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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 Granme Melina's story about hell, how is hell defined?

2. How does Joseph convince Maxo to leave him there in his house after all the violence in October 2004?

3. What do the neighborhood gangs do to Joseph's church?

4. What does Joseph carry under his arm when he visits Mira in the hospital in 2004?

5. What does Tante Denise think Marie Micheline really died from?

Short Essay Questions

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

2. Why does Tante Zi tell Joseph he could not have escaped himself?

3. What does Danticat's father have to say about having an only child?

4. What folktale about hell does Danticat recall Granme Melina telling?

5. 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?

6. What do some of the neighborhood gang members demand of Joseph in October 2004?

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

8. Who first warns Joseph he may be in danger in October 2004 in Haiti?

9. How does Marie Micheline die?

10. What does Danticat's father do for work in the United States, and what are some of his challenges on the job?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Write an essay explaining the significance of Mira's first gift to Danticat when she arrives in the United States - a typewriter.

Essay Topic 2

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 3

When Marie Micheline becomes pregnant out of wedlock in 1974, Tante Denise and Uncle Joseph are distraught, and they send Marie Micheline off to a distant part of town to have the baby. What does Marie Micheline's experience and Tante Denise's and Uncle Joseph's reaction to it indicate about the cultural attitudes towards women at that time in Haitian culture? Write an essay explaining your answer.

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 770 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample