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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 does Utz cram on his mirror backed shelves?

2. What does Utz slam on to the desk when someone questions his racial purity?

3. On what special day did Yossel run amok?

4. Who did Utz help during the war?

5. In what country does Utz say he still had money?

Short Essay Questions

1. How did Rabbi Loew use Yossel?

2. What does the narrator observe about Utz's porcelain?

3. What does Utz's funeral suggest about him as a person?

4. Why did the Nazis preserve the Jewish cemetery?

5. Describe the stuffed bear in the Hotel Bristol.

6. Why do the Jews think Adam was the first golem?

7. How did Utz's grandmother ignite Utz's interest in Porcelain collecting?

8. Who was Rabbi Loew?

9. How does Utz develop his theory about porcelain collecting?

10. Why does Dr. Orlik study the household fly?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Discuss elements of the narrative structure: Exposition, conflict, complication, climax, resolution and conclusion.

Do all the elements make for a logical and linear story? How does the story's structure express the novel's themes?

Essay Topic 2

Examine communism and capitalism. Why did communism and capitalism become the two main political systems after WWII? What are the differences between the two systems of thought? Why do you think Communism failed?

Essay Topic 3

Examine the books reception in three different countries including the country the book was written. How do their opinions about the books differ? Was the book more influential in one country than another? If so, why?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 626 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample