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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. The narrator says of Luka's father in Chapter 7: "The Butcher" that he had amassed an impressive collection of what kind of artifacts?

2. Who killed the fabled wolf of Kolovac, according to the narrator in Chapter 9: "The Bear"?

3. What lifelong illness did Darisa the Bear's sister suffer from?

4. What word from Chapter 8: "The Heart" means characterized by sudden, violent outburst?

5. Who was the surviving hajduk that the apothecary stayed with after the rest of the band was killed?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why does Natalia say that her grandfather was unhappy at the arrival of Darisa in Galina in Chapter 9: "The Bear"?

2. What does Natalia anticipate happening when she keeps vigil overnight in Chapter 10: "The Crossroads"? What does she encounter at this setting?

3. Where did the apothecary go after Blind Orlo's death, according to the narrator in Chapter 12: "The Apothecary"? How is his life described in this setting?

4. What led the apothecary to attempt to help the tiger's wife, according to the narrator in Chapter 12: "The Apothecary"?

5. How is the character of Darisa described by Natalia in Chapter 9: "The Bear"? What is Darisa's occupation?

6. What is the legend of Darisa the Bear's death as revealed in Chapter 12: "The Apothecary"? Who discovered Darisa's remains?

7. What does Gavran Gaile say about the suddenness of death in Chapter 11: "The Bombing"?

8. How does Natalia justify her immersion into the story of Luka's back-story in Chapter 7: "The Butcher"? What does this justification indicate about Natalia?

9. What is revealed of the apothecary's childhood and early adulthood in Chapter 12: "The Apothecary"?

10. How is the character of Luka depicted during his childhood and young adulthood in Chapter 7: "The Butcher"?

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 character of Dure and the objective of the diggers in the novel. Why does Dure refuse to have his children inoculated at the orphanage? What illness do you think the diggers suffer from? What are Dure and the diggers searching for in the vineyard? Why?

Essay Topic 3

In the novel’s Epilogue, Natalia says of the Galina tiger, “Everything lies dead in his memory, except for the tiger's wife, for whom, on certain nights, he goes calling, making that tight note that falls and falls. The sound is lonely, and low, and no-one hears it any more.” In what ways does Natalia’s metaphoric meaning refer to the various tigers that appear in the narrative? In what ways does that meaning also refer to the various characters and their lives, particularly their thematically central struggles to live their own lives?

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