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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 is a form of nationalism of Jews and Jewish culture that supports a Jewish nation state in territory defined as the Land of Israel?

2. Who in the Saunders home has unexplained crying spells in Chapter 12?

3. Who meets regularly with Reuven and Danny at the library in Chapter 10?

4. Danny Saunders worries when his brother becomes ill in Chapter 17 because it may mean that he will not inherit what?

5. What refers to a Jewish ritual feast that marks the beginning of the Jewish holiday of Passover?

Short Essay Questions

1. How is the death of Franklin D. Roosevelt described in Chapter 11?

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

3. What does Reuven’s father compare Danny Saunders to in Chapter 17?

4. What has Danny decided to study in Chapter 16? Why is this significant?

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

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

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

8. What is the significance of Danny’s discussion of silence in Chapter 17?

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

10. What does Danny discuss in depth with Professor Appleman in Chapter 13?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Discuss the impact of D-Day on the characters in the novel in Chapter 3. How does Reuven respond to this historical event? What does Reuven’s father believe that D-Day indicates for the future of the Jewish People? What does Danny’s father think?

Essay Topic 2

Describe and analyze the character of Danny Saunders in the narrative. How is Danny described when he is introduced in Chapter 1? What are Reuven’s first impressions of Danny? Why? How do these impressions evolve?

Essay Topic 3

Define literary motif and discuss the motif of silence illustrated in the novel. What different silences are described by the narrator? What do they symbolize to him? What does silence mean to Danny and Reb Saunders?

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