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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 did the author do every time he walked into the civics teachers classroom?

2. Where did the author run away from his father?

3. Where was the author's father offered a homestead while he was working for the Union Pacific Railway?

4. How did the author feel when he walked into his synagogue?

5. What is the name of the second road the author mentions?

Short Essay Questions

1. Twice a year, the author's mother would mourn her parent's deaths. What other significance did his mother's mourning hold for the author?

2. How does the author describe his childhood perception of the distance between Brownsville and New York?

3. During the day the author's home was different than others. How was it different?

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

5. Why did the author have such a hard time when his mother, cousin and her friends started talking about "Heym?"

6. What is the nickname the author's father gave him? What is the meaning of the nickname and did the author like his nickname?

7. What was the best part of the author's school experience and why?

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

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

10. How did the author feel about his religion teachers and why?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Who does the author discover in the last section that makes the most impact on him? How does the author's discovery of this person lead him to even stronger feelings of "beyond' being attainable?

Essay Topic 2

The author speaks of his connection and disconnect with his faith. In what ways does he feel he had a lack of knowledge of faith and God? Does he feel compelled to continue his observance of the faith? What drives this?

Essay Topic 3

How much of the author's unhappiness was self-inflicted? How could he have done or interpreted things differently in his life in such a way that he would have been less resentful and more content? Cite specific examples.

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 904 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample