View a FREE sample

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

Short Answer Questions

1. The author preferred the movie house over the synagogue, why did he favor the movie house?

2. What was all work measured by in the author's childhood home?

3. In what battle did the brother of the author's cousin go missing?

4. In Brownsville, what room of the house was the largest and most important?

5. What did the author spend his school days staring at in fear and anxiety?

Short Essay Questions

1. What is the third street the author mentions in "From the Subway to the Synagogue" and what is it's significance?

2. What are some of the memories the author has about his place of worship?

3. Which of the buildings in Brownsville that has been demolished holds the most fond memories for the author and why?

4. In the middle of the first section, 'From the Subway to the Synagogue', what is the first street the author mentions and how does he describe it?

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

6. The author's mother was a dressmaker. What was her process of creation?

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

8. Who does the demolished part of the author's childhood neighborhood remind the author of and why was she so important to him?

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

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Shame is a recurring theme in the book. Using examples from the book, describe the 2 main causes for the author's shame.

Essay Topic 2

In the group that he joins, the author meets two young men who make a significant impact on him. Who were the members and what details about these members and their surroundings drew the author in? What aspects of these characters distanced him?

Essay Topic 3

In what ways did the author choose to escape his daily life? Why did the author feel he needed to escape and why is he "walking" through a time when he felt the need to escape? What is he trying to escape from that he wrote the memoir/

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 984 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample