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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. Who is the Italian monk that is working with the children when Natalia and Zora arrive to administer their vaccines in Chapter 5: "The Orphanage"?

2. Who comes to rescue Natalia and Zora when they are detained at the customs border in Chapter 6: "The Fire"?

3. What intern does Natalia's grandfather describe as a "brilliant little Hungarian fellow who has paid a lot of money to study at our University, and who doesn’t speak a word of the language" in Chapter 2: "The War"?

4. In Chapter 1: "The Coast," the narrator says that "to welcome the newly loosed spirit [of the dead], the living will not clean, will not wash or tidy, will not remove the soul’s belongings for" how many days?

5. Where does Natalia's grandmother tell her that the funeral will be for Natalia's grandfather in Chapter 1: "The Coast"?

Short Essay Questions

1. What is symbolized by Natalia's grandfather's ritual visits to the zoo in the Prologue and Chapter 1: "The Coast"? How does this tradition play into the novel's themes?

2. What incident involving being detained by customs officers at the border does Natalia describe in Chapter 6: "The Fire"?

3. Describe the narrative style of The Tiger's Wife. Is the story related from a first, second, or third-person point of view? Is the narrator involved in the action of the story?

4. What is Natalia's objective in Chapter 1: "The Coast"? Where is she going and what is her mission there?

5. In Chapter 2: "The War," Natalia comments, "Everything necessary to understand my grandfather lies between two stories." What are these stories and what does Natalia mean by this comment?

6. What interrupts Natalia and Zora as they go about fulfilling their mission in Chapter 5: "The Orphanage"?

7. Describe the author's language style in The Tiger's Wife. How would you describe the wording and stylistic devices used in the Prologue and Chapter 1: "The Coast"?

8. What is the outcome of the bet between Gavran Gaile and Natalia's grandfather in his story of the Deathless Man in Chapter 2: "The War"?

9. Discuss the ethnic tensions that are seen in The Tiger's Wife. What do these tensions tell you about the setting and characters in the story?

10. How does Natalia's grandfather respond when she discusses her excitement over the elephant and her desire to tell her friends about the incident? Why is this comment significant?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Analyze and discuss the character of Natalia as the protagonist and narrator of the novel. How old do you perceive Natalia to be? What attributes does she exhibit in the story? What qualities in Natalia’s character relate to those of the typical protagonist? How does Natalia stand apart from the other characters in the story?

Essay Topic 2

In the novel’s Epilogue, Natalia says of the Galina tiger, “Everything lies dead in his memory, except for the tiger's wife, for whom, on certain nights, he goes calling, making that tight note that falls and falls. The sound is lonely, and low, and no-one hears it any more.” In what ways does Natalia’s metaphoric meaning refer to the various tigers that appear in the narrative? In what ways does that meaning also refer to the various characters and their lives, particularly their thematically central struggles to live their own lives?

Essay Topic 3

Discuss the theme of superstition versus science in The Tiger’s Wife. How does Natalia regard the superstitions of the diggers? How does she view superstition in general? Why are superstition and science at odds in the narrative? Is this reflective of our society as well?

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