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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. The old woman who knows about Trachimbrod also knew Jonathan's grandfather, Safran. What does she ask Alex to tell Jonathan?

2. Who does Safran go see after he finds the Gypsy girl in his home?

3. When does the old woman want out of the car?

4. At the end of "The Dial, 1941-1804-1941," Brod tells Kolker that she loves him and "for the first time in her life, the words had meaning" (139). Why do the words have meaning now?

5. When the old woman's father was told to do something or his wife would be shot, what did he do?

Short Essay Questions

1. 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?

2. What is odd about Zosha's family home?

3. Why does Grandfather ask Alex for money and what does Alex say in return? Will Alex give him the money?

4. Safran muses "the more you love someone . . . the harder it is to tell them" (234). What is he referencing? Is this true? Why?

5. Why does Alex lie about his sex life?

6. Why do women fall in love with Safran?

7. Is Jonathan a reliable narrator? Defend your response.

8. 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?

9. With everything that has happened to Jonathan, Alex, and Grandfather, even Grandfather goes through some significant changes. In "An Overture to Illumination," Grandfather makes the waitress apologize to Jonathan. Why? What is different about Grandfather? How and why has he changed?

10. Why does Alex send back the money that Jonathan sent him? Why is he angry?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Alex is always asking Jonathan for forgiveness for everything from trivial things to important, life-altering events. Why is Alex always concerned with forgiveness? Who else is concerned with forgiveness? What does this say about Alex's character? Is Alex someone who needs forgiveness? Defend your response with the text.

Essay Topic 2

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?

Essay Topic 3

This novel is a historical fiction, which means that even though the story itself is not true, some of the events or people involved are real. For example, there most likely was never a Safran and if there was, he probably was not writing love notes to a Gypsy girl. However, the war that is in in the newspapers from which Safran cuts the letters out did happen. World War II did come to the Ukraine and many Jewish people were killed as they were in the novel. Research the Ukraine's involvement in World War II. When was it invaded? What happened to the Jewish people? What happened to the Gypsies? What did it do the Ukraine? What is the Ukraine like today? Answer these questions in a research paper. At the end of your research, analyze the accuracy of Foer's novel.

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