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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. Rifka has a nightmare that people are trying to steal _____________________.

2. Who is Rifka's uncle who helped her family escape?

3. Which one of Rifka's family members is the first to get ill on the train?

4. A nurse throws a/an _____________ substance on Rifka and her mother.

5. What does Saul buy every morning for his and Rifka's breakfast?

Short Essay Questions

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

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

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

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

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

6. What is missing from Rifka's rucksack when it is returned to her and how does she feel about the loss?

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

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

9. What humiliating things are forced upon Rifka and her family by the guards and a doctor at the Polish border?

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

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

Explain how Rifka's book of Pushkin poetry serves as a powerful metaphor in the story. Be sure to include the perspective on the book both before and after Rifka's arrival in America.

Essay Topic 3

"Letters from Rifka" is a classic coming-of-age story. What does that classification entail? Why does this book fit into this category?

(see the answer keys)

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