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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. In what month does Asher meet with Jacob Kahn for the first time?

2. In Chapter 11, Asher mentions that which character has passed away?

3. Where does Jacob Kahn take Asher for the summer?

4. Jacob Kahn takes Asher to the Metropolitan Museum of Art to look at various paintings of which subject?

5. To whom is Jacob Kahn referring when he mentions the "old Spaniard"?

Short Essay Questions

1. How does Jacob Kahn talk to God?

2. What does Aryeh look like in Chapter 12, after Rivkeh has spent several years with him in Europe?

3. Why does Asher begin carrying messages for the Rebbe?

4. What does Asher do for the summer while Jacob Kahn campaigns for Kennedy?

5. How do the strangers at the art show react to the Brooklyn Crucifixions?

6. Describe the person with whom Asher stays in Florence.

7. In Chapter 13, Asher's understanding of his mythic ancestor changes. What does Asher realize about him?

8. Describe Asher's surroundings while he lives with Jacob Kahn in Provincetown.

9. What is the illness that forces Jacob Kahn into bed for a few days?

10. Describe the Brooklyn Crucifixions.

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Why does Asher have to move to Paris after his community sees the Brooklyn Crucifixions? Do you think Asher was right to leave Brooklyn, or do you think he should have publicly defended his work? Why?

Essay Topic 2

By the end of the book, the Rebbe believes that Asher has gone too far in his artwork and is now hurting those who love him, although he claims to understand Asher's work. Do you think the Rebbe would have preferred Asher to stay within the acceptable limits of the Ladover Hasidic faith? What do you imagine a reasonable Ladover Hasidic artist would paint? Try to imagine and explain some symbols other than the crucifixion that Asher could have used to convey ultimate suffering, symbols that would have been better received by Asher's community.

Essay Topic 3

Throughout the novel, the question arises whether Asher's art is from the Ribbono shel olom, which is a name for God, or from the sitra achra, which is a name for the forces of evil. Asher himself wonders at various times what the source of his art is. Provide some reasons why Asher's art may possibly come from each source, and then explain whether you think Asher's art sides with good or with evil. If you think his art is completely neutral, explain why. Use specific examples from the novel.

(see the answer keys)

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