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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. How does Rifka feel when she realizes that the item in #29 has been stolen from her rucksack?

2. Where are Rifka's family members taken when they get ill?

3. Rifka recalls a time when Russian soldiers beat Papa because he would not give up his ____________.

4. Rifka writes in her letter that her family has escaped from which country?

5. What is Rifka's prognosis according to the medical student?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why is Rifka acting as a distraction on the train?

2. Why will the steamship company not sell a ticket to Rifka for passage to America?

3. What is revealed about why Rifka and her family had to leave Russia?

4. What does Rifka tell Tovah about her role in the family's escape plan?

5. What lie does Rifka tell to the guards on the train in order to quell their suspicions?

6. How does Rifka spend her time at the hospital when she goes to see her family?

7. What is Saul's advice for preventing the innkeeper's daughter from eating her food in the future?

8. What disease is Rifka diagnosed with in Poland and what is her prognosis?

9. How is life in Russia better for Tovah than it was for Rifka?

10. What is Uncle Avrum's role in helping Rifka's family escape on the train?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Explain how Rifka's book of Pushkin poetry serves as a powerful metaphor in the story. Be sure to include the perspective on the book both before and after Rifka's arrival in America.

Essay Topic 2

What is the point of view of the story? What are the benefits and the limitations to this particular point of view?

Essay Topic 3

What important life lessons does Rifka learn from little Ilya? Explain.

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 742 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample