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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 colors were the threads on the brocade of Mr. Blumenthal's yarmulke?
(a) Blue and gold.
(b) Silver and gold.
(c) Blue and yellow.
(d) Silver and blue.

2. At what age did Peter Balakian begin attending Columbia football games with his father?
(a) Seven.
(b) Five.
(c) Two.
(d) Ten.

3. Where had Balakian learned the stories of the Bible?
(a) From his Jewish friends.
(b) Armenian church.
(c) Armenian Sunday school.
(d) Within the family.

4. What was the lowest mark Balakian's female relatives gave to the houses they viewed during their Sunday drives?
(a) F.
(b) Ugly.
(c) Hum hum.
(d) Next.

5. How old was Peter Balakian when his aunts began taking him on the house-viewing expeditions?
(a) Ten.
(b) Eight.
(c) Eleven.
(d) Five.

Short Answer Questions

1. Where were Balakian and his father when the young woman spoke to the father about leaving her abusive husband?

2. How many children were in the Wall family?

3. Whom did Saroyan consider his "rival"?

4. To what town was Balakian taking his girlfriend when he refused to return home for his grandmother's memorial service?

5. What was the name of the poetry journal Balakian founded in 1976?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why was Balakian's Aunt Anna so opposed to American suburbia?

2. How did Balakian's family's attachment to food reflect their ancestors' history?

3. How did sports help heal the rift between Balakian and his father?

4. How did Balakian's father's fear of germs, as well as other family member's obsession with health and safety, reflect their experiences during the genocide?

5. Why did Balakian's grandmother tell him a story from the genocide while he was delirious with fever?

6. In what way was Balakian's attachment to the Jewish families in his first neighborhood ultimately superficial, and could it have been deeper?

7. How did Balakian's school term paper on Turkey mark a turning point in his relationship with his father?

8. How did Balakian's mother differ from most of the other mothers on Crabtree Lane in Tenafly?

9. How did Balakian's family's obsession with style reflect their history?

10. How did Balakian's grandmother react to the assault against the man on the city bus?

(see the answer keys)

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