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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 is it that Maui instructs all the living creatures on Earth to do in order to accomplish his goal?

2. What is the consequence of Tu Tzu-chun failing the monk's test?

3. What purpose does the mother character serve by entering the story at this point?

4. Where do Ed and MaMa go after Ed is ousted from the laundry business?

5. Which tax is enforced on Chinese immigrants living in California in order to pay for the extra policing their presence requires?

Short Essay Questions

1. Compare and contrast the genre used for "On Discovery" and for "On Fathers."

2. In "On Mortality," how does the author make the reader sympathize with Tu when he is born as a deaf-mute girl child?

3. Explain the irony of Maui the Trickster' s demise in "On Mortality Again."

4. Describe how Kingston feels about her father from China. Use details from the text to support your conclusions.

5. What is the significance of the long path that leads to the widow's house in "The Ghostmate"?

6. Describe the tenets of the philosophy of living multiple lives until you learn an important lesson.

7. Explain how the author of "The Ghostmate" cues the reader that the main character represents any China Man in their youth.

8. Describe the elements of fantasy Kingston uses to characterize Maui the Trickster in "On Mortality Again."

9. Describe grandmother's attitude toward grandfather, Ah Goong, citing examples from the chapter "The Grandfather of the Sierra Nevada Mountains."

10. Describe the basis of the queue tax.

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Consider the first and last chapters in Kingston's China Men. Make a connection between the two chapters in the context of the novel. What message does "On Discovery" send? What message does "On Listening" send? What evidence supports the conclusions you drew about the connection between the opening and closing chapters?

Essay Topic 2

Write a book review of Maxine Hong Kingston's novel China Men. Briefly summarize the plot line in the story, and then describe Kingston's approach to the subject as an author. Finally, tell whether you would recommend this book to someone else. Explain your recommendation to your reader.

Essay Topic 3

Tell about the evolution of Kingston's Chinese family from one that practices solely Chinese customs to one practicing Americanized customs. For example, how many generations pass before Kingston's family evolves from adhering to arranged marriages to its first self-selected marriage. Discuss the reluctance of Kingston's Mother to let go of her Chinese traditions or superstitions. Describe the condition of the Chinese American in California with family still living in China.

(see the answer keys)

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