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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 organization is Marie Micheline's husband a member of?

2. What is Marie Micheline's husband's name?

3. Who is Joseph's son that has moved back and forth between the U.S. and Haiti?

4. Where does Danticat go with her father before his doctor's appointment in the section titled "Have You Enjoyed Your Life?"?

5. What does Joseph name his church?

Short Essay Questions

1. What does Danticat's mother do for her in preparation for her leaving for the United States in the section titled "Heartstrings, Shoestrings"?

2. In the section titled "Have You Enjoyed Your Life?", what does the herbalist Danticat's father takes her to tell her about her health?

3. How does Joseph communicate and what does he communicate at Granme Melina's funeral since he can not give a sermon due to the loss of his voice?

4. How does Uncle Joseph first meet Tante Denise?

5. In the section titled "We're All Dying," what does Danticat's friend tell her when Danticat informs her about how ill her father is?

6. In the section titled "Good-bye," what book does Danticat select to buy for herself while out with Joseph and why?

7. Why does Joseph start to take the children in his house on simple errands with him following his laryngectomy?

8. What two opposite pieces of news does Danticat receive on the same day in early July 2004?

9. Why does Danticat's father Mira decide not to take the codeine his doctor has prescribed for him?

10. What scary story does Granme Melina tell the children in Joseph's house in the section titled "Good-bye"?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Write an essay analyzing the effect that Joseph's mechanical voice box, which he acquires on a trip to the United States in the early 1980s, has on the rest of his life.

Essay Topic 2

Write an essay explaining the significance of Mira's first gift to Danticat when she arrives in the United States - a typewriter.

Essay Topic 3

Danticat laments the fact that she feels she knows little about her childhood from either her father, Mira, or her Uncle, Joseph. Danticat regrets that she does not remember or have many family stories to tell. Write an essay analyzing why Danticat feels this way and explain which family members seem to attempt to fill the void she feels.

(see the answer keys)

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