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This test consists of 5 multiple choice questions, 5 short answer questions, and 10 short essay questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. The man who points out the different locations at the camp in the dormitory in Part I: “A Guest of Poland,” Chapter 2 says to the traveler, “Why do you stare, if I may ask? You never see” what before?
(a) “An Islamic Norwegian.”
(b) “A Nordic Jew.”
(c) “An Arabic Jew.”
(d) “An American Jew.”

2. What is the Brick Gothic church that was “destroyed in the thirteenth century by Asian Tatars” and rebuilt in the fourteenth century, according to the narrator in Part I: “A Guest of Poland,” Chapter 1?
(a) Cathedral of St. John the Baptist.
(b) St. Mary’s Basilica.
(c) Cathedral of St. Adalbert.
(d) Wawel Cathedral.

3. What term in Part II: “In the Ogre’s Cave,” Chapter 4 refers to a liturgical prayer consisting of three or six verses?
(a) Chiaroscuro.
(b) Visage.
(c) Kaddish.
(d) Shofar.

4. What hereditary class does the narrator say Old Baron Olinski had brought his antique red leather boots to the New World to denote, in Part II: “In the Ogre’s Cave,” Chapter 5?
(a) The rycerz class.
(b) The schlachta class.
(c) The slave class.
(d) The wiec class.

5. Who is the “glum American rabbi” that instructs the other retreat attendees about the ram’s horn in Part II: “In the Ogre’s Cave,” Chapter 4?
(a) James Glock.
(b) Dan.
(c) Stefan.
(d) Rainer.

Short Answer Questions

1. What word is used to describe the ram’s horn blown as a wind instrument in Part II: “In the Ogre’s Cave,” Chapter 4?

2. The traveler describes Cecilia Gallerani as whose adolescent mistress in Part I: “A Guest of Poland,” Chapter 1?

3. The retreat’s unofficial “spiritual leader” is nicknamed what, according to the narrator in Part I: “A Guest of Poland,” Chapter 3?

4. Of those who witnessed the horrors of the Holocaust, Dr. Stern says what “is about all we have in common with those poor doomed bastards” in Part II: “In the Ogre’s Cave,” Chapter 5?

5. What is Dr. Stern’s specialization, according to the narrator in Part I: “A Guest of Poland,” Chapter 3?

Short Essay Questions

1. How would you describe the symbolic significance of the character of G. Earwig in the novel?

2. How has the group dynamic evolved when the narrative returns to the present tense in Part II: “In the Ogre’s Cave,” Chapter 5?

3. Why does Olin set out alone for Birkenau after lunch in Part II: “In the Ogre’s Cave,” Chapter 4?

4. Where has “the traveler” arrived in Part I: “A Guest of Poland,” Chapter 1? What does he learn upon his arrival?

5. Who greets Olin once he arrives at his destination in Part I: “A Guest of Poland,” Chapter 2?

6. What is taking place when Mr. Earwig initiates a conflict in Part II: “In the Ogre’s Cave,” Chapter 4?

7. How is the setting of Kasmierz described in Part I: “A Guest of Poland,” Chapter 1?

8. What is on the agenda for the first morning of the retreat in Part I: “A Guest of Poland,” Chapter 3?

9. How was the birth of Clements Olinski discovered by the Olinskis, according to the narrator in Part II: “In the Ogre’s Cave,” Chapter 5?

10. What are Dr. Olin’s personal reasons for attending the retreat, according to the narrator in Part I: “A Guest of Poland,” Chapter 3?

(see the answer keys)

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