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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 gave birth to the baby mentioned in the chapter entitled "Five Minutes"?

2. What was Leila's favorite activity during her childhood?

3. What substance did the midwife use in hopes of forcing Leila to make a sound?

4. In "Six Minutes," Leila recalls attending the wedding of which character and his bride?

5. The narrator states that Jameelah's mother subscribed to what religion at the time of Jameelah's birth?

Short Essay Questions

1. Name and discuss one theme presented within the epigraph of 10 Minutes 38 Seconds

2. How did Haroun's increasing religious fervor cause changes in Leila's life during her adolescence?

3. In what way does Bitter Ma exact revenge on the client who chastises her for the picture of Sultan Abdulaziz hanging in the brothel?

4. What connection does the narrator draw between Tarkan's diagnosis and Leila's alienation from her father?

5. Which event described in "One Minute" was later considered by Binnaz, Leila's biological mother, to be the moment that "had debilitated her forever" (33)?

6. What does the braided bracelet symbolize in the chapter entitled "Seven Minutes"?

7. How did Leila feel about the metropolis of Istanbul during her childhood?

8. How did Leila meet Sinan?

9. How is the structure of the novel explained within the chapter in Part One entitled "One Minute"?

10. In what way did Uncle engage in the use of grooming techniques with Leila's parents in order to prevent his sexual abuse of Leila from being detected?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Analyze the interplay between the resolution of 10 Minutes 38 Seconds in This Strange World and one of the novel's main messages. How does Shafak make connections between these elements and how does their juxtaposition help them get across one main message of the novel?

Essay Topic 2

Discuss Shafak’s use of metaphor, simile, imagery, and other literary devices as a means to send particular thematic messages within the narrative of 10 Minutes 38 Seconds in This Strange World.

Essay Topic 3

Choose an object from 10 Minutes 38 Seconds in This Strange World, such as the white fedora, the roses, or some other symbolic object and discuss its overall meaning and its connection to themes within the text.

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