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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. Why is Chaim's son, the Just Man, called Brother Beast?

2. What does a Just Man do with the pain of others, according to Mordecai?

3. Who overruns and destroys the Levys' village?

4. What does Moritz love best as a child?

5. What were the Levys never able to identify about the Just Man in their family?

Short Essay Questions

1. What qualities of character does Brother Beast possess?

2. What rationale does Rabbi Yom Tov Levy offer for the mass murder and suicide he instigates?

3. What solution does Moritz think would relieve the Jews of the danger involved in going to the synagogue.

4. What things does Mordecai believe to be incomprehensible?

5. Why is Jacob not consoled when Ernie promises to "spring" at the Hitler Youth if they bother the little boy?

6. Why does Yankel, the Galician, advise Benjamin to get out of Berlin?

7. Why do Mordecai and Judith decide that Benjamin is like a mosquito?

8. What does Ernie think as he is surrounded by the Pimpfe bullies?

9. What does Benjamin imagine will happen to the Jews as they become acquainted with Germans?

10. What does Ernie do to ease the emptiness in his heart after the beating?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

The author often uses a sardonic tone describing, for instance, the "kind" treatment of the detainees by the German guards. In your essay, find examples of this tone and explain why you think the author used it. What effect did it have on you as a reader?

Essay Topic 2

All stories are either plot-driven, relying upon the action of the story to maintain interest, or character-driven, where the most important story element is the changes that take place in the lives of the characters. In your essay, tell whether you think The Last of the Just is plot-driven or character-driven. Substantiate your position with examples and illustrations from the text.

Essay Topic 3

The position of a Just Man in the world is complex, and it takes the child Ernie some time to understand what he is supposed to do on behalf of his fellow man. Using explanations given by Mordecai and others, as well as actions by the Just Men, explain in your essay what they do for humanity.

(see the answer keys)

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