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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 Thomas an expert on?

2. Who had bombed Tokyo for three years?

3. What does the author call a tonic at the beginning of Chapter 17?

4. What two places does the author say Emmy knows how to live in?

5. Where is the chest from that the wooden Buddha in Iggy's house sits on?

Short Essay Questions

1. How did Viktor escape Slovakia?

2. What signs are there in Chapter 24 that the Nazis are taking over?

3. How did Elisabeth help her parents flee the country?

4. How did the Japanese company Sony develop?

5. What problems does Viktor have with the vitrine in Chapter 15?

6. Describe the family apartment when Elisabeth visits after the second world war.

7. Why was Iggy happy to settle down in Tokyo?

8. Why does the author think the Japanese are so good with their hands?

9. What were conditions like in Tokyo in 1947?

10. Describe Emmy's relationship with her children.

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Why do the students think de Waal only shows the life of the rich Jews such as his family members in his book? In light of all the problems, what are the disadvantages with representing only the rich Jewish members of society? How would the meaning of the book changed if he had represented the lives of some of the poorer members of Jewish society?

Essay Topic 2

Examine the book's chronological setting.

1. What were the main concerns during the early part of the 20th century? How does the author express these concerns?

2. How would the author change the book if it was set in today's society?

Essay Topic 3

What does de Waal learn about his family in the book? Why is it so important for him to know about his family? How will this new knowledge about his family help him?

(see the answer keys)

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