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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 do Asher and his family spend their summers?

2. At the end of Chapter 6, three new Jewish families move to Asher's neighborhood from which country?

3. In which summer activity do Asher's parents never engage?

4. After feeling unable to correctly tint the shadows of Rivkeh's cheek with a pencil, Asher uses what object to create the color of shadow?

5. The Lev family doctor warns Asher about the lead in which color of paint?

Short Essay Questions

1. What does Asher know about his paternal grandfather?

2. Yudel Krinsky mentions several differences between Russia and the United States. What is one difference?

3. What happens to the Russian writers? How do the Levs react?

4. At the beginning of Chapter 4, Asher draws Stalin many times. How do Aryeh and Rivkeh react to Asher's renewed interest in drawing?

5. What does the mashpia do at Asher's school?

6. When Asher first meets Jacob Kahn, what advice does Jacob give him concerning becoming an artist?

7. Explain the Rebbe's opinion of Asher's desire to be an artist.

8. Why does Rivkeh want to enter the university?

9. What happened to Yudel Krinsky in Russia? Describe some of his life before coming to the United States.

10. In Chapter 6, Rivkeh takes Asher to the Parkway Museum (also called the Brooklyn Museum). Describe their experience there.

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Describe the Rebbe's relationship with his people. How would you react if you had to ask a leader for permission to make important decisions? How do the Levs react to the Rebbe's wishes?

Essay Topic 2

World view is an important topic in this novel. For example, Jacob Kahn views the world as an artist, while Aryeh views the world as an observant Jew who obeys his rabbi. Choose a character and explain how his or her world view drives his or her actions and thoughts.

Essay Topic 3

Jacob Kahn feels that it is necessary for Asher to learn to paint nudes. What do you think Asher's artistic education would have lost without learning to paint nudes? What value is there in that activity? Explain.

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