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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. Sleeping on a mattress in the hall, what is Henry's troubled dream?

2. What does Nanantatee's friend, Kelpi, do when Nanantatee is not at home?

3. What does Henry think about when he listens to Debussy?

4. About what does Serge want to learn?

5. What emotion does Claude arouse in Henry?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why does Henry leave the apartment when Boris sits down to eat?

2. What had Henry hoped for when he met Serge?

3. What does Elsa say bout the Englishman upstairs playing Bach?

4. What does Henry know about Walter Pach?

5. How does Henry get away from Serge?

6. How does Henry see the American women at the Cafe de la Paix or the Ritz Bar?

7. What importance does Henry place on both the past and the future?

8. Explain how Kelpi makes his living.

9. What is the scene at the beginning of the novel and how does it set up the condition Henry is in while in Paris?

10. Why does Henry like eating with the Cronstadts the best?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Re-read Chapters 14 and 15 about Henry's stay in Dijon as a visiting professor. Then write an essay about fear. Mention in your essay such things as being in a strange place, being separated from friends and relatives, and feeling helpless to get out of a bad situation.

Essay Topic 2

In the mid 1960's, the U. S. Supreme Court ruled that TROPIC OF CANCER is literature and not pornography. After reading the book, write an essay on why you do or do not think it should have caused such a controversy.

Essay Topic 3

Write a paper about how the French surrealists influenced Miller's work. Use two or three of the surreal dreams or day dreams in the book to illustrate your point. How do some of those passages sound like an early encounter with the Twilight Zone.

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 595 words (approx. 2 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample