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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 book does Darius bring to read on the trip to Iran?

2. Which of the following smells does Darius ascribe to boys’ locker rooms?

3. Which of the following is NOT a component of a lamassu?

4. The word “chador” means which of the following, per the novel?

5. Why, in “Truck Nuts,” is Stephen obliged to brake while driving?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why does Darius consider Javaneh brave?

2. What activity does Darius report undertaking with Laleh that she pretends not to like?

3. What reasons does Darius give for not eating falafel at home?

4. What does Darius identify as the two most humiliating moments in his life?

5. What reasons does Darius give for disliking Subway?

6. What reasons does Darius give for not liking figs?

7. What reasons does Darius have to doubt Fariba’s pronouncement of his handsomeness as he rides from Tehran to Yazd with her?

8. What reasons does Darius posit for Ardeshir’s dislike of Stephen?

9. How does Darius relate his mother’s early misunderstanding of taarof with his father’s parents?

10. Darius considers shouting at the second customs officer he encounters in Iran. What does he consider shouting, and why does he refrain from doing so?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Darius notes the following:

“No one had ever made people speak in English around me before.

“Not even Mom” (235).

What is the significance of Sohrab insisting on English with Darius? Why is it significant?

Essay Topic 2

As Darius prepares to leave Iran, he notes that he intends to call Fariba weekly but knows he will fail, noting that “Because each time I talked to her, I’d have to say good-bye.

“Now that we were part of each other’s lives—our real lives, not our photonic ones—I didn’t know if I could survive that” (299).

Given that, is Darius better off for having had the experience of meeting his Persian family? How does the novel support or deny the idea?

Essay Topic 3

Throughout the novel, Darius notes some embarrassment whenever he is asked whether he has a girlfriend. Why might he be thusly embarrassed? What in the novel supports that answer? How does it support the answer?

(see the answer keys)

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