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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. What is the name of the little mute to whom Angelo feels close?

2. What does Maria Avoni tote as she escorts Simon Henley to his first camp?

3. What nationality is Simon Henley, from the special ops team?

4. Angelo Soncini realizes he is not the only ______ in hiding at his boarding school.

5. Who is killed when German soldiers attack Maria and her companion?

Short Essay Questions

1. What are being dropped from the sky, causing rumors to ravage Italy?

2. What was the real story behind the raping of the girl by the six German soldiers?

3. What has happened to Alberto Fiori, formerly Albery Blum?

4. Who does Mirella turn away from her property, even though she generally takes in everyone she can?

5. What happens to Simon Henley's plane during the conflict with the German planes?

6. What does Renzo do once he realizes he has no one to live for now that the war is over?

7. What are Renzo and Schramm supervising together?

8. What does Maria Avoni teach Simon Henley about as she takes him to his first camp?

9. What is the holiday that the United States and the Germans had hoped to meet in terms of ending the war?

10. How does Schramm describe Hitler's stories?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

What's most interesting about this novel is the contradiction in beliefs and in the results of those beliefs. For example, Schramm is guilty of horrible things, but so is Renzo.

Part 1: What are Schramm's crimes within this novel and before the time of the novel?

Part 2: What are Renzo's crimes within this novel?

Part 3: How are these characters to be compared in terms of their guilt? Is one character more guiltier than the other? Why? Why not?

Essay Topic 2

Von Thadden seems to believe that what he is doing is right for the world, releasing all guilt from his conscience.

Part 1: Why doesn't von Thadden think what he is doing is wrong?

Part 2: What makes von Thadden more of a complicated character than he appears?

Part 3: What is your emotional reaction to von Thadden? Why?

Essay Topic 3

The question of identity is another concern in this story. Since identities need to change in order to secure safety, the idea of one's identity seems to be less important than safety.

Part 1: What are some of the identities that the male characters take on?

Part 2: What are some of the identities that the female characters take on?

Part 3: Do the characters seem to change when they change their identities? In what ways, if at all?

(see the answer keys)

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