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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 does Michael keep in the notebook?

2. What does Michael's companion tell him about on the way to their destination in Part 2, Chapter 14?

3. What is Michael's daughter's name?

4. How old is Michael's daughter when he and his wife divorce?

5. What does Michael believe the person from the cemetery will ask him about the trial?

Short Essay Questions

1. What happens to Michael when he visits the cemetery in Chapter 3?

2. In Chapter 17, how does Michael describe Hanna at her sentencing?

3. Describe the situation that happens at the restaurant in Chapter 15.

4. What happens when Michael goes to talk to the judge in Chapter 16?

5. What does Michael do during the summer after the trial, as described in Part 3, Chapter 1?

6. In the beginning of Chapter 12, right after Hanna's death, what does Michael decide to do? Why?

7. Of Hanna's possessions, what does the daughter decide to keep, and why?

8. Describe the prison warden, and the exchange she and Michael have when Michael comes to the prison and finds out Hanna has committed suicide.

9. How does Hanna respond to Michael's questions about the trial and their relationship?

10. What does Michael dream about on the train from Boston to New York, on the way to visit the daughter from the trial?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

In Part 3, Chapter 1, Michael describes a "German fate." What is the German fate? How does Michael equate the pain of his love for Hanna to his own German fate? How does their relationship parallel the generational conflict in Germany?

Essay Topic 2

In Part 2, Chapter 14, Michael has an exchange with a man who gives him a ride to the concentration camp. How does their conversation illustrate the disconnect between Michael's generation and that of his elders? How are their opinions about the war and justice similar, and how do they differ?

Essay Topic 3

In Part 1, Chapter 9, Michael asks "Why does what was beautiful suddenly shatter in hindsight because it concealed dark truths?" What does this foreshadow? Do you agree with Michael that happiness about something cannot be regained if the memory ends in unhappiness? Why or why not? How does this question relate to the novel as a whole?

(see the answer keys)

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