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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 worrying Mother back in New Rochelle?
2. What does Tateh have that finally makes them money?
3. Where are the immigrants ushered as they enter New York Harbor?
4. What does Father notice as the expedition sails out of the harbor?
5. What does Father manufacture?
Short Essay Questions
1. What infatuation comes over Mother's Younger brother?
2. What idea does Tateh have that makes them money.
3. What does Tateh notice about The Girl on their train trip.
4. Who are the famous psychologists who visit New York at this time and what is their reaction?
5. What does The Boy recover from the trash?
6. How are Tateh and The Girl rescued from being separated?
7. Why is Houdini thrown out of Bellevue Hospital?
8. What is the nature of Evelyn's testimony in Harry's trial?
9. What does the Franklin Novelty Company do with Tateh's books?
10. What is the gossip about Evelyn's disappearances to visit The Girl?
Essay Topics
Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:
Essay Topic 1
On their trip out of New York, Tateh observes a completely different country from what he had known in New York. Doctorow says that for the first time Tateh began to think he might be able to live in America. Use examples of what Tateh and The Girl see on their trip that are so different from anything they had ever seen in New York and explain how those sights began to change Tateh's outlook on America. Then look at Freud's visit to New York and what they force him to go see. Give your opinion as to whether Freud might have had a different opinion of America if he had seen the more rural side of the country.
Essay Topic 2
Write your opinion of E. L. Doctorow's writing style. Include such things as his omitting quotation marks and writing in very short sentences. Cite specific passages in the novel that you think either did or did not convey (1) the feeling of the characters, (2) the imagery of the day, (3) the suspense of the plot, or any other concept you feel the novel addresses. How much does Doctorow's use of fictionalized real characters add to the interest of the novel?
Essay Topic 3
Write about Harry Houdini's fixation on finding a way to communicate with his dead mother. The attachment of Houdini to his mother is a documented fact. He also spent the rest of his life looking for someone who could make contact with the dead. In the process he became an authority on fakes and charlatans who claimed special powers to channel the dead. In your paper, explain why you think Doctorow used Houdini as a major character in the book? Point out the societal changes that were happening at that time that Houdini symbolizes.
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This section contains 725 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) |
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