![]() |
Name: _________________________ | Period: ___________________ |
This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.
Short Answer Questions
1. What did the Jewish vendors sell roasted potatoes, baked apples and knishes from?
2. The author stopped at the neighborhood drugstore to have lunch one day. While eating his sandwich, some of it fell into a pile of dust. How did this make the author feel?
3. How did the Jews greet the Sabbath?
4. What trait did the author's mother posses that she was most ashamed of?
5. What is the name of the second road the author mentions?
Short Essay Questions
1. In the middle of the first section, 'From the Subway to the Synagogue', what is the first street the author mentions and how does he describe it?
2. What is the third street the author mentions in "From the Subway to the Synagogue" and what is it's significance?
3. What are the author's favorite memories from the first street in pages 'From the Subway to the Synagogue',?
4. What is the nickname the author's father gave him? What is the meaning of the nickname and did the author like his nickname?
5. Who does the demolished part of the author's childhood neighborhood remind the author of and why was she so important to him?
6. Which of the buildings in Brownsville that has been demolished holds the most fond memories for the author and why?
7. During the day the author's home was different than others. How was it different?
8. How does the author describe the second street he remembers and what is it's name?
9. In what ways did the kitchen hold the author's mother's character?
10. Twice a year, the author's mother would mourn her parent's deaths. What other significance did his mother's mourning hold for the author?
Essay Topics
Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:
Essay Topic 1
How much of the author's unhappiness was self-inflicted? How could he have done or interpreted things differently in his life in such a way that he would have been less resentful and more content? Cite specific examples.
Essay Topic 2
During the Jewish Sabbath the author's mother and the three dressmakers talk of their home and the traditions. What key elements of home do the women discuss and how did those elements differ from the modern society? When the three dressmakers talk of their "freedom" from the traditions of the neighborhood, what are they talking about? What emotion are they searching for and why do the author's parents feel this is an unattainable goal?
Essay Topic 3
A continuing theme in the book is of light and darkness, both literal and metaphorical. Please give examples from the book how this is portrayed. What other ideas could be connected to the idea of light and dark?
This section contains 1,035 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) |
![]() |