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 refer to Mr. Kloterjahn and his infant son?

2. What does Mr. Spinell write is his reason for writing a letter in Chapter 10?

3. How is Mr. Spinell's mood after he hears the news about Gabriele in Chapter 12?

4. How does Mr. Kloterjahn characterize Mr. Spinell’s handwriting?

5. How is Mr. Spinell's letter described stylistically?

Short Essay Questions

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

2. How does Mr. Kloterjahn react differently to women than Mr. Spinell?

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

4. What is the piece of music that Mr. Spinell is so excited to find?

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

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

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

8. According to Mr. Spinell, why is what he is saying to Mr. Kloterjahn in Chapter 10 not an insult?

9. What does Mr. Kloterjahn finally admit was the causes of Gabriele’s illness?

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

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?

Essay Topic 2

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 3

The novella takes place entirely in Einfried, a sanitarium. Why did Mann choose this setting for his novella? How might the novella be different if the setting were changed? What significance does the sanitarium have for the novella? What does it represent?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 581 words (approx. 2 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample