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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 can the author see in every ground floor kitchen window?

2. What is the name and nickname of the third street the author mentions in Part 1, pages 30-47?

3. What time of day is the mind's "grazing time?"

4. What did the older neighbor boys do when they came home from work?

5. The author's mother was a hard worker but there was something she couldn't do. What was that one thing?

Short Essay Questions

1. How does the author describe the second street he remembers and what is it's name?

2. Who does the author feel is his advocate in religion? How does the author feel about God?

3. The author liked to go to his cousin's room right before supper. What did he like to do while he was in there?

4. How does the author describe the Episcopalian church in his childhood neighborhood?

5. What is prohibited on the Jewish Sabbath?

6. What are the author's favorite memories from the first street in pages 'From the Subway to the Synagogue',?

7. There was one topic of discussion on the Sabbath nights that always made the author happy. What was that topic and why?

8. Describe the feelings the author first has when he enters his childhood neighborhood.

9. Why does the author specifically remember the second street in 'From the Subway to the Synagogue'?

10. In what ways did the kitchen hold the author's mother's character?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

In the narrative, the author continually describes his struggle with feeling like an outsider. The author also talks about how he tried to escape being an outsider.

Part 1) Have you ever felt like an outsider?

Part 2) What ways have you discovered help you not feel like an outsider?

Essay Topic 2

The last section gives details of relationships the author has with two individuals. What about the "he" is important to the author? What about the "she" he speaks of is significant? How do they solidify his yearnings and his opportunities for "beyond"? What do their involvement in his life make "bearable"?

Essay Topic 3

A continuing theme in the book is of light and darkness, both literal and metaphorical. Please give examples from the book how this is portrayed. What other ideas could be connected to the idea of light and dark?

(see the answer keys)

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