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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 what year did the September 11 attacks take place on the World Trade Center?

2. Where do Nadira and Aisha go after school to try calling the INS in Section 7: Chapter 9?

3. What does the border officer tell Abba when he explains his family is seeking asylum in Section 2: Chapter 2?

4. What is a word for God used in the context of Islam?

5. What is the name of Abba's older brother which Nadira describes in Section 6: Chapter 7?

Short Essay Questions

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

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

3. What does Nadira say her father has taught her about morality in America in Section 6: Chapter 7?

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

5. What do Nadira and Aisha learn from Ali-uncle in Section 7: Chapter 9? What does Ali-uncle agree to do to help?

6. What does Abba tell the border officer in Section 2: Chapter 2? What does the officer respond?

7. What scene does Aisha make publicly in Section 6: Chapter 8? Why?

8. What interaction does Nadira have with her sister at school in Section 5: Chapter 6? How does she feel about it?

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

10. What does Nadira think about her sister on the ride back home in Section 3: Chapter 4? What do they talk about?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Describe and discuss the impact of Uncle's detention on the Hossain family. How does Auntie react to her husband's incarceration? Why does Aisha blame herself for Uncle's detention? How does Nadira feel about the situation?

Essay Topic 2

Discuss the theme of moral goodness in the novel. How is this theme related through Abba's past and his brother's death? How does Nadira represent this theme through her actions?

Essay Topic 3

Discuss and analyze the theme of alienation in the novel. How did Nadira's family feel alienated prior to the detainments? How is this theme embodied in each of the members of the Hossain family in Section 9: Chapter 11?

(see the answer keys)

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