This test consists of 5 multiple choice questions, 5 short answer questions, and 10 short essay questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. Who do Zorba and the narrator stay with on their first night on the island?
(a) A village elder.
(b) A monk.
(c) A young boy.
(d) Dame Hortense.

2. At the feast at Noussa's house, what does Zorba say happened after he gave the toast?
(a) An extravagant meal.
(b) An orgy.
(c) A candle lighting ceremony.
(d) A concert.

3. What act has Zorba performed that symbolizes the connection between freedom and manliness?
(a) He carried everyone's bags onto the ship.
(b) He cut part of his ear off because it was larger than the other.
(c) He brutally killed hundreds of people in the revolution.
(d) He cut part of his finger off because it got in the way of his pottery.

4. In regards to food, what three categories does Zorba say that the three different types of men turn their food into?
(a) Sex, work, and fat.
(b) Love and kindness, manure and energy, and gluttony.
(c) Fear, love, and God.
(d) Fat and manure, work and good humor, and God.

5. In a letter to the narrator, Zorba indicates that he has a devil living inside of him who is like Zorba in every way except what?
(a) It does not like romance.
(b) It refuses to grow old.
(c) It loves philosophy.
(d) It has warts.

Short Answer Questions

1. Who does Zorba meet while in Candia?

2. What does Zorba mean when he describes being married "dishonestly"?

3. With what does the narrator compare his lustful feelings for the widow to?

4. What incident on the beach mellows the narrator's restlessness?

5. What does Zorba do when he hears his boss talking to the workmen?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why is the narrator going to Crete?

2. Describe the narrator's relationship with his old friend.

3. How does the narrator describe Zorba the first time he sees him dancing?

4. Describe Zorba's only account of his heart being broken.

5. How does the fact that Zorba is missing half of his finger relate to his connection between manliness and freedom?

6. How does the narrator's memory of the butterfly impact his feelings about approaching the widow?

7. What reasons does Zorba give in Chapter 9 for so intensely wanting the narrator to go and sleep with the widow?

8. Explain the parrot's role in the life of Madame Hortense and her guests.

9. How does the narrator try to get the widow out of his mind at the beginning of Chapter 10?

10. What kinds of responsibilities does Zorba take on at the initiation of his friendship with the narrator.

Multiple Choice Answer Key

Short Answer Key

1. Who does Zorba meet while in Candia?

A young woman.

2. What does Zorba mean when he describes being married "dishonestly"?

Any sexual adventure.

3. With what does the narrator compare his lustful feelings for the widow to?

The temptation of Buddha by the Evil One.

4. What incident on the beach mellows the narrator's restlessness?

He accidentally kills a butterfly.

5. What does Zorba do when he hears his boss talking to the workmen?

He throws his boss out of the mine.

Short Essay Answer Key

1. Why is the narrator going to Crete?

The narrator is curious about the adventurous life his friend preached to him. He is going to Crete to experiment with such a life by renting a lignite mine and thus engaging more with the physical world. His overall goal in these actions is to find freedom through a marriage of the mind and body.

2. Describe the narrator's relationship with his old friend.

The narrator and his friend have a deep connection and love for one another. However, the connection is largely unspoken as the two men often argue rather than express emotion to one another. The soldier friend is more of an adventurer than the narrator, and often teases the narrator for being such a bookworm. The two men contrast one another; the narrator is more of a philosopher who is focused on a higher power, while the friend is a soldier who believes in living his life for his fellow man and his nation. The connection between the two men, despite their differences, is clear in their agreement to send mental messages to one another if they sense danger. This obviously indicates that they believe strongly in their connection and friendship.

3. How does the narrator describe Zorba the first time he sees him dancing?

The narrator says Zorba looks like he is wearing rubber shoes. He also says that Zorba's soul looks like it is trying to fling his body like a meteor into the darkness.

4. Describe Zorba's only account of his heart being broken.

Zorba met a woman named Noussa ten days after leaving the village of his previous lover. Noussa invited him to her house for a feast at which Zorba gave a toast. After this, the lights went out and a massive orgy began. He lost Noussa in the midst of the orgy but found her the next day, and they remained together for 6 months. She then eloped with a soldier and broke Zorba's heart.

5. How does the fact that Zorba is missing half of his finger relate to his connection between manliness and freedom?

Zorba says that he cut part of his finger off because it got in the way of making pottery. He argues that anything that gets in the way of man doing what he wants should be removed. Because it takes a great deal of physical and mental courage to remove a body part, the connection for Zorba is strong.

6. How does the narrator's memory of the butterfly impact his feelings about approaching the widow?

The narrator had attempted to help the butterfly emerge from the cocoon by blowing warm air on it. Doing this made the butterfly emerge too quickly and die. The narrator realizes while meditating on this memory, that an individual must "confidently obey the eternal rhythm." He knows, in turn, that he can't speed his relationship with the widow and must let it unfold naturally.

7. What reasons does Zorba give in Chapter 9 for so intensely wanting the narrator to go and sleep with the widow?

He says that women need men to sleep with them and protect them; that it is a part of a greater plan. He says she will be ruined if a man does not go and sleep with her. He also says that not taking the opportunity to sleep with her is one sin that God will not forgive.

8. Explain the parrot's role in the life of Madame Hortense and her guests.

Hortense's parrot is a constant reminder of Madame Hortense's greatest love. As a possession, it has been trained to say Canavaro's name repeatedly and therefore to challenge the immediacy of Zorba's manliness.

9. How does the narrator try to get the widow out of his mind at the beginning of Chapter 10?

The narrator views the widow as a temptation of the Evil One and focuses on writing his Buddha Manuscript in order to exorcise her image and the lust he feels for her from his mind. To him, his writing is comparable to the force of savages facing beasts with their spears.

10. What kinds of responsibilities does Zorba take on at the initiation of his friendship with the narrator.

Zorba agrees to act as foreman of the lignite mine. He also promises to cook the narrator soup and play him music on his santuri.