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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 children buy from the Syrian vendors?

2. The author likened his parents and himself to something rather simple. What did he liken them to?

3. What political way of thinking did the author's parents practice?

4. The author didn't associate his school years with learning, what did he associate them with?

5. How did the author feel about being confirmed?

Short Essay Questions

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

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

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. Describe what happened at the drugstore after the author's childhood therapy session.

5. What time of day was the loneliest for the author's mother and why? What brought her out of her loneliness?

6. What was the author most embarrassed about during his school years? What made those years worse?

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

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

9. What kind of geographies does the author describe in the last part of 'From the Subway to the Synagogue'? What do describing these geographies lead to?

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

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

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?

Essay Topic 3

The author's mother is the glue that holds their family together. What qualities does she possess that give her this position in the family and how does it effect the author?

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