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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 happens in 1968, which is the opening to Book I?

2. How old is this site?

3. What is "Bearing False Witness"?

4. What about Jakob does Alex have difficulty accepting?

5. What does Jakob sense one day?

Short Essay Questions

1. What thoughts does Jakob have about the Catalan Atlas and history?

2. How does Jakob end up in Greece?

3. What incident does Ioannis relate, and of what does it remind Jakob?

4. Why do Athos and Jakob go to Athens and in what condition is Greece?

5. What does Athos do and say before he and Jakob leave for Canada?

6. What often causes Athos to become depressed or angry?

7. Who is Athos and what does he pass on to Jakob?

8. How does Athos cause Jakob to understand the power of poetry?

9. What does Athos teach Jakob to cook, and why does Jakob stop going to the grocery store?

10. What did Jakob Beer witness as he hid in the bog?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Jakob emphasizes that he does not see the horrors that visit European Jewry during World War II while he is living in Greece. He endures hardships on Zakynthos and lives in constant fear of the door being bashed in, as had happened in his home in Poland. All of Zakynthos's Jews are saved from the Nazis through the courage of the Christian mayor and archbishop. By comparison, most of the Jews on nearby Corfu perish by drowning or in concentration camps.

1. Discuss what affect the constant fear with which Jakob lives would have on a young boy. Use examples from your own life and "Fugitive Pieces" to support your answer.

2. Discuss reasons you think some people like the mayor and Bishop tried to help the Jewish people and others did not. Use examples from your own life and "Fugitive Pieces" to support your answer.

3. Discuss, in depth, the concept of courage as it relates to the mayor and the archbishop. Use examples from your own life and "Fugitive Pieces" to support your answer.

Essay Topic 2

Discuss the following:

1. Who is/are the protagonists of the story and why?

2. Who is/are the antagonists of the story and why?

3. Which 3 secondary characters have the greatest impact on the plot?

4. Are any of the characters dispensable and which ones? Why or why not?

5. Do you think this is a character-driven plot or an action-driven plot? Explain.

Essay Topic 3

Discuss the following:

1. What do you think are the characteristics of a successful novel?

2. Analyze and discuss "Fugitive Pieces" based upon the criteria you decide upon in #1 and judge if it is a successful novel.

3. Do you think the criteria for a successful novel should be different if it is written for adults versus young adults? Why or why not? Would most adults consider "Fugitive Pieces" a successful novel? What about young teens?

(see the answer keys)

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