View a FREE sample

This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. When Isabel pleads with Lito not to turn back for Cuba, what reason does she cite above all others?

2. When the narrative rejoins Josef in 1939, each member of the family is now wearing what item?

3. For what reason has Josef's family recently moved to a smaller apartment in Berlin upon the opening of the novel?

4. When Señor Castillo asks Isabel's father what he wants to do when he gets to America, what is Isabel's father's reply?

5. Who is the subject of the portrait that the rabbi asks Captain Schroeder to remove during the bar mitzvah on the ship?

Short Essay Questions

1. How does the author go about portraying Mahmoud as an empathetic soul?

2. What are the only items that Isabel and the other passengers on the tiny boat have room to bring with them on the journey to Florida from Cuba?

3. What is ironic about Josef's feelings following his bar mitzvah?

4. 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?

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

6. What is the clave?

7. What is the author's purpose for characterizing the Nazis terrorizing Josef's family as "shadows"? (1)

8. How is Isabel's kitten used by the author to send a message about hunger and fear?

9. How does Josef feel about invisibility?

10. What U.S. policies change and make it harder for Cuban people to seek refuge in the United States?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Analyze the author's focus on the theme of cultural identity. What message is the author sending about cultural identity and how does the author get across this message to the reader?

Essay Topic 2

Choose three major symbols within the narrative and discuss in an essay the connections between these three symbols and three major themes present within the novel.

Essay Topic 3

Look carefully at the passages of the novel that describe the close relationship between Mahmoud and Waleed. What is the author's purpose for discussing at length the nature of these two siblings' connection?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 1,265 words (approx. 5 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample