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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. What image opens "Clio: History"?

2. In "Urania: Astronomy," Cha creates an elaborate pun on which of the following words?

3. What format does the conversation in the confessional take?

4. What is the major struggle in the Opening?

5. What does Mother do with her wages?

Short Essay Questions

1. Discuss the significance of breath in "Urania: Astronomy."

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

3. Where does Mother teach?

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

5. What is happening in the opening passage of "Melpomene: Tragedy"?

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

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

8. Describe Mother's ideas about what people do just before death.

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

10. 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?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Much of Cha's text deals with the experience of being a Korean-American woman in the period following the Korean War. How does she treat this experience? How does she comment on her place and/or reception within U.S. American culture? Is she nostalgic for Korea? Proud to be an American? Both? Support your answer with evidence from the text.

Essay Topic 2

Religion is a theme that pervades the work in several forms. How does Cha's narrator treat religion? What does Cha have to say about the uses (or perhaps abuses) of religion in Korean and Korean-American culture? Consider the nun's relationship to the Church, as well as the religious rituals and lessons, which appear throughout the work in forming your answer.

Essay Topic 3

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?

(see the answer keys)

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