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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. A girl on the crowded train diverts the Nazi soldiers' attention as a ____________ slides under the train seats.

2. Sister Dimples arranges for a meeting between Angelo and who else?

3. Renzo believes his shame is the last vestige of _________ in a vicious, barbaric world.

4. Who has developed a successful system and is defeating the Germans in this area?

5. Who does Renzo give British money and a letter to?

Short Essay Questions

1. What makes the German soldiers stop looking through the laundry basket Claudia Cicala is carrying?

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

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

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

5. What does Battista threaten Leto with when he tells him to tell the Germans who killed the five soliders?

6. What are Renzo and Schramm supervising together?

7. What has little Angelo Soncini realized about his position at the boarding school?

8. How does Schramm describe Hitler's stories?

9. What does Renzo return to reveal to the others?

10. What does Santino see when he is on the crowded train?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

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 2

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?

Essay Topic 3

In today's world, the idea of resistance to a cause might be seen as terrorism instead of a partisan movement.

Part 1: Describe the actions of the resistance groups in this novel.

Part 2: Are the resistance groups effective in reaching their goals in this novel? Why or why not?

Part 3: Would you describe these resistance movements as terrorism? Why or why not?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 609 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample