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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. On what date does the narrator write her mother from Seoul?

2. What language is Mother greeted in when she reaches her school?

3. What did Japan do as it assumed control over Korea?

4. In "Melpomene: Tragedy," what evidence of conflicts past does the narrator see?

5. How does Mother repay her college loans?

Short Essay Questions

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

2. What is Mother's MAH-UHM? Where is it trapped?

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

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

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

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

7. Where does Mother teach?

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

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

10. Discuss the significance of Mary in the "Opening." When does she appear? How is she important?

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

Select and analyze one of the dominant image strands in the work. How does the recurring image function within the context of the work? What associations does it form for the reader? How does it add meaning to the text? In selecting your image, think for instance of the light and dark imagery that runs throughout or the body imagery that appears in many sections of the work.

Essay Topic 3

Suffering is a significant motif throughout the work, emerging in forms as varied as personal struggles with self-expression to saintly martyrdom. In this work, suffering receives a complex and nuanced treatment. Analyze how the role suffering, in its various forms, is used in the work. Is suffering viewed as an unfortunate part of the human condition? Is there anything productive about the suffering in Cha's work? How are we to interpret Cha's decision to emphasize so many different types of suffering? What does this motif add to the work as a whole?

(see the answer keys)

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