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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 question does Judith raise that Mordecai cannot answer?

2. Why does Mordecai Levy advise the village girl he meets to be kind to him?

3. What did the villagers of Stillenstadt call Benjamin when he arrived?

4. How does little Ernie save Frau Tuszynski from being tormented by the Nazis?

5. What does Mordecai determine to teach Ernie while Ernie is still young?

Short Essay Questions

1. How does Judith recognize Mordecai as a Just Man?

2. What does Ernie have in common with the German boy he meets when he runs away from home?

3. Why does Yankel, the Galician, advise Benjamin to get out of Berlin?

4. What does Ernie think as he is surrounded by the Pimpfe bullies?

5. Why did others regard Mordecai as a fallen Levy?

6. How does Mordecai answer the question of why the Just Man dies in bed, rather than in martyrdom?

7. What does Ernie do to ease the emptiness in his heart after the beating?

8. Why is Jacob not consoled when Ernie promises to "spring" at the Hitler Youth if they bother the little boy?

9. What does Herr Kremer mean when he says the child is descended from the man?

10. How does the child Ernie come to feel that he is in charge of those around him?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

The author puts himself into the story more than once. In your essay, find the moments in which the author shares his own feelings with the reader, and evaluate this device. Does he belong in the story? Why or why not? Is he sharing his feelings because they are similar to yours? What ultimately gives him relief from the grief he experiences as he composes this story?

Essay Topic 2

Write an essay exploring the character and personality of Ernie. What motivates him as a child? As an adult? What does he want to do? Does he believe himself to be a Just Man? The author talks of the first death of Ernie. Are there more than one? More than two? Use specific examples from the story.

Essay Topic 3

Benjamin declares that being a Jew is impossible. In your essay, explain the ways in which the Jews in this story are different from other human groups. How are they identified? How do they see themselves among other people? What does Benjamin mean when he says it is impossible?

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