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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. In a letter, what does Benjamin Levy tell his soldier son that being a Jew is?

2. Why is it easy to find work in the Rhone Valley in 1942?

3. What does Ernie do to get the attention of the military in Drancy?

4. What musical instrument does Golda play?

5. How long does Ernie stay in the hospital?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why does Mordecai say it would be useless to leave Germany?

2. What causes Mordecai to take up a weapon against the Nazi perpetrators?

3. In Ernie's dream, what mistake does Judith make as she talks about the wedding?

4. What does the author find "admirable" about German education during the years before the Final Solution of Jewish extermination?

5. What details alert Ernie to the fact that the passengers will never leave this place?

6. How was it possible that the majority of the condemned Jews realized what was happening to them only once inside the gas chambers?

7. Why do the children scream when the boxcar stops?

8. What do the old men of The Association of Zemyock say it is useless to do with any Levy?

9. What changes does Madame Trochu make when she understands that Ernie is a Jew?

10. Why does the French army captain think that Ernie should not be allowed to continue as a soldier?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

If Ernie is the last of the 36 Just Men to exist in world history, what does this tell you about the author's hopes for the future of the world? In your essay, explain why you think he takes this position.

Essay Topic 2

The author maintains verisimilitude,which is the appearance of reality, for his story by interspersing fictional scenes with events that actually took place. In your essay, discuss this method. Select examples from the book which contributed to making the story seem like fact, rather than fiction, and tell how the author accomplishes the willing suspension of disbelief that is required for a reader to accept a fictional story as true.

Essay Topic 3

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.

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