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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. Who did the hoopoe say was "twinned in unison" with God?

2. What did the hoopoe tell the birds that the journey required?

3. According to the hoopoe's story about the spider, how did the spider spend his days?

4. What did the duck claim to be as part of his excuse as to why he could not go on the journey to find the Simorgh?

5. What happened when the Shiekh Sam'an drank wine?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why did the hoopoe compare the finch to Moses?

2. According to the text, how does an earthly king act?

3. What was the hoopoe's response to the partridge's excuse for not wanting to go on the quest for the Simorgh?

4. Describe the phoenix from the hoopoe's story "The Phoenix."

5. What will the quest do for the birds?

6. What did the birds ask the hoopoe about regarding the Way?

7. Why could the dervish and the princess not be together?

8. What was the "glance of Solomon"?

9. How did Abbasseh describe the Self?

10. What happened in China in regard to the Simorgh?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

The introduction of the book describes Attar's favorite literary device as the anaphora. Address the following in a paper: What is an anaphora? Why did Attar choose to use the anaphora? What purpose did the anaphora serve in the book? Give multiple examples of anaphoras used in the text and describe their use.

Essay Topic 2

The theme of love plays a large part in the book "The Conference of the Birds." Find the different definitions of love that the hoopoe uses and compare their uses throughout the stories. How is the imagery of love consistent throughout the book? Does love seem negative or positive? Why?

Essay Topic 3

Discuss the different perils of the seven valleys. What did each valley possess that created a conflict for the journey. Why did the birds fear the valley? What did it mean for the birds that made it through each valley? What did each valley represent in life?

(see the answer keys)

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