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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 vice did Ida's father have?

2. Who is Rosella?

3. When Gunther is introduced, he is anticipating a trip to where?

4. What rules were created by the new ordinance which went into effect at the end of 1943?

5. What law outlines the rules regarding Jews reporting their status to the census?

Short Essay Questions

1. What happens between Ida and Gunther?

2. What does Carlo tell Nino about his past, when they first meet?

3. What does Nino do for his little brother when Useppe is very young?

4. How does the author set the stage for the novel's action, in the first chapter?

5. What is happening to the Jews in the ghetto, in 1941?

6. How does Nino treat his mother when he is 16?

7. How do Nino and Ida react to the air raid sirens in Rome, beginning in 1941?

8. Who is Signora DiSegni?

9. Who is Carulina?

10. How does Ida respond to the air raid sirens, beginning in 1943?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Ida often leaves Useppe home alone, either because she has to go to work, or because she is too ashamed to be seen with him. What effect do the long solitary hours have on Useppe? Does he seem bothered by the solitude? Why or why not? How might a child of a different disposition react to his situation? Why? Be sure to cite specific examples from the text to support your thesis.

Essay Topic 2

Clemente and the other survivors who return from the war are forever changed, and unable to tolerate those who can only imagine what they went through. In what ways are they representative of all war survivors? How do they re-acquaint themselves with everyday life, and try to get over the atrocities they witnessed? Be sure to cite specific examples from the text to support your thesis.

Essay Topic 3

The narrator uses phrases of uncertainty and first-person expressions when telling the story. Why does the author choose to do this? What literary purpose does this style of writing serve? Was it an effective storytelling method? Be sure to cite specific examples from the text to support your thesis.

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This section contains 891 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample