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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. Who asks Reuven to talk with Michael?

2. To what time does a flashback go?

3. What happens to Michael while he is arguing?

4. What happens to Michael between the time of his breaking down at the fair and then arriving home?

5. What does Michael see in himself?

Short Essay Questions

1. What does Reuven say about the Hasid?

2. What does Kalman discuss with Reuven after class concerning Professor Gordon?

3. Describe the game which Michael is playing and which is making Reuven and Rachel nervous for him.

4. About whom does Rachel ask Reuven and what is his reply?

5. Describe Reuven and Michael's phone conversation.

6. Describe the elderly man who is the father of the booth attendant at the dice game.

7. Describe Reuven's visit with Danny.

8. What does Danny tell Reuven about Michael?

9. How does the narrator's neighborhood change in the early 1950s?

10. What does Michael say about the universe when he is back home after the fair?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

In Chapter 11, Reuven is in Kalman's class, but their encounter is brief. Kalman says nothing to Reuven and Reuven feels hatred for him. Discuss the following:

1. Do you think Reuven's hatred for Kalman is justified?

2. Can this difference of ideology between Kalman and Reuven be a metaphor for the differences between any two people/groups/nations that have ideological differences? Explain fully.

3. Why do you think most people want others to believe the way they do? Is this healthy? Does it contribute to peace or conflict?

Essay Topic 2

In chapter 3, the narrator relates that Rav Kalman is a survivor of a Nazi concentration camp. Discuss the following:

1. Research and write a brief informative essay on the Nazi concentration camps of WWII. Why were they established? Who was sent to them? How many died there? How many survived? Offer your own thoughts about the concentration camps.

2. What sort of emotional and psychological damage do you think Rav Kalman could be suffering from as a result of having lived through the experience of a concentration camp?

3. Why do you think Rav Kalman came out of the camp with a still-firm faith in his God?

4. Do you think the concentration camp experience caused very many survivors to abandon their faith in God?

Essay Topic 3

Oftentimes, a book is more of a character-driven plot rather than action driven, and oftentimes the other way. Some books seem to balance the two. Discuss the following:

1. What do you think it means to say that a plot is character driven? Action driven?

2. How do you think a plot differs if it is character driven versus action driven?

3. Which type of plot do you find more interesting? Why?

4. Do you think it is possible to have a plot where action and character development share equal time? Why or why not.

5. What type of plot do you think The Promise is? Explain your response.

(see the answer keys)

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