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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 belief about Jews did the author grow up with?

2. What did the women of Brownsville force their children to do?

3. What trait did the author's mother posses that she was most ashamed of?

4. How did the author feel about being confirmed?

5. How did the author feel about his Hebrew classes?

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

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

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. What is prohibited on the Jewish Sabbath?

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

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

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

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

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

How do his relationships with the last few people, including his parents, help the author to reach his ultimate goal? What is the author's goal? How does the accomplishment of the goal suggest that the ending of this book isn't an ending but a beginning?

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

When the author talks about his longing for "beyond," what does he mean and how does he feel he can accomplish this goal? Please make sure to include examples from the text in addition to your own ideas.

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