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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. How does Elena manage to keep Jonas with them?
2. What made Lina angry about her conversation with her father?
3. What does Andrius do and Lina and Jonas go along?
4. What does Ona finally agree to do?
5. What is a kolkhoz?
Short Essay Questions
1. What happens in Vilnius?
2. What does Lina's father say to Lina?
3. Where does the truck go after Lina's family is on it and why does it go there?
4. What does Lina keep from her mother about Kostas?
5. What happens to Ona?
6. Who does Lina recognize on the truck and what does one prisoner do and what happens to him?
7. What does the bald man say about Hitler, and what does Lina think about it?
8. Who introduces himself and what does he say about his father?
9. What does Lina notice as the train is pulling away from the station?
10. What happens one day when it is Lina's turn to take the buckets for the food and water?
Essay Topics
Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:
Essay Topic 1
Titles often play a vital role in making a person decide to read a particular book. Discuss the following:
1. Fully explain why you think "Between Shades of Gray" is titled as such. Do you think it is the best title for the book? Why or why not? Can you think of a better title? Why would you choose it?
2. How important is a title in influencing you to consider reading a book? Explain your answer.
3. Do you think a title needs to have direct relevance to a book's content? Explain your answer.
4. Have you ever read a book that when you finished, you do not understand the relevance of the title? Does it discourage you from "trusting" that particular author again?
Essay Topic 2
At one point, Lina expresses her hatred for Kretsky and her mother's reaction is immediate and painful. She grabs Lina by the arm and tells her to stop judging him. Elena says that Kretsky is "just a boy," and that no one knows what he's going through. The doctor who insists the soldiers take care of Lina and the others is able to make the demands because the soldiers are dependent on him to give the camp his approval. He makes it clear he won't do that unless they abide by his demands. Kretsky was likely punished or even killed for having alerted the doctor to the situation. His fate is not revealed. Discuss the following:
1. Is Elena's ability to not judge a matter of wisdom acquired with age, or do you think she is naturally a compassionate human being? Do you think Lina learns the lesson her mother offers about not being judgmental?
2. Does any person have the right to judge another? How does one know all the details of the other person's life enough to judge that person? Relate your answer to incidents in Between Shades of Gray.
3. There is a quote from the Christian texts that says, "Judge not lest you be judged yourself." Discuss what you think that may mean.
Essay Topic 3
The fact that the priest is issuing last rites as the train pulls away from the station is a significant indication that others know what's happening to those on the train. This is another question that's asked repeatedly about the atrocities performed by Stalin and Hitler. Why didn't people object? There isn't an easy answer and this question, like the question of why so many went quietly to their deaths, is left to the reader to decide. Discuss the following;
1. How much power does an individual have to end atrocities such as that demonstrated in "Between Shades of Gray"?
2. What characters intervene in the misuse of power and how do they do so? What is the outcome?
3. Do individuals have a moral obligation to try to stop the misuse of power? What about in small ways, such as dealing with a bully?
4. Compare the misuse of power by a dictator to that by a school bully. How are they alike? Different? Is it likely a dictator was a bully as a young person?
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This section contains 1,225 words (approx. 5 pages at 300 words per page) |
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