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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. When Zorba and the narrator refuse Mavrandoni's offer of hospitality, what does he say about them?
(a) He says that he thinks they must be very hungry.
(b) He says they are ungrateful.
(c) He calls Madame Hortense mean names.
(d) He says they are free to choose.

2. Zorba tells the story of an old man who will what?
(a) Play a musical instrument when happy.
(b) Cook a delicious soup.
(c) Never leave Crete.
(d) Never die.

3. How does Zorba feel about women?
(a) He does not take them seriously but enjoys them physically.
(b) He feels closer to them than he does to men.
(c) He doesn't speak to them but looks constantly for a wife.
(d) He believes they are intellectually superior to men.

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

5. What does the narrator remember his grandfather doing?
(a) He had many lovers.
(b) He started a mining business.
(c) He sailed around the world.
(d) He demanded stories from his guests.

Short Answer Questions

1. What is the narrator's second goal at the end of Chapter 4?

2. What does Zorba tell the narrator he should have done before going to bed the night before in chapter 4?

3. Why does Zorba travel to town in Chapter 12?

4. What has historically impacted Crete and the Cretan people more than anything else?

5. At the feast at Noussa's house, what does Zorba say happened after he gave the toast?

Short Essay Questions

1. Describe the narrator's memory of his old friend while on their visit to the museum.

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

3. What significance does the fact that Madame Hortense is a widow have toward the theme of manliness?

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

5. When the narrator makes an attempt to get to know some of the mine workers, he begins to discuss socialism with them. Zorba does not like this. What are his reasons?

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

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

8. How does the narrator reveal that he is like his grandfather?

9. Describe Zorba's categories of marriage and how many of each he's experienced.

10. How does Zorba's version of the devil living inside him compare to Zorba himself?

Multiple Choice Answer Key

Short Answer Key

1. What is the narrator's second goal at the end of Chapter 4?

He wants to be more grounded in the physical world of men.

2. What does Zorba tell the narrator he should have done before going to bed the night before in chapter 4?

He says the narrator should have told Dame Hortense how beautiful she is.

3. Why does Zorba travel to town in Chapter 12?

To buy supplies for the mine.

4. What has historically impacted Crete and the Cretan people more than anything else?

Wars.

5. At the feast at Noussa's house, what does Zorba say happened after he gave the toast?

An orgy.

Short Essay Answer Key

1. Describe the narrator's memory of his old friend while on their visit to the museum.

The narrator's old friend told him of his love for a painting by Rembrandt; a painting he says he will owe his greatest accomplishments to. As they are leaving the museum, they see a bird land on a statue of an Amazon and begin singing. The narrator asks what it might mean, and the friend recites a few lines that encourage the narrator not to bother himself with such thoughts.

2. 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.

3. What significance does the fact that Madame Hortense is a widow have toward the theme of manliness?

Madame Hortense is a character on whom Zorba and the narrator choose instantly to rely upon for shelter. The fact that she is completely devoid of Zorba's "manliness" (as a widowed woman) and has outlived her four great lovers, admirals who could be classified as the most manly of all men, speaks to a contrasting energy of freedom neither articulated by the narrator nor by Zorba.

4. 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.

5. When the narrator makes an attempt to get to know some of the mine workers, he begins to discuss socialism with them. Zorba does not like this. What are his reasons?

Zorba believes that supervising a workforce requires complete authority. He thinks it's better if they believe they have fewer rights and that workers who feel like they are equal to their bosses will eventually take rights away from their bosses.

6. 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.

7. 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.

8. How does the narrator reveal that he is like his grandfather?

He remembers his grandfather demanding that guests tell him their personal stories of adventure so that he could experience the thrill through their stories. This is similar to the narrator in that the adventures for both occur removed from the action and inside the head and ideas of the two.

9. Describe Zorba's categories of marriage and how many of each he's experienced.

Zorba says he's been married "honestly," "half-honestly," and "dishonestly." He says that he's been married "honestly" or legally only once. He says that he's been "half-honestly" married, or in relationships similar to marriage that were not made formal and legal with a wedding, two times. He says that he's been "dishonestly" married a thousand times, and by this he is referring to every sexual encounter he's ever had.

10. How does Zorba's version of the devil living inside him compare to Zorba himself?

Zorba says that the devil is a mirror image of himself. The only difference is that the devil refuses to grow old. He also wears a red carnation behind his ear.