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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 scene does Mr. Spinell describe in his letter?

2. How much of the opera does Mr. Spinell hear in Chapter 8?

3. Who does Mr. Spinell see as he walks in Chapter 12?

4. What patients are in Dr. Muller’s care?

5. How does Mr. Spinell react to the person he sees on his walk in Chapter 12?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why does Mr. Kloterjahn call Mr. Spinell a coward?

2. What has Mr. Kloterjahn supposedly done to Gabriele, according to Mr. Spinell's letter in Chapter 10?

3. What eventually convinced Gabriele’s father to let her marry Mr. Kloterjahn?

4. Why does Mrs. Kloterjahn initially refuse to play piano for Mr. Spinell?

5. How much of the music that Mr. Spinell found in Chapter 8 does Mrs. Kloterjahn play?

6. What does Dr. Muller recommend in Chapter 9?

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

8. Why does Dr. Leander transfer Gabriele’s case to Dr. Muller?

9. Who, according to Mr. Spinell, is to be credited with bringing beauty back into Gabriele’s life?

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

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?

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

Examine Gabriele Kloterjahn’s character and how she embodies major themes in Tristan. How does Mann characterize Mrs. Kloterjahn? As an artist, what does she seem to represent? What does her illness represent? Does Mann seem to be making any kind of commentary with her character? Why or why not?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 602 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample