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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 object is Carulina's prized possession?

2. How many women were working in the United States in 1943, as a result of the war?

3. Who is Ninuzzu?

4. Where does Ida go to mingle with Jews?

5. What city was burned to the ground by the Nazis in 1943?

Short Essay Questions

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

2. Where is Gunther, at the start of the novel, and where is he going?

3. Who is Carulina?

4. How does Ida respond when she learns that she is pregnant with Useppe?

5. What is the general worldwide trend in the war, according to the history presented in 1943?

6. What important object does Nino lose in 1942?

7. What news does Remo bring Ida, regarding Nino and the other revolutionaries, at the beginning of 1944?

8. What health problem does Ida experience as a child, and how do her parents feel about it?

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

10. In what state is Carlo Vivaldi when he first arrives at the shelter in 1943?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

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 2

Useppe's behavior changed drastically after his mother attempted to enroll him in school. Why do these changes occur? Why does Ida begin to believe that there is something wrong with Useppe? Is she right? What caused his behavioral problems? Be sure to cite specific examples from the text to support your thesis.

Essay Topic 3

Gunther only appears twice in the novel, but plays a major role. Is he a sympathetic character? Why does the author choose to mix such pitiable qualities with such a hateful persona? Are Gunther's mistakes a result of his situation, or is he an inherently bad person? Be sure to cite specific examples from the text to support your thesis.

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 800 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample