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This test consists of 5 multiple choice questions, 5 short answer questions, and 10 short essay questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What is Tariq's father's profession?
(a) He is a farmer.
(b) He is a shoemaker.
(c) He is a butcher.
(d) He is a carpenter.

2. Who is described in Chapter 23 as "the flamboyant Uzbek commander, leader of the Junbish-i-Milli faction"?
(a) Ahmad Shah Massoud.
(b) Queen Gauhar Shad.
(c) Mullah Faizullah.
(d) Abdul Rashid Dostum.

3. How many children does Jalil have in Chapter 1?
(a) 11.
(b) 6.
(c) 9.
(d) 3.

4. On what day of the week does Jalil come to visit Mariam during her childhood?
(a) Every Thursday.
(b) Every Sunday.
(c) Every Tuesday.
(d) Every Friday.

5. How long has Tariq been gone when Fariba finally agrees to leave Kabul in Chapter 26?
(a) 12 days.
(b) 17 days.
(c) 2 months.
(d) 4 days.

Short Answer Questions

1. What language is native to Kandahar?

2. Who was the leader of the Islamic Jihad Council that formed following Afghanistan's independence?

3. What does the word "harami" mean, according to the narrator in Chapter 1?

4. How far is Herat from Kabul?

5. What caused Tariq to lose one of his legs?

Short Essay Questions

1. When does Chapter 23 take place? What is the political atmosphere like in Afghanistan at this time?

2. How are Jalil's visits to Mariam described in Chapter 4? What do they talk about?

3. What transition occurs with the beginning of Chapter 16? How are Laila and Tariq described in this chapter?

4. How has Mariam adjusted to married life by the beginning of Chapter 11?

5. What circumstances lend themselves to Mariam's feelings of isolation in Chapter 10?

6. What loss does Mariam suffer in Chapter 13? How does this loss affect her?

7. What literary allusion does the author employ in Chapter 21? How does this allusion relate metaphorically to A Thousand Splendid Suns?

8. What are the reasons behind Mariam's marriage arrangement in Chapter 7? How is this arrangement perceived by the characters in the story?

9. How does Nana respond when Mullah Faizullah suggests Mariam be educated in Chapter 3? Why?

10. How does the narrator describe Mariam's discovery that she was an unwanted child in Chapter 1?

(see the answer keys)

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