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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 12, when does the narrator say that the Trung sisters threw the Chinese out of Vietnam?

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

3. In Chapter 13, on what beaches does the narrator remember playing on with Thuy?

4. In Chapter 11, where does Miss Giau live?

5. In Chapter 13, how did Thuy die?

Short Essay Questions

1. How did the narrator escape Vietnam?

2. Where is Thuy to be buried?

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

4. How does the narrator in Chapter 8 feel about her baby being a girl and why?

5. As Gabrielle watches a man strapped into a parachute, what does Vinh ask her to remind him?

6. In Chapter 12, how did the narrator have the courage to leave Vietnam?

7. What is the memory of fighting that the narrator shares in Chapter 9?

8. In Chapter 10, what did the woman in the road tell the officer after he crashed and found himself lying on the ground?

9. In Chapter 11, why does Mr. Cohen say that Christmas is not his holiday?

10. In Chapter 11, what frightened Miss Giau during her first Christmas in America?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

A different narrator tells each of the stories.

a. What is a common theme in these stories?

b. How does the author unify the different stories?

Essay Topic 2

In Chapter 13, the narrator is preparing her friend’s body for burial, but also preparing for something else. Why is the narrator preparing his friend’s body for burial? Why does this act remind the narrator of her love for Ly? Why, now, can the narrator finally have her love returned?

Essay Topic 3

In Chapter 3, Khanh says that he does not believe in omens and symbols. Why does it seem that Khanh might believe in omens and symbols? What does he observe on his trip to the Houston airport? What connection does he see between signs along the way and what he is going or about to do? On the way back home, why is the symbolism more obvious to Khanh? Even though Khanh states that he isn’t a man who believes in symbols and omens, is that a true statement? Why or why not?

(see the answer keys)

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