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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 kind of game do Reuven, Rachel and Michael go to?

2. Where does Reuven go the day after the fair?

3. Who calls Reuven and is acting odd?

4. What does Kalman have Reuven read aloud?

5. What does Reuven hear about Michael?

Short Essay Questions

1. Who does Reuven encounter at the library and what is the person doing?

2. How does Danny become involved with the Gordon family?

3. What happens between October and December for Reuven?

4. What does Michael tell Reuven about Michael's nosebleeds?

5. What rumors infuriate Reuven and his father?

6. What has Reuven's father completed during the Fall and early Winter?

7. What does Reuven reveal in a flashback?

8. Who does the narrator meet in Spring of 1950 that changes his view some about his religion?

9. How does Danny's father raise Danny?

10. What does Reuven say about the Hasid?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

In chapter 3, the narrator relates that Rav Kalman is a survivor of a Nazi concentration camp. Discuss the following:

1. Research and write a brief informative essay on the Nazi concentration camps of WWII. Why were they established? Who was sent to them? How many died there? How many survived? Offer your own thoughts about the concentration camps.

2. What sort of emotional and psychological damage do you think Rav Kalman could be suffering from as a result of having lived through the experience of a concentration camp?

3. Why do you think Rav Kalman came out of the camp with a still-firm faith in his God?

4. Do you think the concentration camp experience caused very many survivors to abandon their faith in God?

Essay Topic 2

Discuss the following:

1. What is a plot? What are the most important elements of a plot and their definition? Do all novels have a plot? Why or why not?

2. Write a brief synopsis of the plot of The Promise, identifying where the various elements of the plot occur (Exposition, rising action, climax, falling action, resolution or denouement). Do you find it difficult to identify the plot? Why or why not? What about the various elements of the plot?

3. Identify the major sub-plots and their elements (They may not contain every element of a major plot). Do the sub-plots add to the main plot? Why or why not. Are the sub-plots interesting in and of themselves? Why or why not.

Essay Topic 3

Characters are an integral and important part of almost all novels. Discuss the following:

1. Compare/contrast the characters of Reuven Malter and Daniel Saunders. How are they similar? How are they different? Is there a flaw in each of their personalities? Is either man's cause more worthy than the other? Be specific and give examples.

2. Compare/contrast the characters of David Malter and Rav Kalman. How do they seem different? Which do you like more? Why? Which one seems more of a well-rounded character?

3. Thoroughly analyze how three of the secondary characters help drive the plot and what their contribution is to the storyline. Are any of the secondary characters unnecessary? Indispensable? Which of the secondary characters are likable? Which are either unlikable or even despicable? Be specific and give examples.

(see the answer keys)

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