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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 kinds of animals does Fra Antun say come to the crossroads and carry rabies when Natalia insists on staying in Chapter 10: "The Crossroads"?

2. Where does Fra Antun describe Arlo going camping in the year before the war with several boys in Chapter 10: "The Crossroads"?

3. What kind of hat does Natalia describe Zora wearing as she stood in solidarity with the people guarding the zoo in Chapter 11: "The Bombing"?

4. The abandoned village that Natalia follows the man from the crossroads to in Chapter 13: "The River" was supposedly abandoned after what war?

5. In what area near the crossroads does Fra Antun insist that Natalia stay when she insists on staying overnight in Chapter 10: "The Crossroads"?

Short Essay Questions

1. What mission does Natalia accept during the diggers' ceremony in Chapter 8: "The Heart"? Why does she undertake this mission?

2. What does Natalia anticipate happening when she keeps vigil overnight in Chapter 10: "The Crossroads"? What does she encounter at this setting?

3. How does Natalia describe her grandfather's legacy amongst his peers in the novel's Epilogue?

4. How did the apothecary and Blind Orlo make a living, according to the narrator in Chapter 12: "The Apothecary"?

5. What information leads Luka to return to Galina in Chapter 7: "The Butcher"? What is Luka's objective in returning?

6. What led the apothecary to attempt to help the tiger's wife, according to the narrator in Chapter 12: "The Apothecary"?

7. How does Natalia describe the actions of her fellow citizens and of the zoo animals during the bombing raids in Chapter 11: "The Bombing"?

8. What is Natalia asked to promise in the conclusion of Chapter 13: "The River"? What is her response?

9. Who does Luka intend to marry in Chapter 7: "The Butcher"? How would you describe the basis of Luka's relationship with his fiancee?

10. What is revealed of the apothecary's childhood and early adulthood in Chapter 12: "The Apothecary"?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Discuss the parallels between the narrative's three male orphans. Consider and comment on the similarities in their childhood circumstances, their interests and values, their adult experiences, and the circumstances and meanings of their deaths. What has led each of these characters to be orphaned? How did their abandonment influence them growing up?

Essay Topic 2

Discuss Rudyard Kipling’s The Jungle Book. When was this book published? Who are the main characters in the story? What does The Jungle Book symbolize to Natalia’s grandfather? Who gave him the book? What does the lack of the book in the grandfather’s personal effects represent to Natalia?

Essay Topic 3

Many, if not most, of the characters and/or narrative lines in this novel manifest a complex relationship between truth, secrets and lies. How is this theme explored through the story of Luka, Jovo, and the blacksmith’s hunting of the tiger in Chapter 4: “The Tiger”? How is this theme seen through Natalia’s character?

(see the answer keys)

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