View a FREE sample

This test consists of 5 multiple choice questions, 5 short answer questions, and 10 short essay questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. Who does Ryszard meet at a bar in a brothel?
(a) An author who wrote The Communistic Societies of the United States.
(b) An author who wrote The Streets of New York.
(c) An author who works for the London Times.
(d) An author who wrote for the New York Times.

2. What does Henryk teach Piotr when he comes to visit?
(a) Darwinism/evolution.
(b) How to bake a cake.
(c) How to shoot a gun.
(d) How to bandage a dog's paw.

3. When she is a child, what is one thing Maryna wants to grow up to be?
(a) A chef.
(b) A pilot.
(c) A soldier.
(d) A doctor.

4. What is Wanda's reason for going to California?
(a) Because her husband wants to go.
(b) Because she wants a new life.
(c) Because Maryna has asked her to go.
(d) Because she is tired of Poland.

5. Who played one of the principle roles in the first play Maryna sees in a theatre?
(a) Stefan, her brother.
(b) Carmen, her aunt.
(c) Adam, her brother.
(d) Jozephina, her sister.

Short Answer Questions

1. When do Ryszard and Julian leave for America?

2. What year do the characters leave for Zakopane?

3. What do the men purchase in the village before leaving Zakopane?

4. How many children are in Maryna's family growing up?

5. What are some of the things Maryna, Aniela, and Piotr see on their excursion from New York?

Short Essay Questions

1. Maryna relates the story of her childhood to various people in Chapter One. Discuss her childhood and the influences on her life.

2. While hiding at the celebration party, the narrator pieces together the people in the room and the subject of their discussions. What does she gather about the people in the room and the plan underway?

3. While he is in the steerage section of the ship, Ryszard is brought by a deckhand to meet a bedraggled man. This man offers his niece, Nora, to Ryszard. What kinds of emotions does Ryszard have while below the ship in steerage? How does this experience change him?

4. Why does Maryna go to Henryk's office in Chapter One? What do we learn about her brother Stefan? What do we learn about Maryna?

5. Who comes into Maryna's dressing room before the performance at the theatre in Krakow? What happens? How does Maryna react to the visitor's behavior?

6. The narrator explains that she is not particularly intelligent. What else does she say about herself?

7. Who does Ryszard meet in the lounge of a whorehouse in New York City? What is important about the introduction Ryszard makes to the man? What do the two men talk about? What important thing does the man confirm for Ryszard?

8. In Chapter Zero, the narrator gives us a picture of Maryna by quoting her saying "we must always ask more of ourselves." What conclusions does the narrator draw from this statement and Maryna's behavior at the party?

9. Maryna explains to Henryk why they are traveling to California by ship. What are the reasons? What is the faster way to get to California from New York? How does the trip go?

10. Once on board the ship, the narrator gives a detailed description of the steerage section of the ship. What is the steerage section, who travels steerage, and what stigma does it hold?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 1,298 words (approx. 5 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample