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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 does Hulan think about that night before going to sleep?

2. What does Hulan do after Chaowen's death?

3. Of what does Li Gou remind David?

4. About what does Hulan lament?

5. What does Hulan stress to the Chinese workers as she informs them of Lily's murder?

Short Essay Questions

1. What is Liu Hulan doing at the opening of Chapter 1?

2. What does Ma say about the people who have died at Site 518 thus far?

3. Who do Liu and David meet at lunch the first day in Bashan?

4. What does Ma tell Liu about the missing relics in Chapter 6?

5. What does Brian's sister tell them about him, what does Lily say when she joins them in conversation?

6. What does Michael say when Hulan interviews him?

7. What happens on the river in the prologue?

8. What does Hulan do when the local security forces arrive at Lily's bedroom?

9. Who does Hulan interview about Lily?

10. Where do David, Hulan, and Ma go in Chapter 6? What do they see there?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Oftentimes, a book has more of a character-driven plot rather than action driven, and oftentimes the other way. Some books seem to balance the two. Discuss the following:

1. What do you think it means to say that a plot is character driven? Action driven?

2. How do you think a plot differs if it is character driven versus action driven?

3. Which type of plot do you find more interesting? Why?

4. Do you think it is possible to have a plot where action and character development share equal time? Why or why not.

5. What type of plot do you think Dragon Bones is? Explain your response.

Essay Topic 2

In most fiction, readers would like all the loose ends to be neatly "tied up." Discuss the following:

1. Do you think Dragon Bones is successful as a detective novel? Why or why not.

2. What about this book would motivate you to read another of Lisa See's books? What would discourage you from doing so?

3. Were all the "loose ends" satisfactorily settled for you? Why or why not.

Essay Topic 3

Dragon Bones, like most novels in the detective genre, involves police officers and police work. Discuss the following:

1. What are the characteristics of an effective police officer?

2. What additional characteristics does a police detective need?

3. Base upon the criteria in #1, 2 above, discuss the following characters and analyze whether you think they are effective police officers and/or detectives: Hulan, David, Hom, Zai, and Su.

(see the answer keys)

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