think Gavran Gaile reminds the grandfather of his bet but does not take The Jungle Book in their subsequent encounters?

(see the answer keys)

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