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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. By what age had Aaron read enough to realize that his father's safe sermons did not resemble the courage required in the world?

2. What color are Bridgette's eyes?

3. How many times was it rumored that Diego da Costa Mendes had gone courting since his wife's death in Chapter 16?

4. In Chapter 14, what month was it?

5. From where did Daniel Lusitano send Mendes a letter in Chapter 16?

Short Essay Questions

1. What did Mendes and ben Israel's father suffer together?

2. How did Isaac die?

3. What does Aaron look like when Helen sees him in the rare manuscripts room in Chapter 15?

4. In Chapter 14, what did Mendes say about Spinoza?

5. What did the letter propose that Ester burned in Chapter 12?

6. In Chapter 15, how did Helen learn of Dror's death?

7. Why did Rabbi Mendes write Rabbi ben Israel in Chapter 2?

8. What does Helen say about her conversation with Jonathan Martin about the Easton documents?

9. How does Helen learn that Mendes's scribe was a woman?

10. In Chapter 9, why does Helen simply walk away from the assessor from Sotheby's?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Ester meets John Tilman when she is acting as Mary’s chaperone. What type of relationship do Ester and John have? Why does their relationship end?

Essay Topic 2

Both Helen and Ester have regrets about how they have lived their lives. What regrets do the women have? How do those regrets affect their lives and how they live?

Essay Topic 3

In the novel, some characters are more thoroughly described than others. Who are some characters that are merely named in passing or have a minor role in the novel? What is the importance of these flat characters to the story line? In what way do these characters make the main characters more colorful or interesting? When there is conflict, what type of role do these flat characters play?

(see the answer keys)

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