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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. In Chapter 3, who accompanies Mr. Chinh on the plane?

2. Who is Mr. Green?

3. In Chapter 6, where is Fran living when her father sends letters?

4. In Chapter 2, where was the narrator’s childhood home located?

5. In Chapter 5, where does Thieu live?

Short Essay Questions

1. What is so special about apples for Miss Noi?

2. What does Thieu remember about the time when Saigon fell?

3. What was in the room behind a bead curtain in Chapter 2?

4. What does Thieu try to interest in son in doing when Bill is bored?

5. How did the Chapter 1 narrator lose his wife?

6. What does the narrator in Chapter 1 do during the war?

7. What does Thieu do for a living?

8. What films are frequently shown in the officers’ club that the Chapter 1 narrator does not enjoy?

9. What was Miss Noi’s apartment like in Saigon?

10. In Vietnam, how would men react when they saw Buom on the street?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

The narrator in Chapter 7 is accustomed to getting retribution when someone tries to take his wife. Why doesn’t the narrator ever use physical force? How is he able to deal with the problem when he lives in Vietnam? How does he decide to deal with the problem in America? Does the narrator’s lack of physical prowess interfere with his revenge in any way? How does the narrator use his mind to solve the problem of his wife rather than brawn?

Essay Topic 2

In Chapter 5, Thieu’s son is growing up American. What is his son’s name? How does Bill dress? What are Bill’s interests? How does Bill respond when his father speaks Vietnamese? How does Thieu’s attempt to interest Bill in a Vietnamese boyhood tradition succeed? Is Bill more Vietnamese or more American?

Essay Topic 3

In Chapter 12, the narrator has purchased one of the shoes John Lennon was wearing when he died. Why was this relic important enough for the narrator to spend a lot of money to purchase it? In what way does the narrator think this shoe and its mate will help him find where he belongs?

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