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This test consists of 5 multiple choice questions, 5 short answer questions, and 10 short essay questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What is Josef's father's profession at the start of the novel?
(a) Reporter.
(b) Lawyer.
(c) Tailor.
(d) Doctor.

2. When the narrative rejoins Josef in 1939, each member of the family is now wearing what item?
(a) A red jacket.
(b) A prisoner number placard.
(c) A Star of David armband.
(d) A Star of David tattoo.

3. Risking his life by running through gunfire back to the car, Mahmoud's father retrieves what object from the car?
(a) A flashlight.
(b) A stuffed rabbit.
(c) A gun.
(d) A cell phone.

4. Isabel knows that Ivan and his father are actually building a boat in order to travel where?
(a) To the United States.
(b) To Mexico.
(c) To the Dominican Republic.
(d) To Canada.

5. To what concentration camp is Josef's father sent whee he is taken into "protective custody" (3)?
(a) Bergen-Belsen.
(b) Auschwitz.
(c) Dachau.
(d) Buchenwald.

Short Answer Questions

1. Who takes on the role of being "in charge of the boat" (81) on which Isabel and her family are traveling?

2. Before leaving Mahmoud and his family so they can get some sleep, what item does the boy tell them they must procure before the next leg of their trip?

3. When Josef and the children are below deck during their ship tour, Schiendick and his friends begin to sing a song with anti-Semitic lyrics. What is the subject of the song?

4. Even though Fidel Castro announces to the Cuban people that they are now free to leave Cuba whenever they want, why is Isabel's mother still especially wary about the trip?

5. In response to Lito's claim that Isabel is giving up her Cuban identity by leaving, Isabel's mother tells him that "Miami is just" (102) what?

Short Essay Questions

1. What is the clave?

2. What is ironic about Josef's feelings following his bar mitzvah?

3. How does Josef view the difference between life on the ship above decks and life on the ship below decks?

4. Why does Mahmoud's family choose Germany as a place to run to when they leave Syria?

5. What revelation does Lito make to Isabel about Miami, Florida, at one moment in the journey?

6. What U.S. policies change and make it harder for Cuban people to seek refuge in the United States?

7. Why do Josef and the other kids on the ship tour become uneasy when they hear some members of the crew singing "The Horst Wessel Song" (95)?

8. What does Mahmoud buy for his little brother Waleed at a shop in the Turkish refugee camp and what does he hope to achieve with his purchase?

9. Why does Isabel feel awe in response to the riots in Cuba in addition to fear?

10. How is irony employed within the author's choice of the material that lines Isabel's boat?

(see the answer keys)

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