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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 Ernie's moustache cause him to resemble?

2. What penance does Ernie impose upon himself for not loving the farmer's wife who took him in?

3. What does Ernie believe is the most painful foretaste of death?

4. What does the aide request of the SS officer?

5. Why were the passengers in the freight car hoping for rain?

Short Essay Questions

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

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

3. To what does Ernie attribute Golda's modest wishes?

4. What happens to Ernie in the infirmary where he is put to recover from his torture session?

5. Why does Benjamin Levy say that to be a Jew is impossible?

6. Why does Ernie compare himself to a cat?

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

8. Why do the SS men torture Ernie for his request to enter the camp at Drancy?

9. What surprising request does Ernie make of the gendarmes at Drancy?

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

All stories are either plot-driven, relying upon the action of the story to maintain interest, or character-driven, where the most important story element is the changes that take place in the lives of the characters. In your essay, tell whether you think The Last of the Just is plot-driven or character-driven. Substantiate your position with examples and illustrations from the text.

Essay Topic 2

The author spends a large part of the book establishing a genealogy for Ernie that places him as the last of the Just Men. In your essay, select some of Ernie's ancestors and explain how the characteristics they demonstrated in their lifetimes are apparent in his actions.

Essay Topic 3

Everyone in Ernie's family has a different view of God and what the deity will or will not do for humans. In your essay, discuss the contrasts among the various understandings of God.

(see the answer keys)

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