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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 was the cryptonym for the Council to Aid the Jews?

2. What animal is thought to be the cause of the death of much of Napoleon's army?

3. What did the villa Guests do to let Jan know they did not like the way he was treating Antonina?

4. What caused Rys to be hospitalized in the winter of 1943?

5. What condition does the author speculate caused Antonina to be bedridden?

Short Essay Questions

1. How did Zegota member Janina Buchholtz hide the presence of false papers in her office?

2. How did Magdalena Gross get the cryptonym “Starling”?

3. Why did Jan and Antonina carry cyanide pills with them?

4. What did Feliks Cywinski do periodically to hide the fact that he was rescuing Jews?

5. Why did Jan talk to Rys as though he were a soldier when he confronted the boy about his plan to bomb a haystack?

6. Why was Antonina confined to bed for several months?

7. How was Mrs. Walter helping Jews to hide?

8. Why did Rabbi Shapira think it was important for Jews in the Ghetto to commune with nature?

9. Why was Fox Man’s offer of a bookkeeping job so important to Maurycy Fraenkel?

10. Why does Ackerman describe Wicek the rabbit as a “fat, furry thug”?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Music is mentioned frequently in The Zookeeper’s Wife. Write an essay that discusses the importance of music in Antonina’s life and how she used it to help her Guests endure the war.

Essay Topic 2

Ackerman describes the zoo in detail before it is destroyed during the war, and also describes the damage that is done as a result of the war. Write an essay explaining the importance of the way in which Ackerman describes the zoo as the book begins and how the zoo changes as the story unfolds. How do the changes to the zoo affect the people who call it home?

Essay Topic 3

Ackerman writes about the location and history of Poland prior to World War II. Write an essay explaining why Poland’s location made it a target of the German army and how the history of Poland affected the way the people of Poland dealt with the war and the Holocaust.

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 767 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample