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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 does Danny Saunders tell Reuven when he visits him at the hospital in Chapter 3?

2. What is a Jewish term referring to one who does not have a share in the world to come?

3. What does Reuven’s father refer to as discussion about the Talmud that has no relationship to the world in Chapter 6?

4. Whose eye must be removed at the end of Chapter 4?

5. What was responsible for causing Billy’s blindness in the novel?

Short Essay Questions

1. What does Reuven’s father reveal to Reuven about his condition and surgery in Chapter 2?

2. What is foreshadowed through Reuven’s inner thoughts and considerations returning home from the hospital in Chapter 5?

3. What is demonstrated by Danny’s interests in psychoanalysis in the novel?

4. How does Reuven respond to the information he learns about Billy in Chapter 9? What symbolic imagery is described at the end of this chapter?

5. What conversation do Reuven and Danny have about Reb Saunders in Chapter 7?

6. What does Reuven discover about Billy Merritt in Chapter 9?

7. How does the relationship between Reuven and Danny evolve in Chapter 3?

8. What is significant about Danny’s and Reuven’s aspirations within their synagogues in Chapter 3?

9. What two things does David Malter say the Talmud says a person should do for himself in Chapter 4?

10. How are the differences between Reuven and Danny explained to Reuven by his father in Chapter 6?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Discuss the theme of identity in the novel. How is identity developed thematically in Reuven and Danny? How does it apply to the character of Reb Saunders? What symbolism reflects this theme in the narrative?

Essay Topic 2

Discuss the theme of psychology in the book. Why is Danny drawn toward the study of psychoanalysis? How does Reuven differ in this regard? What does Danny’s interest in psychology cause conflict within his family and culture?

Essay Topic 3

Define literary motif and discuss the motif of silence illustrated in the novel. What different silences are described by the narrator? What do they symbolize to him? What does silence mean to Danny and Reb Saunders?

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