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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 injury does LeeRoy sustain?

2. What does David agree to in order to come to the midnight rodeo?

3. What does LeeRoy notice when he gets on the horse?

4. How does Chú Quốc find Hằng?

5. What does Hằng call the cowboy?

Short Essay Questions

1. What do Hằng’s and LeeRoy’s different reactions to Mexican Hat reveal about their personalities?

2. What does Mrs. Brown’s offer of help and food represent in the story?

3. Why is Hằng both happy and sad around Linh?

4. Why might Hằng think the story she tells about her father’s bones is happy while Chú Quốc is horrified and cries?

5. Why does Chú Quốc not want to hear the truth about what happened to Linh in Vietnam?

6. Why does Hằng sit down and refuse to leave once the police arrive?

7. Why do LeeRoy and Hằng have different attitudes about food?

8. Hằng reflects that LeeRoy’s name means Glass-Whip in Vietnamese. In what ways is LeeRoy like a Glass Whip at this stage of the novel?

9. What is the intergenerational conflict that happens at the ranch when Hằng first meets Linh?

10. Why do the cowboys trick LeeRoy?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

How does Hằng’s family history and world history affect her life? Explore how her family history and larger historical events intertwine.

Essay Topic 2

Discuss how the trauma of the Vietnam War affects the lives of Linh, Cora, and Hằng. How do they each remember and understand the war? How has it changed each of their lives?

Essay Topic 3

Consider the various forms of relationships and love in the story. How do the different types of love impact Hằng, Mr. Morgan, LeeRoy, Cora, and Chú Quốc?

(see the answer keys)

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