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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. The narrator gives a ride to a young man named Nebojsa who tells her what kinds of stories?

2. The narrator tells the reader that what location is a good place to practice her favorite skill?

3. Kunstkammer is the word for "cabinet of curiosities" (267) in what language?

4. The woman with the red suitcase stops in what location on her way home from visiting her ex-lover?

5. Nebojsa claims that travelers are pure because they have no time to think about what subject?

Short Essay Questions

1. What elements does the unnamed narrator consider when deciding whether a story or a lecture is more appropriate for the story she has to tell?

2. What had the woman in rags been mumbling to Annushka when Annushka became frightened?

3. What element does the narrator name as a "natural" (227) characteristic of the world?

4. How is the theme of family bonds demonstrated within Annushka's story?

5. What significance does the unnamed narrator find in the shapes of airports?

6. What two points of view does the narrator claim exist in the world and why?

7. How does the theme of obsession arise within the story about Verheyen?

8. In what way does Tokarczuk use dialogue in order to highlight a lack of sensitivity in tourists?

9. How is the theme of ethnocentrism depicted within the vignettes focusing on James Cook?

10. Discuss the unnamed narrator's feelings about languages and secrecy.

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

What is the function of Kunicki's character within the novel? Discuss the characterization methods used by Tokarczuk in depicting Kuncki and his family and include in your discussion the reasons that Tokarczuk portrays the characters in these particular ways.

Essay Topic 2

Write a critical essay about Flights while using the critical power theory lens of feminist theory. Use textual evidence to back up your strong, specific claim regarding the novel's treatment of gender roles, the objectification of women, female empowerment, misogyny's role within society, or any other issues related to feminist theory that can be found in the novel.

Essay Topic 3

William Faulkner once famously claimed that the most important literature deals with the subject of the human heart in conflict with itself. Explain how the theme of Human versus Self is demonstrated within Tokarczuk’s novel Flights. Create a decisive, arguable claim and prove it with quotes from the novel.

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