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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 does Danticat mistake the fire escape for?

2. What does Joseph wear on his way out of Bel Air in the fall of 2004 so he will not be recognized?

3. What is the term the authorities use to describe gang members?

4. What device does the doctor give Joseph in 1983?

5. What does Danticat think her bedclothes in the United States smell like?

Short Essay Questions

1. What happens to Joseph in Haiti in October 2004?

2. How does Marie Micheline die?

3. What does Danticat's brother Bob tell their other brothers Kelly and Karl on their first night in New York all together?

4. Why does Danticat suspect her brother Bob asks for seconds of dinner on their first night in New York back with their parents?

5. Why are some neighbors angry with Joseph in October 2004?

6. What factor about Danticat's pregnancy causes her some anxiety?

7. How does Danticat's brother Karl react to her when she first arrives in New York?

8. Whose house does Joseph initially take refuge in when he is in hiding in Haiti in October 2004?

9. In the section titled "Gypsy," what is Danticat's new home in America like physically?

10. In the section "Brother, I Can Speak," how does Danticat's father refer to Danticat and Bob in front of Joseph when he comes to visit in New York?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

When Tante Zi helps Joseph escape his besieged and burning neighborhood in Bel Air, why does she tell him he could never have made the escape by himself? What does the situation that Joseph flees in Haiti reveal about his place in the community there and the relationships between and among the Haitians Joseph had known for decades? Write an essay explaining your answer.

Essay Topic 2

Marie Micheline dies in the midst of a violent outbreak in her neighborhood, and there is shooting outside by neighborhood gangs at Tante Denise's funeral. Write an essay exploring how the backdrop of violence in Danticat's family's Bel Air neighborhood in Haiti affects their lives and their outlooks.

Essay Topic 3

Write an essay exploring the faith that both Joseph and Mira place in herbal and alternative medicine. Where does the tradition that they follow seem to have originated?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 755 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample