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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What startles the narrator from his sleep at the monastery?
(a) Singing.
(b) A woman's screams.
(c) A loud argument.
(d) A gun shot.

2. How does the narrator respond to the bishop's theories on religion?
(a) "Those theories may save many souls."
(b) "Those theories would benefit from inclusion of my theory."
(c) "Those theories cannot help a man of the world."
(d) "Those theories fall short of a true God."

3. After receiving a letter from his friend in Chapter 25, who does the narrator warn when he feels a sense of danger?
(a) Zorba.
(b) He decides the feeling is nothing, so he does nothing and goes to sleep.
(c) His soldier friend.
(d) Zaharia.

4. What happens to Gavrili in the night at the monastery?
(a) He is murdered by his lover.
(b) He is raped.
(c) He thinks he hears God speaking to him.
(d) He is held hostage by invaders.

5. How does Zorba say that he gets rid of intense longings?
(a) Meditation and abstinence.
(b) Stuffing himself gluttonously with the desired thing.
(c) Self-moderation.
(d) Ignoring the passionate thoughts.

Short Answer Questions

1. What language does Zorba teach the narrator in chapter 25?

2. What happens when the first log is tested on the new railway?

3. What does Zorba ask the narrator to explain to him in Chapter 24?

4. Before going to bed the night before beginning work on the railway, what does the narrator ask Zorba if he's ever done?

5. When he arrives in Candia, what news does the narrator receive?

Short Essay Questions

1. What two major shifts happen to the narrator in Chapter 21? What major realization do these shifts spur in the narrator.

2. What does Madame Hortense actually think of Zorba?

3. What does Zorba say about the act of crying when Madame Hortense dies?

4. Describe the actions that follow after the widow enters the church at the Easter celebration.

5. As the narrator watches Zorba comfort Madame Hortense on her death bed with the others eagerly awaiting her death, what does he compare the scene to?

6. Describe the incident that prompted the monastery icon's name to be changed from Our Lady of Mercy to Our Lady of Revenge.

7. When writing letters to Madame Hortense, what does the narrator have to do?

8. How does the narrator describe eternity in Chapter 15?

9. What might be the significance of the narrator inheriting the Santuri?

10. Why does Anagnosti say that Pavli is blessed?

Multiple Choice Answer Key

Short Answer Key

1. What language does Zorba teach the narrator in chapter 25?

Dance.

2. What happens when the first log is tested on the new railway?

The whole structure shakes and the log is destroyed along the way.

3. What does Zorba ask the narrator to explain to him in Chapter 24?

Death and why people die.

4. Before going to bed the night before beginning work on the railway, what does the narrator ask Zorba if he's ever done?

Fought in a war.

5. When he arrives in Candia, what news does the narrator receive?

His friend Stavridaki has died.

Short Essay Answer Key

1. What two major shifts happen to the narrator in Chapter 21? What major realization do these shifts spur in the narrator.

The narrator finally sleeps with the widow, which Zorba has been encouraging him to do for some time. The narrator also finishes the Buddha Manuscript and with it, has the realization that he has exorcised the Buddha from himself. These two shifts make it clear to the narrator that "the soul is flesh as well," or in other words the actions of his body are just as important and spiritual as the meditating and thinking to which he is accustomed.

2. What does Madame Hortense actually think of Zorba?

Madame Hortense thinks Zorba will make a useful husband but does not think much of him above and beyond that role. She wishes also that he were as exciting and accomplished as her former lovers.

3. What does Zorba say about the act of crying when Madame Hortense dies?

He says that he isn't ashamed to cry in front of men because of the unity they share. He says that crying in front of women is different because it is a man's job to prove his courage when before women.

4. Describe the actions that follow after the widow enters the church at the Easter celebration.

Because the villagers blame the widow for Pavli's death, Manolakas leads a mob to the church when they discover that she is there. When she walks out of the church, the mob surrounds her and Mavrandoni blocks the door to keep her from going back in. The mob begins to throw stones at her, and several pull knives as well. Mavrandoni says it is his right to declare judgment and orders her to be killed. The narrator attempts to save her but trips on a rock. Zorba arrives and also attempts to save her. Momentarily, he does as he wrestles Manolakas away from her, but ultimately Mavrandoni cuts her head off.

5. As the narrator watches Zorba comfort Madame Hortense on her death bed with the others eagerly awaiting her death, what does he compare the scene to?

The narrator first compares the scene to a huge exotic bird with a broken wing that has fallen and is dying on the beach, with all of the villagers standing around watching for entertainment. Then he compares Madame Hortense to other animals as well, like an "old angora cat" and "a sick old seal."

6. Describe the incident that prompted the monastery icon's name to be changed from Our Lady of Mercy to Our Lady of Revenge.

In ancient times Algerians raided and set fire to the monastery. When they passed by the statue, it is said that she came to life, leaped down, and began stabbing the warriors with her spear until she had killed them all.

7. When writing letters to Madame Hortense, what does the narrator have to do?

The narrator must pretend he is Zorba. Therefore, he must take on Zorba's characteristics in his writings while looking for the best in Madame Hortense.

8. How does the narrator describe eternity in Chapter 15?

He describes it as being each minute that passes.

9. What might be the significance of the narrator inheriting the Santuri?

The Santuri, Zorba's musical instrument, was one of the symbols in the story of the expression of emotion outside of words. Zorba plays the Santuri in the story when he is happy. The fact that the story ends with the Santuri in the narrator's possession is an indication that he has grown closer to reaching his goal, that of a marriage between the body and spirit, and that he has attained some level of the sought after "freedom."

10. Why does Anagnosti say that Pavli is blessed?

Pavli commits suicide by drowning, and Anagnosti says that he is blessed because he is free from the object of his desire, the widow. Anagnosti claims that Pavli could not have lived happily with or without her because he had so much passion for her but now he is at peace.