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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 was the sentence given to the family deported for the father's mistake of rolling a cigarette using a piece of newspaper and failing to notice a picture of the Great Leader on the other side of the scrap?

2. What was the one luxury Hyeonseo says her family bought after moving into their riverfront home in Hyesan?

3. What percentage of North Korea's population consistently falls within the Hostile category of the songbun caste system?

4. Attendance at what event is mandatory for children from the time they enter North Korean elementary school?

5. What does seo mean in Korean?

Short Essay Questions

1. How is Hyeonseo's mother's devotion to Hyeonseo's father demonstrated in the scene when Hyeonseo's father does not return on time from his business trip to China?

2. What does the author say is the reason that "kindness toward strangers is rare in North Korea" (38)?

3. How does Hyeonseo feel about her forced participation in the Socialist Youth League?

4. How are the themes of money and freedom linked within the scene in which Hyeonseo's mother is caught on the street wearing trousers?

5. What event causes Hyeonseo to change her behavior of listening to South Korean pop with her friends?

6. What does the family's color television symbolize within the narrative?

7. How is the theme of appearance versus reality demonstrated within the description of Hyeonseo's mother's behavior once her husband has been detained for ten days?

8. What does the author claim is ironic about North Korea's beginnings as a communist state?

9. What do the hills surrounding the city of Anju symbolize within the text?

10. What is shown about Hyeonseo's maternal grandmother's character within the description of her reaction to Hyeonseo's mother's divorce and child borne of the marriage?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

After her forced separation from her family, Hyeonseo builds many relationships with others that resemble family relationships. Choose three people with whom Hyeonseo builds these familial relationships, describe the circumstances surrounding the bonds she forms with each person, and discuss how these relationships fuel the author's message about the definition of family.

Essay Topic 2

Discuss the significance of the memoir's title and of the repeated references to it throughout the memoir. What is the author's purpose in including the theme of many identities, both in the title and throughout the narrative of the memoir?

Essay Topic 3

Despite the dire situations discussed within the narrative of The Girl with Seven Names, the theme of hope emerges again and again. Find instances of this theme's appearance throughout the memoir and explain how each instance is used by the author in order to demonstrate the value of hope when navigating through struggle.

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