View a FREE sample

This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. What does Mother do with her wages?

2. From which sources does news of the September conflict emerge?

3. What image opens "Clio: History"?

4. Which ritual contains nine of each action?

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

Short Essay Questions

1. How does the speaker in the "Opening" perceive religion?

2. Describe the way Cha treats soldiers in "Melpomene: Tragedy."

3. What is the significance of the italicized passages in the "Opening"?

4. In "Urania: Astronomy," what does the tongue image symbolize?

5. Why is Mother born in Manchuria?

6. In "Calliope: Epic Poetry," how does the narrator attempt to communicate with her mother?

7. Discuss the significance of the image at the end of "Clio: History."

8. Discuss the significance of the title which first appears in the "Opening." What does "dictee" mean? How does it fit the work?

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

10. In "Urania: Astronomy," how do pages and punctuation relate to the focus on breath?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Throughout the work, Cha incorporates visual elements, such as photographs, copies of letters, reproductions of charts, and Korean characters to enhance her project. Discuss the significance of these visual components. How do they influence the experience of reading the book? How do they contribute to Cha's overall message? How would the book be different if she had not included them?

Essay Topic 2

Discuss the significance of the work's nine-part structure. How does Cha's invocation of a Muse in each chapter structure and order the work? What new layer of meaning does it lend the text? Is this choice effective in adding to the overall message of the work? Why or why not?

Essay Topic 3

Cha's Dictee centers on women in every section. Explore the myriad, often contradictory, roles of women in the work. Compare their roles across various cultures and time frames. How does their role change in these various settings? How does it remain the same? Why does Cha focus almost exclusively on women?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 776 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample