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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 Thomas say to Anna to try to comfort her about her father in Why I'm Not Where You Are?

2. What does Oskar think is "grody" about the story of The Sixth Borough?

3. What is Thomas Schell order to do at the zoo in Why I'm Not Where You Are?

4. What stylistically is noticeable about this chapter, Why I'm Not Where You Are?

5. In A Simple Solution to an Impossible Problem, what does Oskar recall doing when dad calls on September 11, 2001?

Short Essay Questions

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

2. What does Thomas learn immediately before the bombing of Dresden begins?

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

4. What does Dad relate about optimism to Oskar in the The Sixth Borough?

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

6. How does Thomas, Sr. discover he has a son in Why I'm Not where You Are?

7. What is revealed by the long jump at the beginning of The Sixth Borough?

8. What decision does Oskar make at the end of Alive and Alone?

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 structure of the novel Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close is unusual from the beginning, with the mixing of different narrators and syntax styles, but Jonathan Safran Foer further muddies the narrative waters by having the narrative regularly interrupted by pages that contain something other than plot. Write an essay about these pages, discussing what their connection to the narrative is. Who, presumably, has inserted them into the novel and why? How does their inclusion affect the way the novel is perceived as an object? What does it become?

Part 1) Photos

Part 2) Pages with a single phrase on them.

Part 3) Blank pages.

Essay Topic 2

Oskar Schell is a fearful child, and his fears can fall into two camps that are real and imagined. Write an essay discussing these two types of fear and how they manifest themselves in the novel. For example, how do Dr. Fein and Jimmy represent a very real, concrete adversity to Oskar? What genuine concerns for his life do they present? Conversely, discuss the imagined dangers that haunt Oskar throughout the novel. From where do these fears derive and how do they affect his daily life?

Essay Topic 3

One of the most whimsical and tragic figures of the novel is A.R. Smith, the old photographer the floor above Oskar. Write an essay about A.R. Black, his worldview, and his impetus to help Oskar on his quest. How does his extensive card catalogue reflect a particular worldview? What in his past could have contributed to this worldview? Why do you think that A.R. Black decides to join Oskar on his search, and why do you think 6 months is enough searching for him? Sum up by offering an opinion as to where he goes when he moves out of Oskar's building. Do you think he moves in with Ruth Black?

(see the answer keys)

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