View a FREE sample

This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. Which character is said to have "lustreless eyes and a vague velvety vileness" (6)?

2. How does the text's language change when the group gets off the train at the last stop on the first day?

3. Who greets Ivanovich at the inn near the lake?

4. What does Ivanovich do when he first sees the view of the lake?

5. Why does the group make Ivanovich eat a cigarette butt?

Short Essay Questions

1. What does Ivanovich do at each of the train stations on the first day of the trip, and what does this show about his character?

2. With whom does Ivanovich spend the first night, and how does this person keep Ivanovich awake?

3. For what two reasons does Ivanovich sleep badly on the night before the trip begins?

4. Describe the leader of the group excursion.

5. What happens when Ivanovich declares that he will stay at the lake instead of returning to Berlin?

6. Describe the game that the passengers come up with to play on the train.

7. What is frustrating for Ivanovich about the beauty in the landscapes he sees from the train?

8. What direct characterization of Ivanovich does the narrator offer?

9. What does Ivanovich do as soon as he sits down in the train on the first morning of the trip, and what is the group's reaction?

10. What is the difference between the narrative descriptions of people and of nature in this story?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Write an essay that examines how ridicule is used to control behavior in "Cloud, Castle, Lake." Support your claims with evidence from the text.

Essay Topic 2

Write an essay that makes and defends a claim about the purpose of framing the story as a recollection. Defend your ideas with evidence from the text.

Essay Topic 3

Write an essay that analyzes the role of the Bureau of Pleasantrips in "Cloud, Castle, Lake." Support your claims with textual evidence.

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 920 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample