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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 is the name of Nadira's older sister?

2. Uncle works in what profession in the novel?

3. Aisha tells Nadira she has been nominated for what in Section 5: Chapter 6?

4. What is the name of Nadira and Aisha's older cousin?

5. What location in New York Harbor was the gateway for millions of immigrants to the United States?

Short Essay Questions

1. When do Nadira and Aisha return to school in Section 4: Chapter 5? Who first approaches them? Why?

2. What caused the Hossains to seek asylum in Canada in Section 1: Chapter 1?

3. Where do Abba's children and wife go when he is detained in Section 2: Chapter 2? What does he tell them?

4. How does Nadira describe Aisha's integration into American society and culture in Section 3: Chapter 4?

5. What Partition does Nadira describe in Section 3: Chapter 3? What was its impact on the Bengali people?

6. What thoughts consume the Nadira and Aisha in Section 1: Chapter 1 as the family drives to seek asylum?

7. What does Nadira relate of her sense of moral goodness in Section 6: Chapter 7? How does she relate this to her ancestry?

8. What dangers worry Nadira's parents about their attempts to seek asylum in Section 1: Chapter 1?

9. How does Nadira describe the final stretch to the Canadian border in Section 2: Chapter 2?

10. How does Nadira describe her family's settling in Dhaka in Section 3: Chapter 3?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Describe the settings of the novel and their significance to the novel's plot and themes. How do the descriptions of Bangladesh differ from the setting of Flushing, Queens? How do the Hossains react to the setting of Vermont and Canada? Why?

Essay Topic 2

Describe and discuss the history of Bangladesh, and how this history relates to Nadira's family in the novel. How does Nadira describe the lives of her ancestors? What drove her great-grandparents to Dhaka? What was the principal impetus for Bengalis to immigrate to the United States?

Essay Topic 3

Discuss the impact of 9/11 on illegal immigrants in the United States. What did the Patriot Act include which caused panic amongst these immigrants? How is this panic reflected in the novel? What were the numbers of immigrants who fled to Canada during this period?

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