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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 does the letter Yuan receives from his father say?

2. Why is Yuan envious of Sheng?

3. Why is Yuan careful about what he tells his new friend Jim?

4. How old is Meng?

5. At the family meeting to discuss the marriage, why do the elders say only very little?

Short Essay Questions

1. How does the maid turn into yet another trap for Yuan's freedom?

2. What does Yuan do while he is in the countryside?

3. Why is Yuan so focused in his studies in America?

4. In what way is Yuan changed after the maid touches his hand?

5. What reason does Yuan's teacher give for Yuan not being able to give the meaning of his own poem?

6. How is danger for the revolutionaries foreshadowed when Yuan, Ai-lan, and the lady mother are on the way to meet Yuan's uncle?

7. What does the letter from Yuan's father in Chapter 1 say, and what is Yuan's reaction to it?

8. Why does Yuan have reservations about joining the revolutionary cause?

9. Why does Yuan go to the coastal city to see his sister and her mother?

10. Why do Sheng and Yuan separate once they arrive in America?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Analyze the ways in which Yuan is like Wang the Tiger. How is this shown in his behavior towards others, especially women? How is this shown in the way he views tradition versus revolution? Cite at least three examples from the novel to support your case.

Essay Topic 2

How does Yuan's relationship with Mei-ling develop from the time he meets her to the end of the novel? What setbacks does the relationship experience? What about the advances? What can the reader predict for the development of their relationship? Cite at least two examples from the novel.

Essay Topic 3

The ending of A House Divided is an ambiguous one. Explain why. What purpose does an ambiguous ending serve? Why might the author decide to use this type of ending? What effect does it have on the reader?

(see the answer keys)

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