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

2. How long is Darius able to enjoy Stephen’s company most evenings, by report?

3. Which of the following is among the names Laleh gives to the goldfish on the Kellner’s Haft-Seen?

4. The word “mamou” carries which of the following meanings in the novel?

5. In what grade is Laleh?

Short Essay Questions

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

2. What reasons does Darius give for disliking pu-erh tea?

3. Why, per Darius, does he not shower after gym class at his school?

4. What games are included in Darius’s “net sports” unit?

5. Near the end of “Bette Davis Eyes,” what does Darius report wanting and failing to tell Ardeshir?

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

7. What does Darius notice when first reaching Ashkan’s store?

8. What reasons does Darius give for Stephen laughing after his backpack is broken?

9. Why does Darius consider Javaneh brave?

10. What reasons does Darius give for disliking Subway?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Near the end of “The Best of Both Worlds,” the narrator notes that he nearly refused to play soccer,

“But that’s what Darius would have done.

“Darioush would have tried out.

“I thought about telling Sohrab that I had made the team. And sending him photos of me in my kit. And him squinting and congratulating me.

“I thought about having fun on the field, like I did with him and Asghar and even Ali-Reza and Hossein.

“‘Maybe I will,’ I said. ‘Maybe I will’” (306-07).

Which persona does the narrator ultimately adopt, Darius or Darioush? What in the novel suggests as much? How does it do so?

Essay Topic 2

Darius repeatedly notes Stephen’s prototypically or stereotypically Germanic persona. What might be the purpose of calling attention to it? What in the novel suggests as much? How does it make the suggestion?

Essay Topic 3

At the end of “Chelo Kabob,” Stephen appears to reach an accord with his father- and brothers-in-law during a conversation about grilling (261). Why would the topic serve such a function? What in the novel and in experience indicates as much? How does it do so?

(see the answer keys)

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