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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. How does Mr. Spinell get the letter to Mr. Kloterjahn in Chapter 10?

2. What instrument does Gabriele play?

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

4. What happened to Gabriele, according to Mrs. Spatz?

5. Where would Gabriele sit with her friends when she was young?

Short Essay Questions

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

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

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

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

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

6. What does Mr. Spinell see on his walk at the end of the book?

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

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

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

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

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

Wagner’s opera Tristan und Isolde plays an important role in the novella, as does music in general.Why did Mann choose this particular musical piece for the climactic scene in the novella? What does it add to the story? How do the piece, and the climactic scene in general, shape Mr. Spinell’s relationship with Gabriele Kloterjahn? Why is music so important in the novella?

Essay Topic 3

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?

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