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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. How long does Darius report having been flying to get from Oregon to Iran?

2. The word “babou” carries which of the following meanings in the novel?

3. To what Lord of the Rings character does Darius compare Trent?

4. On what date are the Kellners scheduled to leave Iran?

5. Where is the Portland celebration of Chaharshanbeh Suri, per the novel?

Short Essay Questions

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

2. What is Ardeshir doing when Darius first sees him in Iran?

3. What reasons does Darius give for mistrusting his mother’s assertion that his eyes are beautiful?

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

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

6. What reasons does Darius give for avoiding detailed discussion of his school as he rides from Tehran to Yazd with Fairba?

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

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

9. Why does Darius consider Javaneh brave?

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Darius considers the following:

“I wondered if all fathers secretly wanted to kill their sons. Just a little bit.

“Maybe that explained Stephen Kellner.

“Maybe it did” (89).

Is Darius’s wondering correct within the context of the novel? What in the text indicates whether it is or not? How does it do so.

Essay Topic 2

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?

Essay Topic 3

Consider Darius’s thought that “For Fariba Bahrami, love was an opportunity, not a burden” (75). How can love serve as either opportunity or burden? What in the novel and in experience supports the interpretation? How does it do so?

(see the answer keys)

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