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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. About how many words did the World Book encyclopedia have on Armenia when Balakian tried to research his culture?

2. What does the name Arax mean?

3. In what year did Peter's grandmother die?

4. What is lokma?

5. What did Aunt Nona major in while at Barnard?

Short Essay Questions

1. What was Balakian's reaction to the film, The Graduate?

2. How did Balakian's mother's behavior at the restaurant in France reflect her cultured upbringing?

3. Describe the impact poetry had on Balakian during high school and how it connected to his family's silence about the genocide.

4. Describe the Wall family, who were Balakian's neighbors in Tenafly.

5. Why was Balakian so unnerved by his grandmother's constant doting on him at family gatherings?

6. How did Balakian's family's obsession with style reflect their history?

7. In what way was Balakian's attachment to the Jewish families in his first neighborhood ultimately superficial, and could it have been deeper?

8. How did Balakian's grandmother react to the assault against the man on the city bus?

9. How did Balakian's family's attachment to food reflect their ancestors' history?

10. Why did Balakian's grandmother tell him a story from the genocide while he was delirious with fever?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Balakian wrote frequently about the central role food played in his extended family. What importance does food have in Armenian culture? How did the experience of starvation during the genocide impact Armenian immigrants to the U.S.? Would food still have had the same importance if the Armenians had not experienced starvation? How do immigrant families transmit their culture to their children through food? How do they express their love at the dinner table?

Essay Topic 2

Peter's Aunt Anna was convinced that surrealism was the only legitimate form of writing because it represented the only legitimate way of responding to human events. How did her experiences in the Armenian genocide influence her feelings? Could surrealism be a healthy response to horrific events? Did the surrealism admired by Anna provide her with a health way of processing her emotions? Can surrealism speak to horrific historical events? Or does it serve to obscure the past and make it more difficult for people to come to terms with their sufferings? Are there some events that are so horrific they must be remembered with straightforward descriptions in order to teach future generations?

Essay Topic 3

Balakian's family became quickly assimilated into the American suburbs. Aside from the food, Peter Balakian was not exposed to any distinctly Armenian cultural traditions. Write an essay exploring the question of whether assimilation requires that immigrants leave behind their cultures. Is it possible to blend two cultures? Can immigrants retain treasured traditions and still be considered assimilated? Why was the author's family so eager to become assimilated? Would their attitude have been different if Armenia had, at the time, existed as an independent nation?

(see the answer keys)

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