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

Short Answer Questions

1. What happens to Gavrili in the night at the monastery?

2. Who do Zorba and the narrator meet as they climb the mountain?

3. How do the negotiations over land between Zorba and the abbot begin?

4. What gift does Madame Hortense present to Zorba when he returns from the monastery?

5. What startles the narrator from his sleep at the monastery?

Short Essay Questions

1. What does the narrator succeed in doing in Chapter 21 that Zorba could not?

2. In Chapter 16, what did the sleeping workmen do who when they heard Zorba playing his Santuri?

3. As the narrator watches Zorba comfort Madame Hortense on her death bed with the others eagerly awaiting her death, what does he compare the scene to?

4. What does Zorba say about women when the narrator reveals that he has proposed to Madame Hortense on his behalf?

5. What story does Zorba tell in Chapter 20 that supports the theme that appearance creates reality?

6. How are Zorba's final moments described?

7. How does the narrator describe eternity in Chapter 15?

8. Describe the actions that follow after the widow enters the church at the Easter celebration.

9. What was Zaharia's inspiration for burning down the monastery?

10. What might be the significance of the narrator inheriting the Santuri?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

After Zorba's return from Candia, the narrator attempts to convince him that the power of a mind concentrated on one thing is the singular path to great accomplishment.

Part 1) How does Zorba respond to this attempted lesson?

• Is the narrator's lesson on meditation received and practiced or do both file it with the "Void"?

• Do you agree with the narrator?

Part 2) How might concentration on a single thing threaten Zorba's way of life and very existence?

Part 3) Zorba has returned from Candia with an appearance altered to look younger. This is a strange juxtaposition to the narrator's focus on meditation.

• Are there parallels in the two men's behaviors?

• Or are the simply at odds with one another?

Essay Topic 2

Zorba has a complex relationship with the female sex. The narrator regards him as misogynistic, but he, at times, seems to afford women more freedoms than the average villager.

Part 1) Under what category of his "marriages" would Zorba's relationship with Madame Hortense fall under? Why?

• How does Zorba treat her differently than the other villagers do?

• Does his treatment of her fall in line with his claim that women have less moral strength than men?

Part 2) Zorba tells a story of his brother threatening to kill his daughter for becoming pregnant out of wedlock upon which he offers no opinion. He also reveals that to his greatest love he was only "half-honestly" married.

• Do you think Zorba is a misogynist?

• How does his behavior with women deviate from traditional values?

• Does this make him less of a misogynist?

• Do any of his behaviors make him more "free"?

Part 3) How does Zorba's description of Zeus, the overworked love slave, contradict his misogyny? Does it support it?

Essay Topic 3

Dualism is an important part of Zorba the Greek. Wherever one theory or way of being is presented, a counter theory exists.

Part 1) When the villagers kill the widow, how are they subverting Zorba's definition of women?

• Which of the two ways of thinking is more accurate?

• How might these extremes support the author's overall intention?

Part 2) How do Zorba and Hortense view their relationship to one another?

• Does Hortense's view of her own past match the way Zorba recounts her history?

• Does Zorba see himself as the partner to her that she sees in him?

• How do their opposing views ultimately affect their relationship?

• Why is she so fixated on marrying Zorba?

Part 3) Do you think that the Buddha has been completed or destroyed for the narrator at the end of the story?

Short Answer Key

1. What happens to Gavrili in the night at the monastery?

He is murdered by his lover.

2. Who do Zorba and the narrator meet as they climb the mountain?

Zaharia.

3. How do the negotiations over land between Zorba and the abbot begin?

The abbot tries to charge more money than agreed upon.

4. What gift does Madame Hortense present to Zorba when he returns from the monastery?

A pair of wedding rings.

5. What startles the narrator from his sleep at the monastery?

A gun shot.

Short Essay Answer Key

1. What does the narrator succeed in doing in Chapter 21 that Zorba could not?

The narrator recognizes that Madame Hortense is seriously ill and takes care of her both mentally and physically. He mentally encourages her by reminding her of her wedding while physically bringing a doctor to attend to her. He uses Zorba's romantic speech tricks while conscientiously attending to her health as well. Zorba, on the other hand, is a successful romantic but not a responsible partner.

2. In Chapter 16, what did the sleeping workmen do who when they heard Zorba playing his Santuri?

They got up, circled around him and began dancing to the music he played.

3. As the narrator watches Zorba comfort Madame Hortense on her death bed with the others eagerly awaiting her death, what does he compare the scene to?

The narrator first compares the scene to a huge exotic bird with a broken wing that has fallen and is dying on the beach, with all of the villagers standing around watching for entertainment. Then he compares Madame Hortense to other animals as well, like an "old angora cat" and "a sick old seal."

4. What does Zorba say about women when the narrator reveals that he has proposed to Madame Hortense on his behalf?

Zorba says that women are delicate creatures and are unable to handle such jokes.

5. What story does Zorba tell in Chapter 20 that supports the theme that appearance creates reality?

Zorba tells a story in which his grandfather takes a piece of wood, calls it part of the True Cross, and declares that it will protect the soldier to whom he gifts it from all harm in battle. The soldier then becomes a brave and invincible warrior simply because he believes that he has nothing to fear.

6. How are Zorba's final moments described?

Zorba dies howling and laughing like an animal.

7. How does the narrator describe eternity in Chapter 15?

He describes it as being each minute that passes.

8. Describe the actions that follow after the widow enters the church at the Easter celebration.

Because the villagers blame the widow for Pavli's death, Manolakas leads a mob to the church when they discover that she is there. When she walks out of the church, the mob surrounds her and Mavrandoni blocks the door to keep her from going back in. The mob begins to throw stones at her, and several pull knives as well. Mavrandoni says it is his right to declare judgment and orders her to be killed. The narrator attempts to save her but trips on a rock. Zorba arrives and also attempts to save her. Momentarily, he does as he wrestles Manolakas away from her, but ultimately Mavrandoni cuts her head off.

9. What was Zaharia's inspiration for burning down the monastery?

He says he was acting on a mission assigned to him by Archangel Michael. He acted, however, based on the knowledge he received from Zorba.

10. What might be the significance of the narrator inheriting the Santuri?

The Santuri, Zorba's musical instrument, was one of the symbols in the story of the expression of emotion outside of words. Zorba plays the Santuri in the story when he is happy. The fact that the story ends with the Santuri in the narrator's possession is an indication that he has grown closer to reaching his goal, that of a marriage between the body and spirit, and that he has attained some level of the sought after "freedom."