View a FREE sample

This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. At the trial, how does Evelyn depict herself at age fifteen?

2. What is Little Boy wishing for?

3. What does Mother insist on doing with the baby and its mother?

4. What does Father see in his bathroom mirror after he returns?

5. Why does Evelyn call the old man Tateh?

Short Essay Questions

1. What does Younger Brother do for a political rally in Rye, New York?

2. Who are the famous psychologists who visit New York at this time and what is their reaction?

3. Why does socialite Mrs. Stuyvesant Fish bring Houdini and circus freaks to her house?

4. What does newspaperman Riis find when he goes to the docks to interview Stanford white about housing for the poor?

5. What does The boy see Mother do in the back garden?

6. What is Perry's attitude towards the Esquimo people?

7. What are the lead workers doing as Perry comes leisurely behind?

8. What is the nature of Evelyn's testimony in Harry's trial?

9. What does The Boy think bronze statues are?

10. What is the gossip about Evelyn's disappearances to visit The Girl?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

On their trip out of New York, Tateh observes a completely different country from what he had known in New York. Doctorow says that for the first time Tateh began to think he might be able to live in America. Use examples of what Tateh and The Girl see on their trip that are so different from anything they had ever seen in New York and explain how those sights began to change Tateh's outlook on America. Then look at Freud's visit to New York and what they force him to go see. Give your opinion as to whether Freud might have had a different opinion of America if he had seen the more rural side of the country.

Essay Topic 2

Describe the rags-to-riches story of Tateh, aka Baron Ashkenazy. Tateh's story is the embodiment of the American dream--the poor immigrant who eventually achieves success. While you write this account focus on the moral shift in Tateh's thinking. Note the difference in his uptight morality that drove his wife and Evelyn away in the early part of the story and his romping with Mother in Atlantic City as the reinvented Baron Ashkenazy. There are even sexual overtones to the scene where they are searching for The Boy and The Girl and eventually they marry.

Essay Topic 3

Write a paper on the subject of art as seen in the novel. Take it from Tateh's silhouettes to Morgan's collection. Tateh's cutout silhouettes and movie books are art for the people. On the other hand, Morgans fabulous art collection are limited to the upper classes. Tateh's art leads him to film animation and making movies. Morgan's art is nearly destroyed in one quick action. Mother's association with art is limited to putting up Egyptian wallpaper. Your paper should discuss how art influences people and the value of art as an equalizer.

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 785 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample