View a FREE sample

This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. How does Mr. Spinell look as at the end of his walk?

2. What instrument does Gabriele’s father play?

3. Why doesn’t Mr. Kloterjahn do what he wants to do to Mr. Spinell in Chapter 11?

4. On what point does Mr. Kloterjahn agree with Mr. Spinell in Chapter 11?

5. How is Mr. Kloterjahn's son described in Chapter 9?

Short Essay Questions

1. What does Mr. Kloterjahn do in response to Mr. Spinell's letter?

2. According to Mr. Klotejahn in Chapter 11, what were Gabriele and her friends really doing in the garden by the fountain?

3. What ruins the scene of Gabriele in the garden with her friends for Mr. Spinell?

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

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

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

7. Why do Mrs. Kloterjahn and Mr. Spinell choose to stay back from the sleigh ride?

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

9. How does Mr. Spinell describe the scene within his letter in Chapter 10?

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

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 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 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?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 606 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample