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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 the simile "like a knot of ginger root" referring to?

2. What reason is given for torturing Tang Ao?

3. How might Kingston's father's life have been different had he passed the Imperial Examinations with honors?

4. Which best describes the setting of "On Fathers"?

5. What message does young Kingston believe her grandfathers left behind through the tracks in Stockton?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why would Tang beg to have the bandages replaced tightly after having the them removed from his feet?

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

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

4. Explain how the author uses foreshadowing in the first two lines of "On Mortality."

5. Describe the way the women pierce Tang Ao's ears and what they do to keep the holes open. Include examples of sensory details the author uses in the text.

6. At the end of the "The Laws," Kingston predicts that the 1980 census may show that a million or more ethnic Chinese will be living in the United States. Why does she have to predict the census numbers?

7. Describe the way great grandfather Bak Goong ends up working in the Sandalwood Mountains in Hawaii?

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

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

10. Compare and contrast the proverbs "On Mortality" and "On Mortality Again."

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Study the immigration laws currently on the books in the United States. Compare them to "The Laws" the author describes in that chapter. Verify the accuracy of the laws Kingston describes. Note that some of the laws address California immigration, and others were passed by the federal government. How have the laws changed since Kingston wrote this novel in 1977? Do you think the changes have been positive or negative? How do the modern laws affect different people?

Essay Topic 2

Kingston provides several examples of the use of the color red by Chinese. What does the color red symbolize for Chinese people? In what ways do Chinese people integrate the color red into their lives?

Essay Topic 3

Consider the times in China Men when the characters sing. Singing appears in many of the Chinese traditions to which Kingston exposes her readers. Find references throughout the novel, and describe the singing experience of the characters. Then use the examples to draw conclusions about why singing is part of life for so many Chinese. Explain what purpose the singing serves in each example.

(see the answer keys)

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