View a FREE sample

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

Short Answer Questions

1. When Yakov envisions himself wresting with the Tsar, they continue to wrestle until the Tsar declares himself to be __________________.

2. What offense does Proshko accuse Yakov of when he gives his statement to the secret police?

3. What does Yakov use to keep track of the days in his cell?

4. Who does the local anti-Semite group accuse of committing the murder?

5. One night, Yakov wakes up from a nightmare and realizes why he is so sick. Why?

Short Essay Questions

1. After Yakov is discovered digging at the concrete and becomes despondent, he finally realizes something that the officials want. What do the officials want?

2. Why does Yakov steel himself to live instead of wanting to die?

3. As spring continues on, Yakov is no longer allowed to make his trips to the kitchen. Why?

4. After Yakov's chains are removed and he is waiting to meet with his new attorney, what is Yakov wondering about?

5. Describe the later years of Yakov and Raisl's marriage.

6. Why does Yakov debate returning the next day to the home of the person he found passed out in the snow?

7. When Yakov tells his visitor that he is being held in jail because he lied about his papers, how does the visitor respond?

8. As Yakov shivers in his cell in deepest despair, how does he view himself in relationship to the Tsar?

9. When Yakov shares his story regarding why he is being held in prison, why do his cellmates beat him?

10. What is Yakov reminded of as he wonders what might have happened if he simply had stayed in the shtetl?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Discuss the Nikolai character at the beginning of the book after Yakov saves his life. What is Nikolai's motivation? What drives him? Then, discuss this same character when he provides false testimony when questioned by the police about Yakov. What is Nikolai's motivation then? What is driving him? How do the events that happen between these two personalities change Nikolai's character from someone the reader likes - or perhaps feels sorry for - into a character the reader begins to hate? Who is Nikolai at the end of the story?

Essay Topic 2

Malamud uses this story to demonstrate how wrong it is to hate people for their religious beliefs and backgrounds. Examine the author's beliefs through his storytelling. Why would the author choose this story to overlay his demonstration of the consequences realized when acting out of hatred? What do you learn from the author's discussion on hatred? What other avenues, if any, could the author have used to express his beliefs? Would those avenues have been as effective as the story? Why or why not?

Essay Topic 3

Clearly, anti-Semitism plays a central role in the development of the characters and the plot of the story.

a. Define anti-Semitism and describe what anti-Semitism is and what it is not.

b. How does the author use anti-Semitism to develop his characters and the story's plot?

c. Why does the author use anti-Semitism in the story? What does the author hope to gain?

d. How might the story have been impacted if the anti-Semitism piece had been completely left out? Would the story have been richer? More dramatic? Why or why not?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 897 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample