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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 name of the Lady Pharmacist's son who befriended Leila after she returned from a family vacation by the sea?

2. What thought caused Leila to feel a sense of gloom descend upon her during the wedding reception?

3. To whom is the epigraph of the novel 10 Minutes 38 Seconds in This Strange World attributed?

4. In what month of 1990 is Leila's death covered on national television?

5. Who ended up raising Lelia, after Haroun had given the order for her to do so?

Short Essay Questions

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

2. In what way did Leila make a sacrifice willingly in order to get under Uncle's skin at a family function?

3. Discuss a particular detail in the prologue entitled "The End" that communicates an element of Leila's personality.

4. What circumstances left Leila alone in her house with Tarkan and at the mercy of Uncle's predatory sexual abuse?

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

7. What does the narrator reveal about the reason for Leila's reluctance to talk about her past in the chapter entitled "Three Minutes"?

8. What does the red belt symbolize within the chapter entitled "Six Minutes"?

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

10. What major conflict did Jameelah have with her family after the death of her mother?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Analyze Shafak’s novel from an Existential perspective. What elements of life does it suggest hold the most meaning and why?

Essay Topic 2

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.

Essay Topic 3

Write a critical essay about 10 Minutes 38 Seconds in This Strange World while using the critical power theory lens of feminist theory. Use textual evidence to back up your strong, specific claim regarding the novel's treatment of gender roles, the objectification of women, female empowerment, misogyny's role within society, or any other issues related to feminist theory that can be found in the novel.

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