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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. Which of Kovály's friends also returns with Franta?

2. Who is Eva?

3. What is the most appealing form of government for the majority of Czechs following the war?

4. Which of the following does NOT describe Kovály when she arrives at the camp?

5. For what does Franta seek forgiveness from Kovály?

Short Essay Questions

1. How are Kovály and Margolius able to communicate after his arrest?

2. How does Machova intervene when the Communists sent a team in to catalogue Kovály's possessions for later seizure?

3. What complaint does Marta have about Vlada when Kovály met her?

4. Why is Communism appealing to the Czech people after the war?

5. After May 5th, 1945, what does Kovály observe in the final hours of the fight against the Germans?

6. What happens in Prague in October of 1941?

7. What happens in Czechoslovakia as 1948 drew to a close?

8. After Margolius' death, why does Kovály worry that she would be arrested?

9. What happens to Kovály's family at Auschwitz?

10. After Margolius' arrest, what contributed to Kovály's bad health?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Discuss the conclusion of the memoir "Under A Cruel Star." What happens at the end of the story? Is it a happy ending? Why or why not?

Essay Topic 2

Discuss Communism in Czechoslovakia from the 1940s until the 1960s. What are the beliefs of the Communist Party in Czechoslovakia? How do they gain power? What is "Victorious February"? What does Kovály think of Communism? What does her husband think of Communism? How does Communism affect their marriage and lives together?

Essay Topic 3

Discuss the theme of ostracism in "Under a Cruel Star." How is Kovály ostracized throughout the narrative? Why is she ostracized? How does this ostracism affect her life?

(see the answer keys)

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