View a FREE sample

This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. In Chapter 7, how old was the narrator when he married?

2. Where does the Chapter 1 narrator’s ex-wife live?

3. In Chapter 1, where is there a disturbance that involves small arms and then the Cobras?

4. Where does the Chapter 1 narrator live?

5. What is the subject matter of the photos on the narrator’s desk when he receives Thap’s file in Chapter 1?

Short Essay Questions

1. What does Thieu do for a living?

2. When and how did Khanh’s wife’s father die?

3. What does Mr. Chinh say about cars he has driven in his lifetime?

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

5. Why did it take so long to get Francine and her mother out of Vietnam?

6. Why is it important to make the right sound in the Vietnamese language?

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

8. How did Miss Noi get to America?

9. What does Francine say about her name?

10. What did Fran do to try to figure out what cold weather felt like?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

In Chapter 2, despite her grandfather’s disparaging remarks about women and their roles, the narrator learns to embrace her femininity. How does Grandfather make the narrator feel like a second-class citizen because of her gender? How does the narrator’s last act in Chapter 2 show that she has embraced being a woman?

Essay Topic 2

In Chapter 4, Miss Noi shares her love for fairy tales. Why does Miss Noi like fairy tales? Why does she especially like the word “upon” that begins most fairy tales? Is her story told like a fairy tale? Does she believe that her life has been a fairy tale?

Essay Topic 3

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?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 706 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample