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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. What does Michael decide to do after Hanna's death?

2. What does the daughter want to keep?

3. What does Michael do after his exams, something he has not done in a long while?

4. What does Michael feel upon reading the note?

5. What is the first thing Hanna says to Michael when she sees him in Part 3, Chapter 8?

Short Essay Questions

1. What does Michael notice about himself after he is taken to the hospital with fever?

2. What does Michael do upon returning from New York at the end of Chapter 12?

3. What does Michael do to prepare for Hanna's release in Chapter 9?

4. Describe the driver Michael hitches a ride with in Chapter 14.

5. In Chapter 16, why does Michael say he "finds it unendurable to do nothing"?

6. Describe Gertrud and the relationship she develops with Michael as described in Chapter 2.

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

8. In Chapter 17, what is the atmosphere in the courtroom at the beginning of the sentencing?

9. How do the Michael's feelings about the trial become "awakened" in Chapter 3?

10. Describe what is said in the letter Michael receives from the prison warden.

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

When Michael begins to read aloud to Hanna, it starts out as an intimate activity. Give examples as to how this activity strengthens their relationship. Compare and contrast how Michael feels about reading aloud to Hanna in the early stages of their relationship to the later stages. What has changed?

Essay Topic 2

While Hanna is in prison, Michael resurrects his practice of reading to her. How does this simple act define their relationship? What does it symbolize? How is it connected to Michael's idea that Hanna has advanced from dependence to independence?

Essay Topic 3

Hanna and Micheal's relationship is immediate and intense, yet the reader only has Michael's view of their budding romance. From a literary standpoint, why might the author construct their relationship in this way? What are the disadvantages for reader, of not knowing how Hanna truly feels about Michael? The advantages?

(see the answer keys)

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