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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. Who does not get to participate in the activity Dr. Leander plans?

2. What is Mr. Spinell doing in the scene he describes in his letter?

3. What instrument does Gabriele’s father play?

4. According to Mr. Kloterjahn, what is the difference between him and Mr. Spinell?

5. Whose story does Mr. Spinell write that he wants to tell?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why does Mr. Spinell say he is writing a letter in Chapter 10?

2. How is Gabriele’s illness progressing by Chapter 7?

3. What does Dr. Leander recommend as treatment for Gabriele’s worsening condition?

4. How does Mr. Kloterjahn say that he will get even with Mr. Spinell after Mr. Spinell's letter?

5. According to Mrs. Spatz, what did Gabriele do before coughing up blood?

6. What story does Mr. Spinell want to tell in the letter he composes in Chapter 10?

7. How does Mr. Spinell ultimately convince Mrs. Kloterjahn to play piano?

8. Why does Mr. Spinell mail the letter as opposed to hand-delivering it?

9. What does Mr. Spinell do before leaving the room in Chapter 8, after Gabriele played the piano?

10. How is the letter that Mr. Spinell writes in Chapter 10 described?

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

Examine Mr. Spinell’s character and how he embodies the major themes in Tristan. How does Mann characterize Mr. Spinell? What commentary does Mann seem to be making about artists through the character of Mr. Spinell? What commentary does he seem to be making about society in general?

Essay Topic 3

Health and sickness are major themes in the novella. Which characters embody health? Which characters embody sickness? What other qualities or characteristics are found in the sick characters? In the healthy characters? What does Mann appear to be saying about the significance of health and sickness?

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This section contains 575 words (approx. 2 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample