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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 hairstyle does the narrator admire that Soraya wears?

2. Who had been Noa's father's second-in-command in archaeological digs when she was a child?

3. Who does Noa meet at the rabbi's house when she goes to drop off the papers?

4. Who reminds the narrator of Soraya years after the narrator's contact with Soraya?

5. Who says something to Brodman loudly at the Bris that makes Brodman uncomfortable?

Short Essay Questions

1. What is the narrator's strange dream in the beginning of the story "I Am Asleep but My Heart is Awake"?

2. What understanding passes between the bride and Noa about parents during their brief meeting?

3. As an elderly man, what is Brodman's own assessment of the job he did as a father to two daughters?

4. Why does Brodman take his infant grandson to the roof at the end of the story?

5. What conclusion does the narrator in the story "I Am Asleep but My Heart is Awake" come to about her father's feelings for New York and Tel Aviv?

6. When does the narrator of "Switzerland" start to realize Soraya might actually be in real danger?

7. What difference of opinion do Noa and her sister Rachel have about Leonard's and Monica's divorce?

8. What does the narrator initially think of Boaz when he shows up unexpectedly at her father's apartment?

9. What does the narrator seem to gather about Boaz's trip that she follows him on in the story "I Am Asleep but My Heart is Awake"?

10. When and how does Soraya's relationship with the Dutch banker come crashing down?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

In the story "The Husband," what initially makes Tamar so angry at hearing her mother's story of her visit from social services in Tel Aviv, during which she is told her long-lost "husband" has been found? Why does Tamar get so angry at this? Write an essay explaining your answers, citing specific references to the text to help support your conclusions.

Essay Topic 2

Write an essay comparing and contrasting the narrator's and the famous landscape architect's feelings about and approaches to nature in the story "In the Garden," citing specific references to the text to help support your answers.

Essay Topic 3

In several stories in the collection, Krauss introduces newborn infants into characters' lives and family situations. Write an essay analyzing Krauss's use of infants and newborns as plot devices and/or foils, citing specific references to the text to help support your conclusions.

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