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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. To what country was the escape ship scheduled to travel?

2. What characteristic did Andrew dislike most about his father?

3. How did Andrew react when he learned that his future had also been foretold?

4. What food item does Andrew remember eating during the fall of Saigon?

5. What denomination church sponsored the Pham family's immigration to America?

Short Essay Questions

1. Who was Patty?

2. What was Andrew's reaction to seeing his grandmother's old house in Phan Tiet, his childhood home?

3. What memories did Andrew recount when he took a cup of tea to the roof of the Nguyen's house?

4. What message did the Vietnamese Buddah give to Chi and Andrew about their futures?

5. Who was the first of the Phen children to die?

6. What horrific experiences did Andrew's father live through while imprisoned in the torture camp?

7. After returning to California from Mexico, where did Andrew live?

8. What memory is explored in the chapter named "Fallen Leaves"?

9. What did Andrew do on his first morning in Saigon after being reunited with his family?

10. What expectations did Andrew's family have of him when he arrived in Saigon?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Andrew's mother, and many other people in the memoir, relies on religious faith and superstition to orient herself in the world. First, describe Andrew's family's religious beliefs and choose two times in the memoir when they relied on their faith to get them through tough times. Then, describe how Andrew feels about religion and how his religious views compare / contrast to those of his family, particularly his mother. Be sure to include examples from the text to help strengthen your arguments.

Essay Topic 2

Prostitution was a large part of the Pham family's past and is therefore very present in the novel. First, describe the Pham family's involvement in prostitution and discuss their motivations, as a family, for getting involved in this business. Then, describe how this background shaped Andrew into the adult he is now. In your opinion, is this memoir justifying the Asian sex-trade? Why or why not? Be sure to include examples from the text to help strengthen your arguments.

Essay Topic 3

At the opening of the memoir, it becomes clear that Andrew Pham is trapped between two cultures: his Vietnamese culture and his American culture. How does this struggle affect Andrew's personal history? How does this struggle inform the overarching themes of the novel? Choose two examples from the text that you think best exhibit Andrew's struggle and describe them here. How did these instances affect Andrew's personal understanding of himself?

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