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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 does Isabel do just before Ivan's body is buried at sea?
(a) She touches Ivan's chest.
(b) Nothing, since she is too overcome with grief.
(c) She gives Ivan a hug.
(d) She kisses Ivan's forehead.

2. Why is Lito alarmed when a passenger shoots at the sharks in the water with his pistol?
(a) Lito thinks that Luis looks like he is having a mental breakdown.
(b) Lito is worried that the sharks' blood will bring a greater number of sharks.
(c) Lito is worried that in his anger, Luis will hit a passenger by mistake.
(d) Lito does not want the group to waste their bullets.

3. Mahmoud's family makes the decision not to wait in Athens to acquire what items?
(a) Work permits.
(b) Passports.
(c) Official travel permits.
(d) Visas.

4. When Captain Schroeder assures the passengers of Josef's ship that they will not return to Germany, what other plan does he say he will be enacting?
(a) The ship will next try to seek refuge in the Dominican Republic.
(b) The ship will cruise the Canadian coast, appealing to the Prime Minister.
(c) The ship will cruise the American coast, appealing to President Roosevelt.
(d) The ship will attempt to let the passengers off on the island of Lesbos.

5. When Mahmoud and his family finally reach Greece, no one is celebrating and Mahmoud says he knows why. What reason does Mahmoud give for the refugees' lack of celebration?
(a) Too many of them had lost loved ones in the sea on the way over.
(b) They have heard that Greece has decided to return all Syrian refugees to Syria.
(c) They know that the most dangerous leg of the trip is still to come.
(d) They are too tired to do much of anything.

Short Answer Questions

1. For whom does Josef tear his clothing in recognition of his own loss of the person?

2. When Isabel's boat is sinking and all the passengers are bailing furiously, what kind of craft approaches them suddenly?

3. While trying not to look at Ivan's lifeless body, Isabel thinks about the fact that who has "Ivan's blood all over him" (224)?

4. When Josef's ship's engines roar to life for the first time since arriving in a Cuban harbor, where do the passengers believe the ship will be going next?

5. What does Ivan's mother Señora Castillo do just before Ivan's body is buried at sea?

Short Essay Questions

1. How are the roles of father and son reversed within the scene when Schiendick leaves Josef and his family alone in their cabin after tormenting them?

2. What occurs when Isabel and her family realize they have landed on the Bahamas?

3. How does Josef's mother's plan for getting a sleeping potion for her husband Aaron go awry?

4. What plans for his life in Florida does Señor Castillo reveal to the remaining passengers in the boat after Ivan's death?

5. For what reasons does Lito take on the role of leading Ivan's funeral ceremony?

6. What details does Isabel remember about her grandmother Lita's death?

7. How do Mahmoud and his family reach the Serbian border on their journey fleeing Syria?

8. What happens to Mahmoud's family on the way from Belgrade to the Hungarian border?

9. What change occurs in Josef's mother's personality once the MS St. Louis leaves Cuba?

10. What does Isabel mean when she thinks that "Fidel Castro has Ivan's blood all over him" (224)?

(see the answer keys)

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