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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 is left of Anton's old house in the Second Episode?

2. By the Second Episode, what has happened to Mr. Beumer?

3. Why does Peter want to move the body of the man who was shot?

4. After spending the night in a jail cell, where is Anton sent?

5. How does Anton travel to Amsterdam in the First Episode?

Short Essay Questions

1. After the liberation, how does Anton find out whether his parents are dead or alive?

2. What are the similarities between the author Harry Mulisch and the character Anton?

3. What do the German soldiers do to Anton's home Carefree?

4. Why is the birthday party in the Second Episode significant?

5. When returning to his neighborhood for the first time since the assault, how does Anton respond to Mrs. Beumer's invitation to come inside?

6. In the First Episode, what happens to Anton's escort on the way to Amsterdam?

7. Describe the neighborhood in which Anton grows up.

8. What are the guests talking about at the birthday party in the Second Episode?

9. When he returns to his old neighborhood, what information does Mrs. Beumer give Anton that he had not known before?

10. When Anton returns to his old neighborhood for the first time, how have his neighbors changed?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Author Harry Mulisch shares several similarities with the character Anton. What are three of these similarities? How may they have affected the way Harry Mulisch wrote "The Assault"?

Essay Topic 2

In each of the last four episodes of "The Assault", Anton meets someone who is able to tell him more about the assault. List the four characters with whom Anton speaks. What information does each give Anton? How does each encounter affect Anton?

Essay Topic 3

Just as many characters could be considered culpable of the murder of the Steenwijks, many also deal with guilt. Choose three characters from the Assault and answer the following questions.

1) What part does the character have in the night of the assault?

2) Why does the character consider himself or herself guilty?

3) How does the character deal with that guilt?

(see the answer keys)

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