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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. Why is Oskar particularly compelled by the renter when they meet in Alive and Alone?

2. Where is Thomas Schell as he writes in Why I'm Not Where You Are?

3. What is the only reason Grandma comes into Thomas's guest room the first two months that he is there?

4. In Why I'm Not Where Your Are, how does Thomas Schell get from the airport to Grandma's building?

5. Which two career paths does Allen Black imagine for his son in Happiness, Happiness?

Short Essay Questions

1. How does Oskar's presentation go at the beginning of Happiness, Happiness?

2. Describe Thomas's experience during the bombing of Dresden.

3. What is Oskar's attitude toward Dr. Fein?

4. What is happening in Dad's fourth message?

5. What can Thomas not bring himself to tell Grandma at the end of Why I'm Not Where You Are?

6. Why does the trip to Agnes Black's apartment stir Oskar's curiosity in Happiness, Happiness?

7. How does Oskar Schell meet Thomas, Sr. at the beginning of Alive and Alone?

8. What does Stephen Hawking say to Oskar in A Simple Solution to an Impossible Problem?

9. What is the living arrangement between Grandma and Thomas in Why I'm Not Where You Are?

10. How does the sixth borough's drift affect a boy and girl in the story?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

The plot of Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close is riddled with absent fathers. Write an essay about the prevalence of absent father figures, focusing on the primary father-son relationship in each othe two primary story-lines. What is the reason for each father's absence? How does each father communicate with his estranged son on a daily basis without actually doing so? In summation, discuss what happens when the estranged father figure of one narrative meets the orphaned son of the other. How do they interact?

Essay Topic 2

Jonathan Safran Foer creates a world not unlike our own in Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close. He includes real and recognizable locations and historical events surrounding his characters. Nevertheless, his world exists on a slightly different plane of reality, in which the fantastical and whimsical is possible. Write an essay about the fantastic in the novel, in three parts:

Part 1) Write a paragraph about the alternate history of New York City as related by Thomas Schell, Jr., on the night before he died. What augmentation does Dad make to the municipality of New York? How does the narrative end? What supposed proof does Dad offer Oskar by way of corroboration for his story?

Part 2) Discuss how Thomas Schell, Sr. is affected by his experience in Dresden after he arrives in the United States. What does he begin to lose over the course of several weeks? How does he adapt to this loss and how does this affect his life? What does this say about the lingering grief and guilt Thomas holds?

Part 3) Discuss A.R. Black's card catalog. What is he attempting to achieve by creating this catalog? How does it make the world more understandable to him? What patterns and trends has he discovered since beginning it?

Essay Topic 3

Two objects in Oskar Schell's life consume him and hold him captive. They dictate how he feels and what he does with his life. Write an essay about these two items, the hold they have over Oskar, and how he resolves his connection to them:

Part 1) What is the significance of the phone and answering machine that Oskar keeps under his bed? Discuss the messages that are contained on it. Why does Oskar listen the them so often and never tell his mother about them. Who does he eventually play the messages for and why?

Part 2) Discuss the key that inspires Oskar to begin his city-wide quest. What clues about its significance emerge as he investigates? How does the key become the central driver of plot in the novel? What, in the end is the purpose of the key and how does learning this truth affect Oskar Schell?

(see the answer keys)

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