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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. To which American writer did Balakian send his poems while at Bucknell College?

2. Why was Balakian's father unable to serve during World War II?

3. Whom did Saroyan consider his "rival"?

4. In what year did Roman Emperor Constantine turn Byzantium into the imperial residence?

5. What color dress did Auntie Anna wear while delivering a talk at Balakian's college?

Short Essay Questions

1. What was Balakian's reaction to the film, The Graduate?

2. Why were books so important to Balakian's Aunt Nona?

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

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

5. What impression did the writer, William Saroyan, make on Balakian during the party at his aunt's apartment?

6. What was Balakian's reaction to the folktales his grandmother would frequently tell him?

7. Describe the Wall family, who were Balakian's neighbors in Tenafly.

8. Describe the impact poetry had on Balakian during high school and how it connected to his family's silence about the genocide.

9. How did Balakian's mother's behavior at the restaurant in France reflect her cultured upbringing?

10. 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?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

At least some of Balakian's relatives would appear to have suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder as a result of their sufferings. Nafina, in particular, seemed to suffer as evidenced by her breakdown when the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor. How did her suppression of her memories affect her over the long term? Had she been more open about the genocide, would she have been spared the breakdown in 1941? Why did she continue to suppress the memories after recovering from the breakdown? Can this suppression ever be healthy or does it inevitably lead to PTSD? Would the survivors of the Armenian genocide have had a different post-war experience if the genocide had occurred after PTSD became a well-known malady?

Essay Topic 2

When Peter Balakian was a child, Armenia existed only as a small Soviet-controlled republic. Did the lack of a truly independent Armenia affect the ability of the Armenian people to maintain their culture? Did the permanent loss of most of the traditional Armenian homeland destroy the culture? How does a nation maintain its identity if they are denied a place among the family of nations? Does the existence of the modern, independent nation of Armenia make it easier to maintain an identity?

Essay Topic 3

Balakian wrote about his father's love of sports and how that formed a bridge between the two. Write an essay exploring how sports can form a bond between fathers and sons. How can fathers and sons express their love for one another through a shared interest in sports? Was Peter's father able to express his love for his son in any other way? Did Peter understand that his father was expressing his love for him through sports while he was still a child? Or did he not realize that until he reached adulthood? If he did not understand it until adulthood, did that affect his relationship with his father in childhood?

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