Write an essay about By Way of Deception as a chronicle of one man's journey to moral understanding. Discuss Victor's life prior to his recruitment to Mossad. Why does he decide to join the agency? How does his training begin a process of disillusionment? Explore his years in the service. Is he largely successful? Why, in the end, does Ostrovsky leave the agency? How does he feel about Mossad after the fact?

Essay Topic 2

Throughout the first part of By Way of Deception, Victor Ostrovsky clearly is uncertain about the morality of his participation in Mossad. By the end of this part, the author has become completely disillusioned by the agency. Write an essay focusing on Ostrovsky's alienation from Mossad.

Part 1) Discuss the initial interviews, tests and lessons of Ostrovsky's time in Mossad officer training. What does he feel about the moral bending he is required to undertake? What does he feel about the conspiracy theorizing of the agency? How does this illustrate his relationship with Mossad from the beginning?

Part 2) Explore the awkward interaction in Chapter 8 between Ostrovsky and Jerry. How does this interaction illustrate the lack of honor in the agency? Why does Ostrovsky react so violently against it, and what is unnerving about the Mossad's reaction to the incident?

Part 3) Discuss the moment at which Ostrovsky is forced to leave the Mossad. What grand mistake does he make, and what different forces compel him to this failure? To what extent does Ostrovsky seem to be set up? How does this illustrate his innate separation from the agency?

Essay Topic 3

The chapters of By Way of Deception often begin by presenting an operation from the point-of-view of an outsider. In this way, the reader is incrementally made aware of the true motivation behind seemingly innocuous actions. Write a three-part essay about this chapter structure.

Part 1) How is the reader introduced to the character of Halim in the Prologue? Discuss the process by which the Mossad makes contact with him. How does the reader become aware of which character is a katsas and what the Mossad wants with Halim? How does the reader exist in the same narrative space as Halim does?

Part 2) How is the reader introduced to the character of Magid in Chapter 12, and how are we made aware of his intelligence importance? Chart the journey this character takes during the chapter. Does he ever realize that he has been working for the Mossad? If not, how does the reader become aware?

Part 3) In Chapter 15, how does Ostrofsky initially present the resort that is used to shelter Ethiopian Jews. What is the initial picture painted of the resort? How does this understanding of it cloak its true purposes? Discuss the process by which the author reveals the true nature of the resort.

(see the answer keys)

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