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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 Kathy want from Lester now that she realizes they can never recover the house?

2. Why hasn't Lester told Esmail the gun was empty?

3. Why does Lester believe he will have to tell Alvarez the truth?

4. How does Behrani feel when he has put Kathy to bed?

5. What does Deputy Gleason come to tell Lester when he sees him on the street with Behrani and Esmail?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why does Lester feel that his gun has become a "burdensome overreaction in the house?"

2. Why does young Deputy Gleason's expression of gratitude when he encounters Lester on the street make Lester feel worse?

3. Why does Lester feel that his anger, which is leaving him in the Behrani house, is something precious that he needs?

4. Although Lester believes Behrani's story, he becomes angry again when Behrani describes Kathy as "drunk." Behrani is angry at Lester when he sees him studying his photo with the shah. How are these two moments similar?

5. When Nadereh told Lester that her husband was "only good," Behrani believed that she had a different meaning than a positive comment on his character. What does Behrani believe Nadereh meant?

6. Why is Kathy's judgment so confused as she drives to the house and parks in the driveway?

7. Why does Lester conclude that the Behranis have told him the truth about Kathy's situation?

8. Kathy doesn't shower because she doesn't want to clean up, then put on again the clothes she has stolen. How is this a metaphor for her situation now?

9. Why does Lester feel like a fraud?

10. Nadereh berates Behrani while he repairs her mother's table, but he lets her insults "pass over like training jets with no ammunition." Why doesn't he respond to her tirade, and what does she finally say that causes him to enter the argument?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Kathy wears Nick's sunglasses and clothing stolen from her employer, drives a car her brother gave her, and uses Lester's gun. She allows other people to buy things for her and to take on her problems. What does this tell you about her attitude toward possessions? What do these things tell you about her attitudes toward other people? Do you think she sees them as nothing more than resources - Nick as a sperm donor, Lester as a protector, Frank as a rescuer? Does she care for anyone else? Why do you think this is important to the story?

Essay Topic 2

The breaking of promises is a significant theme in this story. Behrani, Kathy, and Lester all make vows and break them. Choose one of the three characters. Analyze the promises they make and their motivation for breaking those promises. For example, the HALT advice for addicts is useful, but ignored by Kathy. How might the story have been different if she and/or Lester had followed the HALT prescription?

Essay Topic 3

Does your personal opinion about these characters change as the story progresses? Do you take sides? Do you feel that one is right and the other wrong, that both are wrong, or that both are victims of someone else's error? Using the notes you made in your notebook during the early days of reading this book, discuss the changes in your own impressions of the characters. If your feelings changed, tell why. If they did not change, tell why.

(see the answer keys)

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