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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 a Just Man do with the pain of others, according to Mordecai?

2. How does Ernie reflexively defend himself against the bullying of the Pimpfe?

3. When assigned the part of a Jew, what does Ernie refuse to do?

4. What does Mordecai believe is the significance of being Jewish?

5. Why does Benjamin decide not to tell his wife that he is a Just Man?

Short Essay Questions

1. What drama takes place between Judith and Fraulein Blumenthal as children are born?

2. Why do Mordecai and Judith decide that Benjamin is like a mosquito?

3. What does Ernie think as he is surrounded by the Pimpfe bullies?

4. Why doesn't Ernie sing with his class when Herr Geek orders him to do so?

5. How is Benjamin received by the Jews in Stillenstadt?

6. What does Ernie do to ease the emptiness in his heart after the beating?

7. What rationale does Rabbi Yom Tov Levy offer for the mass murder and suicide he instigates?

8. How does Judith recognize Mordecai as a Just Man?

9. What "mysterious" change takes place in Benjamin after Mordecai and Judith join him in Stillenstadt?

10. What things does Mordecai believe to be incomprehensible?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Schwarz-Bart includes a number of characters who represent wide segments of society in Europe in the 1930s and 1940s. In your essay, select two or three characters such as the nurse in the infirmary, the farmer's wife, the young Galician, or Herr Geek and explain what purpose they serve in presenting the reader with a panoramic viewpoint of the culture at that time.

Essay Topic 2

Covering a sweeping time period, Schwarz-Bart draws some scenes in great detail. For your essay, select a scene such as the one where Ernie is hurt so badly by Frau Turszynski's torment that he has to step forward to protest, or the scene where he has a normal childhood conversation with a German peasant child. Explain what your scene contributes to our understanding of Ernie and the world in which he is living.

Essay Topic 3

Authors write for many purposes such as to entertain, to inform, to persuade, or some combination of these. In your essay, explain which purpose you believe motivated Schwarz-Bart to write this story. Use specific examples from the book itself to substantiate your opinion.

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