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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 is in all of the boxes in the old woman's house?
2. Who asks "how are your books arranged" (231)?
3. Why does Alex lie to his brother?
4. Why doesn't Brod want her husband to go to work?
5. What does Grandfather want to do with Alex's money?
Short Essay Questions
1. In "Letter Dated 12 December 1997," what does Alex think about Jonathan's writing about Safran? Is this hypocritical? What has Alex learned?
2. What is odd about Zosha's family home?
3. Alex asks Jonathan to finish writing the chapter "An Overture to Illumination." Why? Does Jonathan do it? How can you tell?
4. Alex has changed throughout the novel. Identify how he has changed by the time he writes "Letter Dated 24 December 1997." What do you think brought about the change?
5. After reading "What We Saw When We Saw Trachimbrod, or Falling in Love," the reader might suspect that Lista was a character in her own story. Who might she be? How do you know? Why do this?
6. Why is it ironic that Safran asks his great-great-great-grandfather to not "let me hate who I become" (141)?
7. Although the novel does not say it directly, based on what is written in the Book of Antecedents, what can we assume Brod asked the Kolker to do? Why would she ask this?
8. Why does Alex lie about his sex life?
9. How does the Kolker change in "The Dial, 1941-1804-1941"?
10. The old woman tells that she must live near Trachimbrod as "punishment" (189). According to her, what is she being punished for? What does this mean to you?
Essay Topics
Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:
Essay Topic 1
Everything is Illuminated explores the idea of writing. Look at the characters in the novel who write. What genres do they use? Why do people write? What does it accomplish? Is it worth it? What is the author's purpose?
Essay Topic 2
Compare and contrast the characters of Alex and Jonathan. Think about their internal and external characteristics. Compare their approach to situations and their thoughts about the world. Also, compare their writing styles and purpose in writing.
Essay Topic 3
Compare and contrast the characters of Lista and Grandfather. Do not focus on external characteristics, as these will be obvious. Instead, think about what kind of people they are. How do they handle pain? How do they feel about forgiveness? What kinds of life choices do they make? How do they live or not live?
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This section contains 1,514 words (approx. 6 pages at 300 words per page) |
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