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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 Nima fantasize would have become of her father if he had lived?

2. What is all Nima's mother will tell her about her grandmother?

3. What does Nima remember wistfully Haitham doing for her years earlier?

4. What do Nima and her best friend often watch?

5. How many pyramids does the teacher in "Pyramids" tell the class their home country still has?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why do Nima and Aisha go to the hospital in "The Bus"?

2. What does Mama Fatheya tell Nima about her own birth in "Calling Haitham"?

3. Why does Haitham call Nima a "Nostalgia Monster"?

4. What does Nima imagine about herself in the mirror?

5. What happens in "The Airport" that Nima always remembers as hurting her mother deeply?

6. In "Haitham" (55), what begins the fight between Haitham and Nima?

7. Why does Nima think her own name is somewhat ironic?

8. Why does Aisha name Nima "Nima" instead of "Yasmeen" ?

9. In "Jinn," what does Nima think Yasmeen has appeared to her for?

10. What does Nima use to imagine Aisha's life before she herself was born?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

How does Elhillo use Yasmeen's character to reveal certain aspects of Nima's character that were previously hidden to the reader? Write an essay explaining your answers, citing specific references to the text to help support your conclusions.

Essay Topic 2

How does Elhillo describe Nima's feelings of inadequacy and self-doubt in the early stages of the novel? Write an essay explaining your answers, citing specific references to the text to help support your conclusions.

Essay Topic 3

Why do you think Elhillo decided to write this novel in verse, choosing that structure over others? Write an essay explaining your answers.

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 620 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample