Reading comprehension questions for "The Cowards"

Here are 15 questions to help you understand the text more clearly.
To help your understanding, make a list of the names of the characters in the story.

Please answer questions 1-3 during the summer. We will answer the rest after we meet. 

The Cowards

1a/ Fill in the blanks with words from this list:

expository, descriptive, persuasive, narrative, immediate, irrelevant, repetitive

Škvorecký's prose is mostly _____________________and ______________________.

This style of writing is interspersed with introspective passages in which Danny thinks in long sentences.

1b/This represents:

a) the movement of his mind from one related thought to another.

b) his inability to concentrate

c) being trapped in his reality and the present moment.

1c/ Justify with an example from the text.

2/ What is the protagonist’s name and approximate age ? Justify with quotes and the page numbers

3/ What motivates Danny in his actions?

4/ What do the final days of the war force Danny to confront within himself?

5/ Danny is generally pretty condescending about girls. Reread pg 248 – 250, from “'So long...” to “I uncrossed my legs and straightened up.” How does this passage help us understand Danny and his attitude towards Irena?

6/ Reread pages 67 from “Her eyes looked terrified” to pg 69 “Behind him stood two guys with sub-machine guns”. How does Danny view himself? How does Danny imagine how others see him? How does he see the German soldiers? How does this help us understand the German soldiers?

7/ Jazz is a main theme of The Cowards. (To help put this into context, jazz music originated in New Orleans at the start of the 20^th century. It is the blend of African rhythms with European instruments on American soil. The music is played in an expressive way, as an "extension" of the human voice.) What does this theme communicate in the book?

8/ Reread pages 136 – 139 from “We stopped talking...” to “But then memories always were”. What does this passage evoke?

9/ Reread pg 345 – 347 from “The guy started talking...” to “...one dumb celebration to the next”. What do we learn about Danny's vision of himself? What does the brass band symbolize?

10/ Reread pg 347 – 349, from “'Right' said Prema...” to “...'Let's go,' he said”. What has happened to Danny? What does this tell the reader about Danny's view of the past, the present and the future?

11/ Reread pg from “The street was shady...” to pg 406 “Seeing off the Englishmen”. What does Danny's conversation with Siddell help the reader understand about the view of communists from the two points of view, English and Czech?

Why does he cry?

12/ The red supergiant star Betelgeuse is cited on the following pages; pg 266, pg 271, pg 347, pg 356, pg 386. Write down a quote from the page that you think shows the link between Danny and the star, then explain what you think the link is.

13/ The final passage of the novel on pg 412-413 occur while Danny is playing the saxophone. What does this help the reader understand about Danny, about youth, and about the end of the war?

After reading the novel reread the preface and answer these questions.

Author’s preface

14/ Škvorecký talks about “Hans Christian Anderson-truths of youth”. What do you think he means?

15/ Škvoreckýsays “...that if we have real respect for something, we express it best in art by absolute realism, ‘harsh realism...” What do you think he means?

If you have any questions please contact me.