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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. Who does Zebedee assign to bring Andrew home?

2. What does Jesus do when he is slapped?

3. What does Andrew lecture Zebedee and the other men about?

4. What does Jesus's mother recall as he passes her, carrying the cross that he built?

5. What is Abbot Joachim's last speech about?

Short Essay Questions

1. What happens between Jesus and Mary Magdalene at sunset, on Jesus's first night in Magdala?

2. Where does Jesus go in Chapter 6?

3. What occurs between Judas, Zebedee, and Philip when they meet in Capernaum during the storm?

4. What does Jesus say to comfort the poor in Capernaum, who look to him for guidance?

5. Why is Abbot Joachim dying?

6. What is the Curse?

7. Why does Judas decide not to kill Jesus at the monastery?

8. How does Jesus meet Zebedee?

9. How does Jesus's mother feel when she sees Jesus carrying the cross at the beginning of the novel?

10. What does the Zealot do immediately before and during his crucifixion?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Matthew writes one account of Jesus's genealogy, but he is forced by an angel to change what he has written, so that it is in accordance with prophecy. How does Matthew feel about doing so? Why? How does Jesus feel when he reads it? Why? Why does the angel force Matthew to lie? What is Kazantzakis trying to say about his views on scripture? Be sure to cite specific examples from the text to support your thesis.

Essay Topic 2

Jesus praises Nathaniel for giving an answer that goes contrary to the law because the law goes contrary to Jesus's heart. What does Jesus feel is wrong with the existing laws? How does he propose fixing them? What, specifically, does he disagree with? Why? Is there a difference between something that is legal and something that is just? If so, what is it? Be sure to cite specific examples from the text to support your thesis.

Essay Topic 3

Mary Magdalene is an important character in "The Last Temptation of Christ." Why is her character so prominent, when she is merely a peripheral character in scripture? How is her relationship with Jesus in the novel different from their relationship in scripture? Why? How does her prominence, as a character, reflect on the events of Jesus's life? Be sure to cite specific examples from the text to support your thesis.

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