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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 do many of the spectators feel about Hanna's behavior?

2. What time of year does Michael revisit his destination from Part 2, Chapter 14?

3. What sentences did the other defendants receive?

4. Why does Michael marry his wife?

5. In Part 3, Chapter 4, what does Michael deem "the most grotesque oversimplification of all"?

Short Essay Questions

1. What does Michael decide to do for work, and why?

2. Describe the driver Michael hitches a ride with in Chapter 14.

3. How do the Michael's feelings about the trial become "awakened" in Chapter 3?

4. What does Michael notice about himself after he is taken to the hospital with fever?

5. In Chapter 17, how does Michael describe Hanna at her sentencing?

6. What does Michael do with his own writing?

7. Describe what is said in the letter Michael receives from the prison warden.

8. What does Michael say about his relationships after Gertrud?

9. In Chapter 16, why does Michael say he "finds it unendurable to do nothing"?

10. How does Hanna respond to Michael's questions about the trial and their relationship?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

In the early chapters of the novel, Michael describes the setting--Hanna's apartment, the city, the streetcars--in great detail. How do Michael's detailed descriptions give the reader clues to his character? How do details about the scenery advance the plot of the novel?

Essay Topic 2

When Michael begins to read aloud to Hanna, it starts out as an intimate activity. Give examples as to how this activity strengthens their relationship. Compare and contrast how Michael feels about reading aloud to Hanna in the early stages of their relationship to the later stages. What has changed?

Essay Topic 3

While Hanna is in prison, Michael resurrects his practice of reading to her. How does this simple act define their relationship? What does it symbolize? How is it connected to Michael's idea that Hanna has advanced from dependence to independence?

(see the answer keys)

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