View a FREE sample

This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. What comforts David in Chapter Eight?

2. What is David asked to do inside?

3. What does David do to explain his departure to the parents?

4. Why does the mother want David to leave?

5. What is the woman's name?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why does David have such difficulty understanding the young boys he has come to live with?

2. Describe how David escapes the stable.

3. Explain what happens to King.

4. Why does Giovanni's wife want David to leave?

5. Describe the individuals at the farm.

6. Why does David now believe the man kept him in the concentration camp, only to take care of him and eventually let him go?

7. Explain why David doesn't like dogs, and how his friendship with King develops.

8. Why does David stop caring consciously about what happens to him, and how does he manage to keep going?

9. What does David say in his letter to Carlo?

10. What does David realize about King's actions?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

There are two strong female characters in the novel, Sophie and the mother of the children, Giovanni's wife. Compare and contrast these two women. How are they similar? How are they different? How do their backgrounds and lifestyles change the way the treat David? Whereas the mother originally sends David away, Sophie asks him to stay. What does this difference indicate about these two characters?

Essay Topic 2

Another popular theme in the novel is the power of faith, both in mankind and in God. Discuss the role faith plays in the novel, both in terms of its power to help, and its power to destroy when faith is lost.

Essay Topic 3

Throughout the novel there is reference to David's eyes. This is later linked in the novel to the eyes of Edith, his mother. Explain what people see when they look into David's eyes, in terms of why they find his eyes do unique. What in David's life has led him to show the expression in his eyes that he shows? Why does his mother have the same eyes? How does the author use this to link not only their genetics, but their experiences?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 1,092 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample