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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. In a comment that “the park near the Jameh Mosque […] was becoming our spot” (235), the “our” refers to Darius and which of the following?

2. The comment that Darius “didn’t know how he did it. How he adapted himself to get along with all the Bahrami men, like a chameleon” (188) offers an example of which of the following?

3. The term “ghormeh sabzi” carries which of the following meanings, per the novel?

4. Which of the following is Shirin’s favorite place to kiss Stephen when others are present?

5. The comment that “Mint is the Borg of herbs” (208) offers an example of which of the following?

Short Essay Questions

1. In the group soccer game Darius and Sohrab play against Ali-Reza and Hossein, there is a metaphor in the opposing team’s goal being “completely undefended” against Sohrab’s play (247)? What is the vehicle to the undefended goal’s tenor, and how is it connected?

2. What litter does Darius note as he flees from the Rezaei home?

3. Why does Darius begin to get angry with Laleh as they leave Ashkan’s store?

4. Why, as Darius asserts to Sohrab at the Bahrami Nowruz celebration, is Stephen unhappy with him?

5. What reasons does Shirin give for not having taught Darius Farsi?

6. Why, per Darius, is kabob koobideh “the most suspicious-looking” of Persian foods (259-60)?

7. What reasons does Darius note for identifying Sohrab as a good listener at the Bahrami Nowruz celebration?

8. What is sekanjabin in the novel?

9. What are the three things Darius notes liking in Sohrab while walking with him and his family?

10. In the group soccer game Darius and Sohrab play against Ali-Reza and Hossein, the earlier epithet for Dairus, “Ayatollah,” is repeated but reimagined or reappropriated (249). What was its original meaning, as applied to Darius, and what is its reappropriated meaning?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Consider the following exchange between Stephen and Darius:

But then Dad looked at me and said, “Love you, Darius.”

And I said, “Love you, Dad.”

And that meant we weren’t going to talk about it anymore (62).

Why would a mutual affirmation of love foreclose discussion of a topic? What in the text and in experience suggests as much? 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

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?

(see the answer keys)

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