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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. At the wedding of Tzeitel and Motel, where do the men and women go?

2. When Tevye and Lazar meet to talk, what does Tevye think they're discussing?

3. Chava is reluctant to take the book Fyedka offers her. In the end, she _____________.

4. In the lesson that Perchik tells Tevye's daughters about Laban and Jacob, what does Laban do?

5. After teaching Tevye's daughters the story of Laban and Jacob, what does Perchik say is the moral of the story?

Short Essay Questions

1. Once the constable leaves after telling Tevye there will be some mild roughhousing by Russian soldiers coming up soon, what does Tevye say to God?

2. What does Tevye ask of Hodel and of God as his daughter prepares to join Perchik in Siberia?

3. How does Tevye respond to the information that Chava married Fyedka?

4. Even though the family is poor, why does Golde gladly allow more people to join them for the Sabbath meal?

5. Summarize the story Perchik tells Tevye's youngest daughters while they peel potatoes.

6. What does Tevye say regarding the Russians living in their village?

7. What does Tevye say to the audience as he's thinking through his decision regarding Lazar's request to marry Tzeitel?

8. What does the new arrival turn out to be, and why is everyone excited about it?

9. How do the villagers react to the shocking news the constable brings them?

10. Summarize the conversation between Chava and Fyedka inside Motel's shop.

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Describe the tenuous friendship between Tevye and the constable.

1. Explain how the fiddler on the roof serves as a perfect representation of what this friendship is built upon.

2. Discuss how each of the following figures into this unusual friendship: Humor, caution, trust, betrayal.

Essay Topic 2

Compare and contrast Motel, Perchik, and Fyedka, the men who marry three of Tevye's daughters.

1. Which one does Tevye seem to favor? Why?

2. What lessons does Tevye learn, directly or indirectly, from each of his sons-in-law?

Essay Topic 3

Explain how the times when Tevye speaks to the audience, and also to God, work well to advance the story in the absence of a narrator.

(see the answer keys)

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