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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. When does the story of Tu-Tzu-chin take place?

2. Tu cannot deliver his messages and take care of his urgent things after he exits the tunnel because _____________________________.

3. Which two islands does Kingston suggest her father had gone to before entering America?

4. Why does Kingston think that Stockton is a special place to live?

5. What mood does the letter from Kingston's friend, the physicist, reflect about his return visit to their common ancestral village?

Short Essay Questions

1. Identify and describe two historical allusions Kingston makes in "The Grandfather of the Sierra Nevada Mountains."

2. What purpose is served when Bak Goong tells his fellow workers the tale about the King who fathered a prince with cat ears and keeps it a secret?

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

4. Explain the progression of laws that at first limited Chinese family members from entering the U.S. to the laws that allowed them entry whether the quota had been met or not.

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

6. Describe how the author uses personification in "The Great Grandfather from the Sandalwood Mountains." Give examples from the text.

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

8. Explain the cause for the children's confusion and its effects on the characters in "On Fathers."

9. Tell what the Four Valuable Things are and explain their importance to the Chinese culture.

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Revisit the chapter "The Grandfather of the Sierra Nevada Mountains." Explain the concept of citizenship papers that many Chinese immigrants purchased to ensure their ability to stay in America. Explain the reasons for paper sons. Then tell how the San Francisco fire of 1906 allowed every China man to be reborn a citizen.

Essay Topic 2

Identify the Four Most Valuable Things according to Chinese tradition. Tell why the Chinese valued these things. Cite examples from China Men that illustrate why these items are called the Four Most Valuable Things. Think about four valuable things in modern society. What things would you list as most valuable? How are they similar to and different from the Chinese traditional Four Most Valuable Things?

Essay Topic 3

Re-read the first two pages of Chapter 5, "The Great Grandfather of the Sandalwood Mountains." Summarize what happens when Kingston sends a distant cousin money for a bike. Kingston shows uncertainty regarding her decision not to send more money. Describe her reasons for the precaution she takes not to place her family in China any troubles.

Use this summary as a springboard to a longer essay regarding why Sojourners were expected to send money home to their Chinese wives and families. Why was this practice necessary? Does it stop at anytime during the time covered in Kingston's novel?

(see the answer keys)

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