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

Multiple Choice Questions

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

2. What makes the narrator want the widow even more?
(a) He has a brush with death.
(b) He gets a letter from a family member.
(c) He reads a love story.
(d) He learns to mine.

3. Why does the narrator say that the sexual organs may get in the way of freedom?
(a) He says that being promiscuous can keep a man from going to heaven.
(b) He says that the need to have children keeps people from living full lives.
(c) He says that clothing that doesn't fit correctly restricts freedom.
(d) He says that sexual thoughts can keep a person from being productive.

4. Who were Madame Hortense's four great loves?
(a) Four admirals from England, France, Italy, Russia.
(b) Four thieves from Crete.
(c) Four chefs from Italy, France, Spain, and Poland.
(d) Two pilots from America and two from Germany.

5. What does the narrator do when Zorba displays frustration with the miners?
(a) He leaves the mine without speaking.
(b) He fires several miners.
(c) He calls a lunch break.
(d) He fires Zorba.

Short Answer Questions

1. What reason does the narrator give in his argument that Zorba should not pressure him to visit the widow?

2. How many places does Zorba set the dinner table for on their first night on Crete?

3. What part of the narrator's friendship with his absent friend is he sad about?

4. What is the ultimate physical experience for Zorba?

5. What does the narrator request of Zorba when he remains in Candia for longer than expected?

Short Essay Questions

1. When Zorba tells the story of the old man who will never die, what does this show about his own and the narrator's perspectives on life and death?

2. At the conclusion of Chapter 2, do you think Zorba or the narrator has a more realistic outlook on how to live life?

3. 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?

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. Why is the narrator going to Crete?

7. Describe the painting that Zorba presents to Madame Hortense.

8. What does Zorba represent in the story?

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

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

Multiple Choice Answer Key

Short Answer Key

1. What reason does the narrator give in his argument that Zorba should not pressure him to visit the widow?

Acting impulsively is against his nature.

2. How many places does Zorba set the dinner table for on their first night on Crete?

3

3. What part of the narrator's friendship with his absent friend is he sad about?

The two argued rather than expressing love.

4. What is the ultimate physical experience for Zorba?

Sex.

5. What does the narrator request of Zorba when he remains in Candia for longer than expected?

He requests that he return immediately.

Short Essay Answer Key

1. When Zorba tells the story of the old man who will never die, what does this show about his own and the narrator's perspectives on life and death?

Neither the narrator nor Zorba come to a conclusion about how one should live one's life. Zorba clearly lives as though each day is his last, in opposition to the old man in his story. The narrator is uncertain and contemplative about life and death and seems to change his mind slightly as he is influenced by different thinking.

2. At the conclusion of Chapter 2, do you think Zorba or the narrator has a more realistic outlook on how to live life?

I think that they have very different perspectives as distinct as two different languages. Zorba's outlook might be easier on a day-by-day basis as his doesn't require a lot of thinking through of various options and looks directly to instinct and passion. The narrator's perspective might be the more "realistic" however, in that it takes a much broader look at the many elements and their complex arrangements which come together to inform life.

3. 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.

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. 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.

7. Describe the painting that Zorba presents to Madame Hortense.

The painting has four huge battleships on it in red, gold, gray, and black, each with a flag from one of four countries: England, France, Italy, and Russia. Leading the battleship as a siren was Madame Hortense, naked with a yellow ribbon around her neck and holding four strings attached to the ships.

8. What does Zorba represent in the story?

Zorba represents a man who lives for the physical world and ultimately for the individual self in that world. He is an agent of instinct and lacks theoretical reason for his actions. For the narrator, Zorba is a potential symbol of freedom in the narrator's quest to find freedom.

9. 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.

10. 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.