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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. About what does Professor Gordon ask Reuben?

2. Whose class is Reuven in at the opening of Chapter 6?

3. What is Rachel urging Michael to do?

4. How is Michael doing?

5. Why are the Gordons angry with Rachel?

Short Essay Questions

1. How does Danny's father raise Danny?

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

3. How does the narrator's neighborhood change in the early 1950s?

4. What do Reuven and Professor Gordon discuss about Michael?

5. What happens between October and December for Reuven?

6. About whom does Rachel ask Reuven and what is his reply?

7. What does Reuven reveal in a flashback?

8. Describe Reuven's visit with Danny.

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

10. What rumors infuriate Reuven and his father?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

In Chapter 11, Reuven is in Kalman's class, but their encounter is brief. Kalman says nothing to Reuven and Reuven feels hatred for him. Discuss the following:

1. Do you think Reuven's hatred for Kalman is justified?

2. Can this difference of ideology between Kalman and Reuven be a metaphor for the differences between any two people/groups/nations that have ideological differences? Explain fully.

3. Why do you think most people want others to believe the way they do? Is this healthy? Does it contribute to peace or conflict?

Essay Topic 2

Michael's character and his problems are intertwined with many of the other major characters. In chapter one, Michael's emotional problems are evident already. Discuss the following:

1. What foreshadowing takes place in chapter one about Michael, and where and how does the foreshadowing resolve itself?

2. Discuss which characters Michael in some way mirrors? How and why does he serve as a mirror? Give specific examples.

3. Define the concept of "foil" in a literary sense. Discuss which characters to whom Michael is a foil. How and why does he serve as a foil? Give specific examples.

Essay Topic 3

Discuss one of the following:

1. Define irony in literary terms. Discuss the irony of the situation whereby Professor Gordon is at a conservative seminary and David Malter is at a liberal seminary . Find two other incidences of irony in The Promise and discuss them.

2. Define symbolism in literary terms. Discuss the use of and meaning of five symbols found in The Promise.

3. Discuss the use of foreshadowing in literature. What is the purpose of foreshadowing? Cite 3 examples of foreshadowing and how it is used to indicate events to come in The Promise.

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