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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. Where does Saul find a place for him and Rifka to stay?

2. What kind of fruit does Rifka buy from the vendor at the steamship dock?

3. What disease does Rifka have?

4. What is Rifka's prognosis according to the medical student?

5. Rifka writes her letter while on a train bound for which country?

Short Essay Questions

1. Where is Rifka sent for her ringworm treatment and what organization is shepherding her through the process?

2. What is Uncle Avrum's role in helping Rifka's family escape on the train?

3. Why will the steamship company not sell a ticket to Rifka for passage to America?

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

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

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

7. What lie does Rifka tell to the guards on the train in order to quell their suspicions?

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

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

10. What is Rifka doing as the novel opens?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Write a character sketch of Rifka. Be sure to include both physical and emotional characteristics as well as personal motivations, fears, etc.

Essay Topic 2

There are several events of foreshadowing in "Letters from Rifka". Define foreshadowing. Cite at least two situations in the story that serve as foreshadowing.

Essay Topic 3

Write a character sketch of Nathan. Be sure to include both physical and emotional characteristics as well as personal motivations, fears, etc.

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 809 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample