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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. When does Michael go to the prison for the first time?

2. What does Michael say that illiteracy is?

3. How much time passes before Michael receives a note from Hanna?

4. When does Michael say "all this happened"?

5. What has Michael noticed about Hanna's voice at the end of Part 3, Chapter 9?

Short Essay Questions

1. Although Michael is happy, why does he also feel sorry for Hanna?

2. What does Michael decide to do for work, and why?

3. What does Michael do upon returning from New York at the end of Chapter 12?

4. What does Michael do with his own writing?

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

6. What does Michael do to prepare for Hanna's release in Chapter 9?

7. What does the prison warden tell Michael about Hanna and her time in prison?

8. What decision does Michael struggle with at the beginning of Chapter 4, and why?

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

10. What happens when Michael speaks to Hanna, right before she is released, at the end of chapter 9?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

While Hanna is in prison, Michael resurrects his practice of reading to her. How does this simple act define their relationship? What does it symbolize? How is it connected to Michael's idea that Hanna has advanced from dependence to independence?

Essay Topic 2

Hanna and Micheal's relationship is immediate and intense, yet the reader only has Michael's view of their budding romance. From a literary standpoint, why might the author construct their relationship in this way? What are the disadvantages for reader, of not knowing how Hanna truly feels about Michael? The advantages?

Essay Topic 3

When Michael begins to read aloud to Hanna, it starts out as an intimate activity. Give examples as to how this activity strengthens their relationship. Compare and contrast how Michael feels about reading aloud to Hanna in the early stages of their relationship to the later stages. What has changed?

(see the answer keys)

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