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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. To whom does Michael speak?

2. What is the biggest reason Michael Chacour is willing to work for someone else in his own orchards?

3. What does the second Supreme Court rule?

4. Where is Biram?

5. Where are Zionist soldiers winning against the British?

Short Essay Questions

1. How did the Beatitudes appear to Elias and why?

2. Who was taken out of Gish from Elias's family and who was left?

3. What events of the 1960's colored Elias's view of the church and why?

4. Under whose rule was Palestine since the 1930's, what kind of people was the population, how did they get along and how did the residents feel about themselves after World War II?

5. How did Elias's teachers view him at the seminary and why?

6. What did the Zionist soldiers tell the people in Elias's hometown and how did they respond?

7. How did Elias and his friend find the studies in Paris?

8. How did Elias feel about school and where else did he learn what he considered important?

9. What did the new Jewish landowners find out about their land and what did they do about it?

10. Who are the Zionist soldiers battling in Palestine in the late 1940's and what is the result of those battles?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Elias' father's perspective is historical and he makes certain the children know their heritage. Discuss the following:

1. What is the status of Jews, Muslim and Christians in Palestine before the coming of Zionism?

2. What three principles does Michael Chacour instill in his children and how does Elias manifest those principles as an adult?

3. What advantages are there in knowing one's family and regional history? Are there any disadvantages? How does this knowledge help Elias?

Essay Topic 2

The narrator of the book is Elias Chacour, who writes from his own point of view as he experiences and hears about events concerning the formation of the State of Israel and the ongoing conflict concerning the problems that arise out of that formation. Discuss the following:

1. What is meant by a reliable or unreliable narrator? Which do you think Elias is? Why?

2. What would Elias gain by skewing the story of his life? Do you think the gain would be worth the potential cost if he were to be proven to be inaccurate?

3. Is any narrator of a "true" story totally reliable? What factors might affect the reliability of any autobiographical writer including Elias?

Essay Topic 3

Within the new government itself, however, all was not cohesive. Factions had developed, all vying for power, and differing on treatment of the native Palestinians. The elders of the former village of Biram seized upon this opportunity to petition the Israeli Supreme Court for permission to return to their homes. Though this petition was granted, Zionist soldiers still would not allow them in. Discuss the following:

1. What do you think are the reasons the Zionist soldiers will not allow the villagers to reclaim their homes based on a court order by the Jewish government?

2. Why do you think the Jewish government does not intervene? Could they be afraid of the more radical Zionist themselves?

3. How often do you think a court victory is empty--both in the Palestinian situation and in other situations. Discuss with examples from the text and your own knowledge.

(see the answer keys)

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