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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. After fixing up the apartment, Nikolai offers Yakov another job. Where is the job located?

2. What is the name of the prisoner sent to talk to Yakov?

3. What is the name of the secret police member who introduces himself to Yakov as the man in charge of the investigation?

4. Even though Yakov is desperately ill and not allowed access to the prison hospital, the prison doctor does tell him how to be cured. What is the doctor's advice?

5. According to the boy's mother, what does Zhenia see when he looks in Yakov's apartment?

Short Essay Questions

1. When Yakov is returned to prison and then meets with the prosecutor, the prosecutor offers him a lighter sentence in return for what?

2. After Yakov's chains are removed and he is waiting to meet with his new attorney, what is Yakov wondering about?

3. Looking back on his marriage to Raisl, why does Yakov now believe that it was a mistake to marry Raisl?

4. Why is Yakov's visitor miserable living in the shtetl?

5. When Yakov reaches the river, the boatman has to convince Yakov to accept the ferry ride. How does the boatman convince Yakov?

6. As Yakov shivers in his cell in deepest despair, how does he view himself in relationship to the Tsar?

7. What does Yakov think about as he rides in the carriage to the courthouse?

8. As winter nears, Yakov hopes to be indicted. Why?

9. According to Yakov's visitor in prison, why is he known as the "nameless Jew"?

10. Even though Yakov keeps track of the days, he's not completely sure he's right. Why not?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Compare and contrast the warden with the deputy warden.

a. How are the two characters similar in terms of their professional lives? How are they different?

b. How are the two characters similar in their personality characteristics, strengths, and weaknesses? How are they different?

c. Only one of these characters survives the story. Is the deputy warden's death a result of his own doing or a result of dumb luck? Is the warden's survival a result of his own doing or a result of dumb luck? Support your reasoning for both.

d. Looking forward, how might Yakov's incarceration and subsequent trial have affected each of these men as they moved forward with their lives? Would they be similarly affected or not? Explain your answers and your reasoning.

Essay Topic 2

The book is entitled, "The Fixer". Why does the author choose this title? How does the title foreshadow the struggles Yakov faces, the overarching political climate, and the determination of Yakov to keep busy while incarcerated?

Essay Topic 3

Discuss the Nikolai character at the beginning of the book after Yakov saves his life. What is Nikolai's motivation? What drives him? Then, discuss this same character when he provides false testimony when questioned by the police about Yakov. What is Nikolai's motivation then? What is driving him? How do the events that happen between these two personalities change Nikolai's character from someone the reader likes - or perhaps feels sorry for - into a character the reader begins to hate? Who is Nikolai at the end of the story?

(see the answer keys)

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