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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 description does the author give Belmont Avenue?

2. Where was city land all around Brownsville? What were those pieces of land used for?

3. Where does the author step off the train when he first enters Brownsville?

4. What did Mrs. E do when she abandoned her housework for a half hour every morning?

5. How did the author feel about the women who sat around his dinner table on Friday nights?

Short Essay Questions

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

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

3. 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?

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

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

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

7. 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?

8. Why didn't the author believe his cousin and her friends were of his parent's generation?

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

10. How has the author's childhood neighborhood not changed?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

In specific detail from the book, list important objects from the author's childhood kitchen and their role in his daily life and the energy of the home.

Essay Topic 2

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.

Essay Topic 3

During the Jewish Sabbath worship, the author's family did something that was unorthodox. What was that practice and what was it's impact on the family? Explain the emotions and expressions the author's family had.

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