This assignment will focus on the Old Testament book of Esther, and along with the historical and contemporary world worksheets, it forms the foundation for the Signature Assignment for the course. The main concern in this set of questions is to identify the message of this story, which requires attending to what this story uniquely says about God, human nature, how society works, and the way of the world. These set of questions is designed to help you think about critical elements of the story, as well as how the author structures the story to communicate his message. Your responses to these questions should be written in paragraph form and should be detailed and well developed, such that the final product should be between 500-600 words.

Answer all 7 questions individually;

1. How is God's influence demonstrated in the story, even though his name is never mentioned and why might this be necessary and important?

2. How are the characters portrayed (Ahasuerus, Vashti, Mordecai, Haman, and Esther)? Justify your portrayal of each character by pointing to words and actions.

3. How does the story of Esther begin, and why is this other woman's situation important to the crisis at the heart of Esther's story?

4. How does the narrator create sympathy for some characters and disdain for others?

5. How does the author portray Haman's influence upon the King, and how does this help us understand Esther's character?

6. How are power pyramids left intact and how are they upended in Esther's story?

7. What might be a primary moral of the story of Esther?