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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 do some of the cruel neighbors say to Joseph after his throat surgery?

2. What does Tante Denise do right before Danticat and Bob leave for the United States?

3. What was Danticat's first experience of intense jealousy?

4. What do the American doctors say in 1978 about Uncle Joseph's health problem?

5. Why does Danticat's father not want to take the medication the doctor has prescribed?

Short Essay Questions

1. What does Marie Micheline say to Uncle Joseph when he comes to rescue her from Pressoir?

2. What force does Uncle Joseph and Mira's father, Granpe Nozial, join in the early decades of the 1900s in Haiti?

3. Which politician does Uncle Joseph admire in the 1950s in Haiti and why?

4. How does Danticat react when she sees her pregnancy test is positive?

5. What does Danticat remember most fondly about Marie Micheline's kindness towards her as a young child?

6. What does Danticat's mother do for her in preparation for her leaving for the United States in the section titled "Heartstrings, Shoestrings"?

7. What does Danticat's brother Kelly recall when she tells him she is pregnant in the section titled "We're All Dying"?

8. In the section titled "Have You Enjoyed Your Life?", what does the herbalist Danticat's father takes her to tell her about her health?

9. What scary story does Granme Melina tell the children in Joseph's house in the section titled "Good-bye"?

10. Why was Danticat's father concerned about her move in 2002?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Danticat's father, Mira, experiences oppression both in Haiti and America. Write an essay comparing and contrasting the sources and manifestations of the oppression Mira experiences in both countries.

Essay Topic 2

What were Joseph's and Mira's first experiences with and impressions of Americans, respectively? How do you think each man's impressions of Americans and of America changed over their lifetimes? Write an essay explaining your answer.

Essay Topic 3

Given the United States' long, violent, and often exploitative relationship with Haiti, what do you think is Danticat's opinion of the country she moved to as an adolescent? Given her family's experiences - especially Joseph's - in the United States, how would you describe her opinion of America? Write an essay explaining your answer.

(see the answer keys)

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