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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. Where does Mrs. Kloterjahn sit most days?

2. How many children do the Kloterjahns have?

3. Who does Gabriele joke that Mr. Spinell must mean when he says he could look at one particular woman forever?

4. What is the name of Mr. Kloterjahn’s business?

5. What disease is primarily treated at the sanitarium?

Short Essay Questions

1. When is Mr. Spinell sociable?

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

3. Why has one of the other patients nicknamed Mr. Spinell the “Rotten Infant”?

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

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

6. How does Mrs. Kloterjahn seem to feel about Mr. Spinell?

7. What are some of the activities that the patients occupy themselves with?

8. How do we know that Mr. Kloterjahn is an Anglophile?

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

10. Why doesn’t Dr. Leander consult with Dr. Muller on Gabriele’s case?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Mann uses various psychological concepts, including that of Freud’s sublimation, in Tristan. What is sublimation? How does it appear in and contribute to the novella? How do the characters use sublimation? How does the concept of sublimation relate to Mann’s interpretation of art and the artist?

Essay Topic 2

Mr. Spinell believes himself to be in love with Gabriele. What does this say about his character? What does this say about their relationship? Do we, as readers, believe that he truly loves and understands Gabriele? Why or why not? Does she feel the same way about him?

Essay Topic 3

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?

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This section contains 532 words (approx. 2 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample