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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. What is the skinny man's profession?

2. Who does Ida want Helen to marry?

3. How much money does Frank borrow from Sam Pearl to re-open the store?

4. What does the doctor listen to?

5. Who smelled the gas first?

Short Essay Questions

1. Describe Helen and Frank's arguments about sex, and how they are resolved.

2. How does Frank intend to beat the Norwegians?

3. How does Ward die?

4. Describe Ward's last meeting with his father. How does it make you feel about Ward?

5. How does business at the store change? What does Frank do to try and help it?

6. How does Helen feel about her father's funeral, and his life?

7. What options are left open for the Bobers and their store?

8. How does Morris view his luck in this chapter?

9. What happens to Karp's liquor store? How does Morris feel about it?

10. How does Morris nearly die? Who saves him?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Write an essay describing the process of bankruptcy in your country. Be sure to address:

1) The history of bankruptcy and origins of the word.

2) The basic process of bankruptcy for a small or large business.

3) How Morris Bober viewed the threat of bankruptcy, whether or not he considered it an option, and why.

4) The current bankruptcy rate in your country, and the main factors behind the statistics.

Essay Topic 2

Write an essay on the life choices made by character in THE ASSISTANT. Be sure to address:

1) Themes and examples of regret and missed opportunities.

2) Examples of good and bad life choices made by characters in the novel.

3) The message you feel Bernard Malamud is communicating to readers regarding life choices.

Essay Topic 3

Write an essay on the topic of poverty, choosing your own focus for the subject. Recommended points to touch upon are:

1) The prevalence of poverty in the industrialized world.

2) Current policies and programs in place for fighting poverty, and their level of effectiveness.

3) Policy ideas for tackling poverty.

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 927 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample