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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 does Kingston hear from her schoolmates that makes her long to be normal?

2. For what does the doctor at the jail treat the Wild Man?

3. How does Kingston's Father avoid the draft?

4. What does Lo Bun Sun call the two shelters he builds on the island?

5. What drives the Wild Man to hysterics while he is in the jail?

Short Essay Questions

1. Explain why members of the freighter's crew try to send their shipmate to China and describe the Wild Man's response at the airport.

2. Create a dictionary using words from the chapter, "The Li Sao: An Elegy." Choose words that readers will need to have knowledge of in order to understand the story. Create a display using words that fit the theme of the folktale, such as phoenix, mourned, epic, elegy, lament, sorrow, estrangement, incorruptible, entwined, requiem, warmongers, etc.

3. What is the significance of Kingston's modern Auntie's marriage to I Fu?

4. Explain the irony of the mandarins requesting more ships in the story the Filipino scholar tells in "On Listening."

5. Compare and contrast grandfather Ah Goong's experiences during the Driving Out with those that took place in Alaska according to Kingston's narrative.

6. What does Kingston mean at the end of "Alaska China Men" when she writes, ". . . perhaps any China Man was China Joe"?

7. What does Lo Bun Sun's constant work and preparation suggest about his character?

8. Retell the Filipino scholar's story about the Chinese first coming to the Philippines in search of gold. Be sure to include only the information that the scholar provides. Don't be distracted by the party-goers' interruptions.

9. Explain why the Hundred-Year-Old Man's answer about how to stop the war in Vietnam is so simple.

10. Compare the Alaskan Driving Out with the California Driving Out of China Men.

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Write a book review of Maxine Hong Kingston's novel China Men. Briefly summarize the plot line in the story, and then describe Kingston's approach to the subject as an author. Finally, tell whether you would recommend this book to someone else. Explain your recommendation to your reader.

Essay Topic 2

Study the immigration laws currently on the books in the United States. Compare them to "The Laws" the author describes in that chapter. Verify the accuracy of the laws Kingston describes. Note that some of the laws address California immigration, and others were passed by the federal government. How have the laws changed since Kingston wrote this novel in 1977? Do you think the changes have been positive or negative? How do the modern laws affect different people?

Essay Topic 3

Describe the traditions associated with Chinese arranged marriages. What is the purpose for the "wailing bride"? How are the customs different for the bride's family and the groom's family? What is the bride expected to do when she sees her groom for the first time? What do these actions imply about the bride's role in her marriage?

(see the answer keys)

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