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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 Jakob insist that Karl be home in the morning in time to do?

2. At what time of day do Karl's English lessons occur?

3. What does Karl ask Pollunder about on the drive out to the country?

4. How old is Karl when the narrative opens?

5. Who is the author of Amerika?

Short Essay Questions

1. In what way is Karl's experience in the Pollunder house similar to his experience onboard the ship?

2. What mixed messages does Karl get from Jakob about the visit to Pollunder's country home?

3. What bizarre interaction does Karl have with Klara after dinner?

4. What does Karl imagine about his parents when he is in the office with the stoker?

5. What is so fascinating to Karl about the desk in his room?

6. What does the letter from Jakob to Karl say?

7. What unexpected news does Klara give her father when he and Karl arrive at the Pollunder home, and how does Pollunder react?

8. Explain how Karl's inability to keep track of his possessions causes complications in "The Stoker."

9. What analogy does Jakob draw between Karl and a newborn baby?

10. Why is Karl so exhausted when the story opens?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

How do ambiguity and the grotesque work together to create atmosphere and mood in Amerika, and how do these effects contribute to the novel's overall meaning? What patterns of detail and language work together to create a sense of ambiguity? What patterns of detail and language work together to create a sense of the grotesque? In combination, what specific atmosphere and mood do ambiguity and the grotesque create in this novel? How do atmosphere and mood support a theme or themes in Amerika? Be sure to support your claims with both quoted and paraphrased evidence from the text.

Essay Topic 2

Write an essay in which you take and defend a position about the symbolic value of the sword held by Lady Liberty in the opening paragraph of Amerika. As you formulate your idea about the sword's meaning, consider questions like the following: How does the symbol relate to Kafka's perceptions of America? What historical lens did Kafka view this country through? How does the symbol relate to a long tradition of European art? What impact would the sword have on a reader acquainted with this tradition? How does the idea of America itself contrast with old European traditions like this? Be sure to support your ideas with textual evidence from throughout the novel, and if you use outside sources, credit these in MLA format.

Essay Topic 3

Write a paragraph that explains the relationship between Karl's journey through America and the descriptions of the major locations that he visits. Consider the locations' sizes, their labyrinthine nature, and the frequent references to stairs, elevators, and balconies. Consider the atmospheres of these locations and how they change over the course of the narrative. Make sure that you do more than describe the various settings and their details: the goal of your essay should be to tie these textual details to the progress of Karl's journey and the overall meaning of the novel.

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