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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. To whom does Michael give Hanna's money?

2. Who does Michael meet at the cemetery?

3. What does Michael learn after a phone call at the end of Part 3, Chapter 7?

4. What is the first thing Michael notices about Hanna when he sees her in Part 3, Chapter 8?

5. What does Michael notice about the note, upon first glance?

Short Essay Questions

1. What does Michael dream about on the train from Boston to New York, on the way to visit the daughter from the trial?

2. What happens to Michael when he visits the cemetery in Chapter 3?

3. Although Michael is happy, why does he also feel sorry for Hanna?

4. What does Michael do with his own writing?

5. What does Michael decide to do for work, and why?

6. Describe the situation that happens at the restaurant in Chapter 15.

7. Of Hanna's possessions, what does the daughter decide to keep, and why?

8. What does Michael say about his relationships after Gertrud?

9. What does Michael do during the summer after the trial, as described in Part 3, Chapter 1?

10. What does the prison warden tell Michael about Hanna and her time in prison?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

The author uses an interesting technique in the beginning of the novel; he doesn't introduce the readers to Michael until Michael and Hanna formally introduce themselves. Why is this? Why might this technique be beneficial to the story? Why not? Do you think this was a conscious decision by the author? Why or why not?

Essay Topic 2

In the last chapter of the novel Michael talks about freeing himself from the story of he and Hanna. How has Michael's guilt changed from the initial stages of their relationship to after Hanna's death? How might writing their story free Michael from that guilt? Can he ever be free? Why or why not? How does Michael "make peace" with their story?

Essay Topic 3

This novel is narrated in the first person, with Michael Berg, the main character, acting as the narrator. What are the advantages of Michael narrating a story in which he is a central character? What are the disadvantages? How does the author use Michael's "flashbacks" to convey the central themes of the novel?

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