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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 type of coat does the narrator wear in High School?

2. What relief fund does Yoyl have to contribute to when he loses a bet?

3. What is Itsik short for?

4. Where is the setting of Hard Luck?

5. How does the Diamond dealer regard his ability to sell diamond?

Short Essay Questions

1. How does Moyshe-Nachman regard the affair of the arrest of his brother-in-law?

2. What does Motek learn from his succession of low paying difficult jobs?

3. Why does the 60-year-old man tell the narrator a long story about how someone was tricked out of money playing cards?

4. As mentioned in the Slowpoke Express, what does the narrator consider a fact?

5. Describe the appearance of Danielchik.

6. How does Danielchik treat others as a child?

7. Why does Aharon's son leave the school?

8. How do Moshke's neighbors respond when his store burns down a second time?

9. What does the term "meeting the train" mean?

10. Describe the appearance of Yoyl Tashker.

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

What is Sholem Aleichem's writing style? Discuss both the mechanical aspect of his writing and his "voice" throughout the novel. Make sure and discuss what literary tools and devices he relies on most and what specific parts of the text reflect his voice.

Essay Topic 2

How can the plot of Tevye and his family be seen as a paradigm of the fate of the Russian Jewry around the turn of the century?

Essay Topic 3

What type of dramatic or narrative structure does Aleichem utilize in "Tevye the Dairyman and the Railroad Stories"? How is this structure unique and how does it contribute to the establishment of themes?

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This section contains 668 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample