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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. The author of "The Li Sao" is

2. After Captain Carroll rescues the China Men from being adrift in the sea, where do the China Men ask the Captain to take them?

3. What does the Hundred-Year-Old Man say he carried with him from China to Hawai'i?

4. For what does the doctor at the jail treat the Wild Man?

5. Which statement best describes Kingston's attitude toward the Communists?

Short Essay Questions

1. How does Kingston give the reader information about the Communist Revolution and the later wars? Include details about her brother's experience in the Navy as a pacifist.

2. Describe the relationship between Father and the owner of the Gambling House.

3. Create a dictionary using words from the chapter, "The Li Sao: An Elegy." Choose words that readers will need to have knowledge of in order to understand the story. Create a display using words that fit the theme of the folktale, such as phoenix, mourned, epic, elegy, lament, sorrow, estrangement, incorruptible, entwined, requiem, warmongers, etc.

4. At the end of the story about Kau and Great Aunt, Kingston writes that the Great Aunt's return to Red China is a clue that the country of their heritage is not as bad as the stories imply. What does this reveal to the reader about the narrator and her understanding of Communist China?

5. Summarize Kingston's childhood account of seeing a "Wild Man" every day when she and her sister walked to school.

6. What does Kingston mean at the end of "Alaska China Men" when she writes, ". . . perhaps any China Man was China Joe"?

7. What does Lo Bun Sun's constant work and preparation suggest about his character?

8. Compare and contrast Uncle Bun's beliefs about the benefits of communism and his dreams of a Communist World and Father's political beliefs.

9. Explain why members of the freighter's crew try to send their shipmate to China and describe the Wild Man's response at the airport.

10. Describe the relationship between Lo Bun Sun and Sing Kay Ng.

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

How do Chinese immigrants in California and in New York perceive the American demons? Describe why the Chinese call all other ethnic groups outside of China demons. Find examples in China Men to support the immigrants' perception as correct. Then compare and contrast the work ethic of both Americans and Chinese immigrants as illustrated in the novel China Men.

Essay Topic 2

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.

Essay Topic 3

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?

(see the answer keys)

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