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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 was the author afraid of?

2. Where was the turn off to "all things good" the author's sixteenth summer?

3. Mr. and Mrs. Solovey had children, what were their children?

4. How did the author feel it meant to be a Jew?

5. What did the author rejoice to see in his kitchen?

Short Essay Questions

1. There were many things the author liked about David's home. What was the one thing that truly made the house stand out to him?

2. How did the author feel during the summer of his first job?

3. When the author went to visit a friend in New York who lived in a brownstone, what did he discover?

4. What was it about the Solovey's that had the entire neighborhood intrigued?

5. What did the author spend much of his time doing when he wasn't reading or in school?

6. What are the author's main means of escape in this section?

7. What was the reaction of the person who read the author's final high school paper?

8. What did the second hand furniture shops remind the author of?

9. The author was given a book and the giver was surprised. Why was she surprised?

10. What did the author write his final high school paper on?

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

During the Jewish Sabbath the author's mother and the three dressmakers talk of their home and the traditions. What key elements of home do the women discuss and how did those elements differ from the modern society? When the three dressmakers talk of their "freedom" from the traditions of the neighborhood, what are they talking about? What emotion are they searching for and why do the author's parents feel this is an unattainable goal?

Essay Topic 3

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

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This section contains 875 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample