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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 "Polymnia: Sacred Poetry," what forms an opaque screen between earth and sky?

2. According to the narrator of "Terpischore: Choral Dance," what once swelled the muscle and the bone?

3. According to the narrator of 'Retour,' what happens as you read?

4. How does the child respond to the woman's gift in "Polymnia: Sacred Poetry"?

5. In "Terpischore: Choral Dance," what does water on the surface of the stone capture?

Short Essay Questions

1. Discuss the narrator's treatment of memory in "Elitere: Lyric Poetry."

2. Discuss the parallel between the ritual of becoming a nun and that of becoming a wife.

3. Discuss at least two possible meanings of the partition imagery which appears in "Elitere: Lyric Poetry."

4. Compare "memory" with "second memory." How are these passages alike or different?

5. Identify one central symbol of "Terpischore: Choral Dance" and discuss its relevance.

6. What does the woman give to the young girl in "Polymnia: Sacred Poetry"?

7. Describe the earth in "Terpischore: Choral Dance."

8. Describe the woman's feelings regarding the telephone in "Thalia: Comedy."

9. Discuss the ending of the work. Why does it end with a child looking out a window?

10. Examine the camera directions which describe the woman's experience in the cinema in "Erato: Love Poetry."

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Discuss the author's play with genre in the novel. How does Cha manipulate various genres and forms in her work? Does Cha break genre conventions in a way that expands our notions of what a book can do? Or does she simply overstep the bounds of what a book should do? Provide evidence and support for your analysis.

Essay Topic 2

Cha makes repeated allusions to the intervention of various outside forces in the politics and lives of the Korean people. Discuss Cha's commentary on imperialism and neo-imperialist policies. Does she seem to support international intervention in the so-called civil war in Korea? Does she wish assistance had arrived sooner? In Cha's work, how does the international involvement in the Korean War conflict compare to the Japanese occupation during and after World War II?

Essay Topic 3

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.

(see the answer keys)

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