Fiddler on the Roof

Reading Check and Short Answer questions on key points are designed for guided reading assignments, in-class review, formative assessment, quizzes, and more.

Act I

Reading Check

1. According to Tevye, how do the villagers of Anatevka keep their “balance?”

2. Why does Golde scold Chava?

3. How do the girls’ opinion of marriage shift by the end of the song “Matchmaker”?

4. After Tevye sings “If I Were a Rich Man,” what news does he learn from the villagers?

5. What news does the Constable share with Tevye?

6. What item does Fyedka lend Chava?

7. Why is Lazar Wolf disgruntled at the wedding?

8. What shocking act does Perchik do at the wedding?

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. Based on the lyrics of the song “Tradition,” identify the different gender roles and summarize their responsibilities in the village of Anatevka.

2. What news does Yente bring for Golde? Describe how Golde responds.

3. What is the misunderstanding between Lazar Wolf and Tevye? What agreement do they come to?

4. What news does Tevye share with Tzeitel? Summarize the different responses from each of the characters in the scene.

5. Why does Tevye share his “dream” with Golde? Describe Golde’s reaction and the outcome of the situation.

6. What happens at the wedding? How do the villagers respond?

Paired Resource

“A Jewish Matchmaker Whose Hand Led Hundreds Down the Aisle”

• This is a New York Times profile on a contemporary orthodox Jewish matchmaker in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, from 2014. (Subscription may be needed for viewing.)
• This connects with the themes Jewish Tradition and the Concept of Home and The Effects of Wealth and Poverty on Cultural Roles.
• Considering the play and the above article, how does matchmaking support traditional gender roles and expectations of marriage in the Orthodox Jewish community?

“Musical Theater in America”

• This is a Kennedy Center resource that discusses the history of musical theater, the relationship between society and theatrical productions, the making of a musical, and related topics.
• Each section delves into an aspect of musical theater and provides a video clip with further questions to discuss.
• In what ways does Fiddler on the Roof fit into the format of a musical? What aspects of social commentary can be identified in Act I?

Act II

Reading Check

1. Which two things does Tevye ask of God?

2. According to Tevye, who is Hodel and Perchik’s matchmaker?

3. What news about Perchik does Yente share with the village?

4. What is the “new arrival” for Motel and Tzeitel?

5. Which word does Tevye respond with to Chava’s request for reconciliation?

6. How does Tevye respond to Mendel’s comment that their “forefathers have been forced out of many, many places at a moment’s notice”?

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. Which news does Perchik share with Hodel? How does she respond? What is the outcome of their discussion?

2. Compare and contrast how Motel and Perchik ask Tevye for his permission to marry his daughters. In both cases, what is Tevye’s answer?

3. Why does Tevye sing “Do You Love Me?” to Golde? What information does this song reveal about their relationship?

4. Why does Hodel leave Anatevka? How does she feel about her departure?

5. What does Chava try to tell Tevye? How does he react?

6. What order does the Constable share with Tevye? Why did he think that Tevye might have been exempt?

7. To what location are Tevye, Golde, and his two youngest daughters relocating? To what location are Motel and Tzeitel relocating?

8. Why do Chava and Fyedka approach Tevye? Describe the conversation.

Paired Resource

“Chava”

• The chapter is an excerpt from Sholem Aleichem’s book Tevye the Dairyman, the book on which Fiddler on the Roof is based. This chapter is reflected in Act II, Scenes 5-6 of the play, in which Tevye first learns about Fyedka and later learns about the marriage.
• This connects with the themes Jewish Tradition and Cultural Erasure, Jewish Tradition and the Concept of Home, and The Effects of Wealth and Poverty on Cultural Roles.
• How does Aleichem’s portrayal of Tevye and Chava compare to the play’s portrayal? How do Tevye’s reactions to Fyedka (Chvedka in the excerpt) and the marriage differ?

“Tradition! The Indestructible ‘Fiddler on the Roof’”

• This is a 2015 article from The New Yorker on this musical’s legacy and impact on audiences.
• This connects with the themes Jewish Tradition and Cultural Erasure, Jewish Tradition and the Concept of Home, and The Effects of Wealth and Poverty on Cultural Roles.
• In which ways did Stein et al.’s work reach non-Jewish audiences?

Fiddler on the Roof

• This is the 1971 cinema adaptation of the musical, which received three Academy Awards.
• This connects with the themes Jewish Tradition and Cultural Erasure, Jewish Tradition and the Concept of Home, and The Effects of Wealth and Poverty on Cultural Roles.
• In which ways does the movie adaptation stay true to the theatrical production? In which ways does it depart from the script?

Recommended Next Reads 

Falsettos by William Flinn and James Lapine

• The Lincoln Center’s 2016 revival of Flinn and Lapine’s 1992 musical centers on a Jewish family navigating the AIDS crisis in New York.
• This connects with the themes Jewish Tradition and Cultural Erasure and Jewish Tradition and the Concept of Home.
• Shared topics include Jewish traditions, marital expectations and gender norms, and family conflict.

“Yentl the Yeshiva Boy and Other Stories” by Isaac Bashevis Singer

• Singer’s 1965 short story on a girl who disguises herself as a boy to attend an Orthodox Jewish school was later adapted to film with Barbra Streisand in 1983.
• This connects with the themes Jewish Tradition and Cultural Erasure and Jewish Tradition and the Concept of Home.
• Shared topics include Jewish traditions and marital expectations and gender norms.