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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. How does Julius prepare himself for winter?

2. What does Julius say the boys who beat him up and robbed him were intent on doing?

3. How does Julius characterize his grandfather’s status in Nigeria?

4. What is the source of the dissonance in the organ music in Notre Dame?

5. What does Julius say his generation is the first generation not to be familiar with?

Short Essay Questions

1. What does Dr. Saito tell Julius when he visits him in his illness?

2. What was the last time before his fathers funeral that Julius says that he had seen a dead body?

3. How is Julius affected by V.’s death?

4. How does Julius react to Dr. Saito’s death?

5. What is the leap in time and setting that has taken place between chapters 20 and 21?

6. What does Julius know about Dr. Saito’s relationship history, and how does he know it?

7. What is Julius’ state of mind while he is reading the newspaper to Dr. Saito?

8. What is the vision Julius has while he is sitting in the park, watching the starlings?

9. Why has Julius missed Dr. Saito’s death?

10. What are Julius’ dreams like, after he hears about Dr. Saito’s bedbugs?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

How does Julius grow or change over the course of the novel? What is he like at the start of the novel, and what is he like at the end? What are the main events that may have changed him? How do you account for the changes he undergoes? Or, how do you account for his lack of change?

Essay Topic 2

Evaluate your own reading of Open City—did you resist it, or were you compelled by the story? What does your reading tell you about yourself and your interests? Use specific examples from the book to describe yourself as a reader.

Essay Topic 3

What are the advantages and disadvantages of the style Cole uses for this novel? What does Cole gain by Julius’ impressions being so egalitarian? What does he lose by constantly changing focus, from one scene to the next, without building the kinds of personal drama we expect in a novel? How is this style fitted to the themes of Julius’ interests? Does it ultimately weigh in the book’s favor, or is its style an obstacle to the book’s meaning?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 971 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample