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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. Which directive does NOT appear on the sign that the Black Fuehrer of Harlem posts at the Iron Guard meeting?

2. Where does Helga claim she located the trunk filled with many of the narrator's things?

3. What had been the garbage man's profession before coming to America?

4. What is the actual destination that Lionel Jones arranges for the narrator and the others to go as soon as the narrator is well enough to travel?

5. How does the narrator describe the sound of the bombs dropping as he and Helga are sitting in the bomb shelter?

Short Essay Questions

1. Describe the encounter between Werner von Braun and the narrator when they meet in New York?

2. According to Frank Wirtanen, why do the Russians want to get their hands on the narrator?

3. Why does George Kraft say he wants to start a new life with the narrator and Resi?

4. Describe the scene at Jones' house after the narrator returns from his meeting with the Blue Fairy Godmother.

5. Describe the narrator's encounter with Adolf Eichmann in the Tel Aviv jail.

6. What is Resi's explanation for tricking the narrator into thinking she is her dead sister?

7. Why does the narrator say he "froze" after he is released after the raid?

8. What is the plot of "The Goblet"?

9. When the narrator returns to his ransacked attic home, what does it remind him of?

10. Describe the offensive drawing that Kraft uses for target practice. Why does the narrator say he drew the "ludicrous" cartoon, and what does he himself think about it?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Discuss nationalism and patriotism as it relates to the novel. Does the novel handle these ideas as generally good, bad, or neutral? How does the narrator feel about these issues? Be sure to use examples to support your argument.

Essay Topic 2

Discuss Resi's behavior when the narrator meets her in the music room before going to the front lines. Does Resi's behavior seem appropriate for a child her age? Why or why not? Discuss how Resi's circumstances may have affected her attitudes and behaviors.

Essay Topic 3

Some of the younger characters in the novel, such as Dr. Epstein and the narrator's Israeli-born guard, think discussing what happened in the death camps pointless or irrelevant. Discuss whether these attitudes are healthy examples of people trying to get on with their lives and not be burdened by the past or a troubling example of living in denial.

(see the answer keys)

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