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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. Reb Saunders views a secular Jewish state as a sacrilege and violation of what?

2. Danny is frustrated by reading and translating his psychological texts until he finds what in Chapter 10?

3. What declines considerably at Reuven’s college after the memorial for a fallen graduate in Chapter 15?

4. A battle breaks out between Hasidic and non-Hasidic Jews during lunch one day about what in Chapter 13?

5. Danny Saunders applies to programs at what three educational institutions in Chapter 17?

Short Essay Questions

1. How does Reb Saunders treat Reuven in Chapter 16? How does Reuven feel about this?

2. What does Reuven’s father remark about Reb Saunders’ methods of raising his son in Chapter 16?

3. What causes the animosity between Danny and Reuven in Chapter 13?

4. How are the religious studies and lifestyles of Reuven and Danny juxtaposed in Chapter 10?

5. What is the central conflict in Chapter 14? How does Reuven feel about Danny’s absence?

6. What is the central theme of Chapter 18? How does this theme relate to silence?

7. How do Reuven and Danny spend their first month of summer in Chapter 10?

8. How do Danny and Reuven’s fathers disagree regarding the establishment of a Jewish state?

9. How does the new school year begin for Reuven and Danny in Chapter 11?

10. What gesture does Danny make to intimate his sympathy for Reuven in Chapter 14?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Discuss F.D.R., Albert Einstein and Tchaikovsky. Why does the author choose to mention each of these individuals as heroes to the protagonist? What is each individual’s historical significance?

Essay Topic 2

Discuss Reuven’s dismissal of Danny’s apology in Chapter 2. What does Reuven’s father tell him about this act? How does he use the Torah in his advice to Reuven? How does Reuven’s action relate to the themes of the novel?

Essay Topic 3

Discuss the themes of forgiveness and friendship in the novel. How are these themes illustrated in Reuven’s acceptance of Danny’s apology in Chapter 3? Where else is forgiveness a key theme in the novel? What does Danny’s friendship mean to Reuven?

(see the answer keys)

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