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

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

3. Which person was sworn in as president of Haiti in 1991?

4. Why do some of Joseph's neighbors turn on him so violently after October 24, 2004?

5. How much money does Joseph have with him when he is detained in the United states in the fall of 2004?

Short Essay Questions

1. When Joseph visits New York in 1983, what life-changing device does he receive from the hospital?

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

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

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

5. How does Joseph eventually convince Maxo to leave the house under cover of darkness in October 2004?

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

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

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

9. What is the first present Danticat's father gives to her upon her arrival in the United States?

10. How does Tante Zi get Joseph out of hiding and safely to the airport in October 2004?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

When Danticat's family learns of Mira's terminal health diagnosis, her brother, Bob, asks Mira if he has enjoyed his life. Write an essay explaining why both this question and Mira's answer represent an anomaly in the way Danticat's family usually communications, citing specific references to the text to support your answer.

Essay Topic 2

Danticat recalls a Haitian saying advising people who are washing others' children to only wash one side of the child, which she interprets as advising adults not to get too attached to children who are not their own. Write an essay analyzing the meaning of this saying and decide whether or not it seems to apply to Danticat's specific experience being raised by both Joseph and Mira.

Essay Topic 3

When Danticat's parents return to Haiti in 1976 to begin the process of bringing she and her brother Bob permanently back to the United States, Danticat is ambivalent about their presence and about the situation. Write an essay exploring the range of her feelings and explaining why she was not simply overjoyed to have her parents back in her life again at that time.

(see the answer keys)

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