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 9, how old was the narrator when Saigon was falling?

2. Where did Thuy announce that she loved Ly and he loved her?

3. In Chapter 10, when did the story take place that the narrator tells?

4. In Chapter 13, where does the narrator live?

5. In Chapter 11, where did Miss Gaui live when she first came to America?

Short Essay Questions

1. In Chapter 12, how does the narrator describe the special shoe that he owns?

2. In Chapter 9, why does the narrator write to his son?

3. What did the narrator in Chapter 13 do after her husband died?

4. In Chapter 10, what did Miss Linh save the narrator from?

5. What is a marriage ceremony like in Vietnam according to the narrator in Chapter 8?

6. How did Gabrielle guess wrongly about which women were on which types of game shows?

7. Where did Mr. Cohen live before he lived in the United States?

8. In Chapter 8, why didn’t the narrator marry Bao?

9. To whom is the narrator speaking in Chapter 8 and why?

10. When and where did Thuy and the narrator meet Ly?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

The characters in the novel were immigrants from Vietnam.

a. What types of struggles did these immigrants have as they adjusted to living in the United States?

b. Did money or a lack of money affect how easily or difficult it was to assimilate into American society?

c. What were some of the ways that the characters adjusted to their new lives?

d. Why was it easier for some to adjust than others?

Essay Topic 2

In Chapter 15, scents are very important to Dao. How do scents bring back memory? What do scents have to do with his religion? Why are scents used to describe his family? Do the types of scents mentioned depict the characters of family members? What is the last scent that Dao remembers?

Essay Topic 3

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?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 805 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample