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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. How old is Rifka at the beginning of the book?

2. How does Rifka know Tovah?

3. What is Rifka's hometown?

4. What does Rifka note is missing when her rucksack is returned to her?

5. Rifka writes in her letter that her family has escaped from which country?

Short Essay Questions

1. What kind deed does Rifka do for a girl on the train to Warsaw which will have negative repercussions for her?

2. What happens when Mama, Papa and Nathan come down with typhus, and where do Rifka and Saul go?

3. How does Rifka spend her time at the hospital when she goes to see her family?

4. How is life in Russia better for Tovah than it was for Rifka?

5. Why is Rifka acting as a distraction on the train?

6. What is Saul's advice for preventing the innkeeper's daughter from eating her food in the future?

7. What is revealed about Rifka and her family, and why they had to leave Russia?

8. Describe Rifka's personality traits and which is probably her strongest trait?

9. What disease is Rifka diagnosed with in Poland and what is her prognosis?

10. What causes Rifka to scratch her chest until she bleeds in the night?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Karen Hesse is a master at dramatic devices. Choose an example of symbolism, metaphor, and irony, and briefly describe them and identify the technique which they embody.

Essay Topic 2

Even though she is not a true character in the book, what role does Tovah play in the story? Cite examples to support your answer.

Essay Topic 3

Leaving is a common theme in the story. Cite some examples of people leaving in Rifka's life and how she herself longs to leave her existence.

(see the answer keys)

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