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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. Why does Michael tell Hanna he is proud of her?

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

3. According to the prison warden, once Hanna learned to read, what did she request?

4. As of Part 3, Chapter 7, how long has Hanna been in prison?

5. What does Michael feel the notebook is testament to?

Short Essay Questions

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

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

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

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

5. How does Michael react after reading the letter in Chapter 7?

6. Describe the prison warden, and the exchange she and Michael have when Michael comes to the prison and finds out Hanna has committed suicide.

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

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

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

10. What does Michael do with his own writing?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

What does Hanna's actions on the night of the church bombing say about her character? Or her behavior while being questioned by the judge? Is Hanna a sympathetic character? Why or why not?

Essay Topic 2

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?

Essay Topic 3

In Part 1, Chapter 5 Michael says that he recognizes a life pattern in himself, and that "often enough in my life I have done things I had not decided to do." What does Michael mean by this? Describe and give examples of the disconnect Michael feels between making a decision and completing an action. How does this act as a foreshadowing of Michael's later behavior?

(see the answer keys)

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