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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 item falls out of Josef's pocket and is stomped on by a member of the Hitler Youth?

2. What type of Jewish ceremony do the people on Josef's ship hold during the journey?

3. In order to avail themselves of the smuggler's help, Mahmoud and his family must first make it to what city on the coast of Turkey?

4. The horrific historical event called Kristallnacht means what in the English language?

5. When Shabbos arrives, the bulletin board on Josef's ship announces that the social hall will be converted into a what?

Short Essay Questions

1. How is the the ship Josef's family boards shown by the author to be paradoxical?

2. How is Isabel's kitten used by the author to send a message about hunger and fear?

3. What are the only items that Isabel and the other passengers on the tiny boat have room to bring with them on the journey to Florida from Cuba?

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

5. 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?

6. What is the author's purpose for characterizing the Nazis terrorizing Josef's family as "shadows"? (1)

7. What qualities of Senor Castillo's lead to his role as the leader on the boat?

8. How does Mahmoud feel about invisibility?

9. What event is just about to happen when the motor of Isabel's family's boat splutters and dies?

10. How does Josef feel about invisibility?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

William Faulkner once famously claimed that the most important literature deals with the subject of the human heart in conflict with itself. Explain how the theme of The Individual versus Society is demonstrated within Alan Gratz's Refugee.

Essay Topic 2

Analyze the author's focus on the theme of cultural identity. What message is the author sending about cultural identity and how does the author get across this message to the reader?

Essay Topic 3

Discuss the author's choices to tell the story of Refugee using the third-person omniscient point of view and to focus on three different child refugees across the narrative. What elements of the novel's themes lend themselves to these choices and what is the author's intended effect on the reader?

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