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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 poet does Olin quote in Part III: “Dancing at Auschwitz,” Chapter 11 when he describes “something not known to anyone at all but wild in our breast for centuries”?

2. For how many years does Malan say he was held prisoner at Auschwitz in Part III: “Dancing at Auschwitz,” Chapter 13?

3. What does Olin leave behind in the bricks of the cellar at Birkenau as an offering to his mother in Part IV: “In Paradise” opens in Chapters 15?

4. As Olin attempts to make sense of the transcendent experience of the dancing in Part III: “Dancing at Auschwitz,” Chapter 11, the narrator says, “Out on that platform at odd moments of each day, a presence had risen that, for want of a better term, [Olin] calls” what in his journal?

5. What “confession” does Olin make before the other retreat attendees at the meditation meeting in Part III: “Dancing at Auschwitz,” Chapter 14?

Short Essay Questions

1. How does the narrator describe the Olinskis’ efforts to locate Clements’s mother in Part II: “In the Ogre’s Cave,” Chapter 7?

2. What does Olin encounter when his bus reaches Cracow in Part IV: “In Paradise,” Chapter 16?

3. What story does Rainer reveal of his family in Part II: “In the Ogre’s Cave,” Chapter 7?

4. What information does Erna reveal to Olin prior to the meditation meeting in Part III: “Dancing at Auschwitz,” Chapter 14?

5. How are the tensions between the retreat attendees described in Part II: “In the Ogre’s Cave,” Chapter 6?

6. How is the character of Stanislav K. described in Part II: “In the Ogre’s Cave,” Chapter 8?

7. How does the dancing come about in Part III: “Dancing at Auschwitz,” Chapter 11? Who dances alongside Olin?

8. What happens with Sister Ann-Marie during the prayer service in Part II: “In the Ogre’s Cave,” Chapter 8?

9. How does the narrator describe the mood of the attendees in the beginning of Part III: “Dancing at Auschwitz,” Chapter 11?

10. Who follows Olin as he searches for Brzezinka in Part II: “In the Ogre’s Cave,” Chapter 8? Why is Olin looking for this setting?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Analyze and discuss the narrative style of In Paradise. Is the story related from a first, second, or third-person perspective? Is the narrator involved in the action of the story? Is the story told in present or past tense? How does each of these authorial choices affect the story and the reader?

Essay Topic 2

Describe and analyze the character of G. Earwig in the novel. How does Earwig’s behavior stand apart from the other retreat attendees? Where is Earwig from? What do you think his objectives are in attending the retreat?

Essay Topic 3

Describe the city of Oswiecim and discuss its significance to Clements Olin in the narrative. What does Clements point out of the setting when it is encountered? What relationship to Mirek and Wanda have to this city?

(see the answer keys)

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