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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. According to Tevye, what is a "dog's age ago"?

2. According to the narrator in The Happiest Man in All Kodny, when is the best time to travel by train?

3. How does Tevye find Mendl in Yehpuetz?

4. Why does Tevye go to see Layzar Wolf in Today's Children?

5. How does Reb Nissl help Kivke avoid running the gauntlet?

Short Essay Questions

1. How does Tevye convince Golde that Tsaytl should marry Motl instead of Layzar?

2. What good deeds do the manor owners of Kodny do for the poor?

3. What type of welcome does Tevye receive when he goes to visit Beilke and Podhotzur after they return from their honeymoon?

4. Why does Ahronchik's brother offer Tevye money to Shprintze?

5. How does the rich Jew respond when Tevye requests three rubles as a reward for bringing the two women in from the forest?

6. Describe the appearance of the two women Tevye meets in the forest in Tevye Strikes It Rich.

7. Why does Beilke agree to marry Podhotzur even though she does not love him?

8. Describe the table that is set for the two women, when Tevye brings them back to the dacha in Boberick?

9. How doe Tevye and Menachem spend their evening together?

10. Why doesn't Tevye initially want to take the two women he meets into the forest back to Boberick?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

What type of dramatic or narrative structure does Aleichem utilize in "Tevye the Dairyman and the Railroad Stories"? How is this structure unique and how does it contribute to the establishment of themes?

Essay Topic 2

What is Sholem Aleichem's writing style? Discuss both the mechanical aspect of his writing and his "voice" throughout the novel. Make sure and discuss what literary tools and devices he relies on most and what specific parts of the text reflect his voice.

Essay Topic 3

In "Tevye the Dairyman and the Railroad Stories", much focus is given to the issues of right versus wrong. Using specific characters and situations, discuss how Aleichem highlights this dichotomy and specifically how the idea of right versus wrong relates to being piously religious or irreligious.

(see the answer keys)

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