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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. During the Japanese occupation, what edict came out regarding men's grooming?

2. What did the Japanese laws mandate regarding pipes?

3. Which of the following is absent from the Korea that the narrator visits?

4. How is the first English paragraph in the Opening punctuated?

5. How many volunteer resistance members were killed by Japanese troops on September 12, 1907?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why is Yu Guan Soon's birth dated on the lunar calendar while her death is dated on the Julian calendar?

2. Where does Mother teach?

3. Why does Cha include a quoted section of Japanese-Korean history in "Clio: History"?

4. Discuss the laws the Japanese imposed on the Koreans.

5. In "Urania: Astronomy," why does the poetry appear in side-by-side translation?

6. Although the text is written in English, many of the forms and structures Cha uses do not adhere to standards of American English. Some of the translation passages, in particular, seem to have a structure that evinces first-language influence. Do you think the translation passages were originally written in English? Why or why not?

7. Why does Cha include images of the circulatory system, the nervous system, and the respiratory system in in "Urania: Astronomy," a section dedicated to astronomy?

8. Describe the medical procedure in "Urania: Astronomy."

9. Why is Mother born in Manchuria?

10. Describe the process Mother undergoes to become an American citizen.

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Language and the power of speech recur as central needs throughout the work. Often the act of speech or the need to communicate becomes the central focus of particular passages or entire sections. Analyze Cha's treatment of speech and language in the work. Is the power of speech celebrated? Is silence championed? How do the pressures of language acquisition factor into her commentary on language and communication? How do the pressures of immigrant or exile identity affect speech and language?

Essay Topic 2

Throughout Dictee, Cha experiments with notions of time; she comments on concepts of time ranging from systems of calendar dating to experiential time. Discuss the role of time in Cha's work. How does she manipulate language to convey different experiences of time? Why does she incorporate so many methods of marking or experiencing time? How does incorporating these differing experience of time work contribute to the overall project of the work?

Essay Topic 3

In addition to the motif of suffering, the work exhibits a recurrent theme of transcendence as well. Cha's mother overcomes her exile status and poor health in Manchuria, saintly and Christ-like figures transcend worldly suffering, and the narrator transcends the painful distances between herself and the other women who compose her identity. How does Cha treat transcendence in this work? Is it a happily-ever-after, feel-good ending to a painful experience? Or perhaps it is a testament to the triumph of the human spirit? Is there a religious or spiritual component to her message? Using support from the text, discuss Cha's message regarding transcendence of suffering.

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