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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 international communications discussed most prominently in Chapter 7?

2. What has changed at the Academy in Chapter 7?

3. In what country does Halim work?

4. What does Ostrovsky pose as in the second half of Chapter 5?

5. What are Jerry and VIctor doing in Chapter 8 when Jerry makes a pass at him?

Short Essay Questions

1. How is the training divided up in Chapter 2?

2. What are the consequences of the botched Cypress assignment in Chapter 8?

3. What is Victor's last cadet exercise?

4. Describe the awkward interaction between Jerry S. and Victor in Chapter 8?

5. Why did Golda Meir issue death warrants for Black September in Chapter 9?

6. What communication training do cadets undergo in Chapter 2?

7. How is the head of Black September connected to Akbar in Chapter 9?

8. How is the Cypress mission botched in Chapter 8?

9. Describe the web of recruits related in Chapter 4.

10. How do Ostrovsky's first assignments go in Chapter 5?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Throughout the first part of By Way of Deception, Victor Ostrovsky clearly is uncertain about the morality of his participation in Mossad. By the end of this part, the author has become completely disillusioned by the agency. Write an essay focusing on Ostrovsky's alienation from Mossad.

Part 1) Discuss the initial interviews, tests and lessons of Ostrovsky's time in Mossad officer training. What does he feel about the moral bending he is required to undertake? What does he feel about the conspiracy theorizing of the agency? How does this illustrate his relationship with Mossad from the beginning?

Part 2) Explore the awkward interaction in Chapter 8 between Ostrovsky and Jerry. How does this interaction illustrate the lack of honor in the agency? Why does Ostrovsky react so violently against it, and what is unnerving about the Mossad's reaction to the incident?

Part 3) Discuss the moment at which Ostrovsky is forced to leave the Mossad. What grand mistake does he make, and what different forces compel him to this failure? To what extent does Ostrovsky seem to be set up? How does this illustrate his innate separation from the agency?

Essay Topic 2

One of the operational tools of the Mossad in the novel is vice, in the form of prostitutes, booze, and pornography. Write an essay on the use of vice by katsas to bring recruits on board. Cite specific examples from the text. How does sex and debauchery appeal to the type of individual they want to recruit? How does the pleasure of the forbidden provide a still-stronger hold on the recruit than a more sensible form of compensation?

Essay Topic 3

Over the course of Ostrovsky's novel, the author makes clear that Mossad relies on recruits who may or may not know they are helping Israel. These recruits are often put into grave danger and sometime die or disappear. Write an essay about three instances of Mossad recruits being endangered.

Part 1) Analyze the use of prostitutes in the Iraq operation described in the Prologue. Why are prostitutes employed? What information do they help elicit from Halim? Discuss why a prostitute is killed at the end of the operation. What did her death serve to accomplish?

Part 2) Discuss the recruitment of Magid and Jadid in Chapter 12. What information do these men have, and what is its value to Mossad? Explore whether the brothers know who they are helping. What danger do they face? How is Jadid compensated for the danger he faces?

Part 3) Explore the Libyan agent who is recruited in Chapter 17. What information does this agent provide the Mossad? What operations does it aid, and how do Israeli agents attempt to protect him? What is the Libyan agent's ultimate fate?

(see the answer keys)

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