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. At what time did the doorkeeper in Mernissi's childhood home turn off the stair lights at night?

2. How many rows did the harem reserve for themselves at the movies?

3. What was the name of the French city described in "The French Harem"?

4. How does Mernissi describe the harem she lived in in Fez?

5. What did Mernissi's mother do before going to the movies?

Short Essay Questions

1. What was life like for Mernissi in the upstairs quarters of her home?

2. When did Tamou arrive at Grandfather Tazi's farm?

3. What did the women of the harem do so they could listen to the radio?

4. Why did Lalla Radia believe that harems were wonderful?

5. What was Ahmed's role in the Mernissi household?

6. How did the women escape from the house by using the terrace route?

7. What worried Samir and Mernissi about Hitler?

8. Did Yasmina feel close to her co-wives?

9. How does Mernissi describe the Germans?

10. How did Grandfather Tazi try and persuade Yasmina to stop calling her duck Thor after his first wife?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Analyze the symbolism of the forbidden terrace. Why did the children and depressed women wish to go to the terrace? How did lives seem to change and grow because of the terrace?

Essay Topic 2

Discuss the significance of beauty rituals in harem life. What did Aunt Habiba mean when she said "Skin is political"? In what way did the women's beauty rituals scare the men?

Essay Topic 3

Explain how Mernissi's father tried to balance his belief in traditional values with accepting his wife's yearning for a freer, more independent life. Choose three examples that show his support for her.

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 813 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample