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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 type of Jewish ceremony do the people on Josef's ship hold during the journey?

2. Isabel's best friend Ivan is also her what?

3. During Isabel's boat journey, her grandfather Lito tells her that she does have family in what part of the world?

4. How does Isabel's father sustain the wounds that she is cleaning when the narrative rejoins her?

5. What does Ivan want to be when he grows up?

Short Essay Questions

1. Of everyone in Mahmoud's family, who comes the closest to losing his or her life when the apartment is hit by a missile?

2. What qualities of Senor Castillo's lead to his role as the leader on the boat?

3. List some of Isabel's and the other boat passengers' expectations of what life will be like in America.

4. Why does Mahmoud's family choose Germany as a place to run to when they leave Syria?

5. What does Mahmoud buy for his little brother Waleed at a shop in the Turkish refugee camp and what does he hope to achieve with his purchase?

6. How does Josef view the difference between life on the ship above decks and life on the ship below decks?

7. When Isabel and Ivan are incredulous that Lito had had many chances to leave Cuba over the years and had not done so, what reasons does Lito give for not leaving?

8. How is the the ship Josef's family boards shown by the author to be paradoxical?

9. What is the clave?

10. Why does Isabel feel awe in response to the riots in Cuba in addition to fear?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Discuss the author's use of literary devices such as metaphor, simile, and personification. How are literary devices used by the author in order to support and underscore particular themes and messages within the novel?

Essay Topic 2

What is the novel's message concerning the link between ignorance and hatred?

Essay Topic 3

Trace the characterization arc of one of the three major characters in the novel. Discuss whether your chosen character is a round or flat character and whether your chosen character is a static or dynamic character.

(see the answer keys)

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