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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 country is Mr. Kloterjahn especially fond of?

2. How long have the Kloterjahns been married?

3. What is the secondary physician’s name?

4. What is the Kloterjahns' son’s name?

5. How do the patients at Einfried entertain themselves?

Short Essay Questions

1. Of what is Mr. Kloterjahn a connoisseur?

2. What does the vein do to Gabriele Kloterjahn’s countenance?

3. Why is the word “trachea” comforting when the doctor says it?

4. How does Mr. Spinell act towards Gabriele Kloterjahn?

5. What is the one imperfection in Gabriele Kloterjahn’s face?

6. Why is Mr. Kloterjahn grateful that his wife’s condition does not stem from the lungs?

7. What is Mr. Spinell like when he is “sociable”?

8. Why does Mr. Spinell look at beautiful women out of the corner of his eye?

9. What does Mr. Spinell spend most of his time doing?

10. Why are specific cases in particular Dr. Muller’s responsibility?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

In Tristan, and many of his other works, Thomas Mann makes a commentary on the relationship between the artist and bourgeois society.What commentary does he seem to be making about this relationship? Does he feel that the artist fits well into bourgeois society? Why or why not? Which is healthier or more “normal” – to fit into society, or to have an artistic temperament? Why?

Essay Topic 2

Mr. Spinell believes that only he, and not Mr. Kloterjahn, understands Gabriele. Why does he believe this? Does Gabriele seem to have the same understanding of their relationship as Mr. Spinell? How does Mann characterize the relationship between Mr. and Mrs. Kloterjahn? Who, in the end, really understands her?

Essay Topic 3

Mr. Spinell and Gabriele Kloterjahn are the two main characters in Tristan. Can one or both of these two characters be said to be the protagonist? Why or why not? If not one of them, is there a protagonist? Who is it? How is a protagonist defined?

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This section contains 557 words (approx. 2 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample