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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 causes Karl to have second thoughts about leaving New York?

2. What does the word "Occidental" mean?

3. What is the likely intended purpose of the scene with the coffeepot during the morning at the inn?

4. What does Therese confide in Karl that she asks him to keep secret from the head cook?

5. What first prompted Delamarche to think of getting Karl to come work as Brunelda's servant?

Short Essay Questions

1. Describe the interior of Brunelda's apartment.

2. What is ironic about Karl's actions with his trunk during the night he spends in the inn after leaving Pollunder's house?

3. How does Karl end up having a conversation with Therese in his room on his first night at the Occidental Hotel?

4. What other locations is the description of the suburban Ramses apartment building meant to evoke, and what is the similarity between these locations?

5. What does Karl learn from Robinson about Brunelda's marriage?

6. When Karl is worried about the vomit in the light shaft being noticed, how do his thoughts foreshadow his eventual fate?

7. How does Karl meet Robinson and Delamarche?

8. What convinces Karl to stay at Brunelda's apartment even after Delamarche assaults him?

9. Describe Karl's encounter with the policeman in the Ramses suburbs.

10. How does Robinson end up in Rennel's bed in the dormitory?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Write an analysis of "The Stoker" as a stand-alone work. As you come to a conclusion about the meaning of this section of the text, you will want to take into account at least the following: plot, setting, atmosphere, symbolism, and characterization. Be sure to support your ideas with textual evidence.

Essay Topic 2

Write a pro-con essay that evaluates the critical contention that Amerika is a critique of American capitalism. Research critical arguments in favor of this interpretation as well as arguments that contest this interpretation. Provide evidence from the novel to support each side and then come to a conclusion about which side has more merit, and why. Cite your sources in MLA format.

Essay Topic 3

Write an essay that compares and contrasts Amerika's relationship to the bildungsroman and to the picaresque. Does Kafka seem to intend to parody both? If yes, does he do so with equal clarity? Is his treatment of one tradition more respectful than the other? How does the echo of these traditions impact your understanding of the novel's meaning? Cite evidence from throughout the story as you defend your interpretation of how these two traditions are referenced in Amerika.

(see the answer keys)

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