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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. Which young woman was the best at giving love glances?

2. What did Mernissi's father organize a crusade against in "American Cigarettes"?

3. What did the teacher Lalla Tam say about having debts?

4. Who was Sis Sussi?

5. What kind of oil does Mernissi's mother put in Mernissi's hair to tame her unruly locks?

Short Essay Questions

1. What was Mernissi's reaction when she went up to the forbidden terrace?

2. Why did Mernissi like to hide in olive jars?

3. What did Mernissi's mother do when her husband bought her expensive face products from France?

4. What does Mernissi say were the two things a woman had to do to capture a man's love?

5. What was Mernissi's father's attitude about her mother's beauty rituals?

6. How did Mernissi's mother tame her daughter's unruly hair?

7. What did the big bird design Aunt Habiba was stitching symbolize to her?

8. What did Mernissi like about the nationalist school she was allowed to attend?

9. What was Aunt Habiba's rule for the children who attended Sidi Belal's dance?

10. What did the grownups think that children should know about violence?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Why did Mernissi fear the French soldiers as a young child? What did she and Samir witness regarding the soldiers that had a negative effect on them? Why does Mernissi say the French were greedy?

Essay Topic 2

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.

Essay Topic 3

In what ways did the natural world play an essential role in the lives of women in this memoir? How did Mernissi respond to living on the farm as opposed to the city house? What did Yasmina tell her about the natural world and women?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 830 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample