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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. Why does Lester think the Behranis have hurt Kathy as he watches through the window?

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

3. Why does Nadereh believe the Behranis must help Kathy?

4. What does Lester try to convince Kathy to do now that they have held the Behrani family overnight?

5. How does Kathy say she feels about herself now that she is safe in bed inside the house?

Short Essay Questions

1. Who does Lester want to call from jail and what does he plan to say?

2. Behrani says that he sometimes believes he is being punished. What does he think he is being punished for, and how is this similar to Kathy's feelings?

3. After Esmail has been shot, the shooting officer looks at Lester. He needs a critical piece of information and Lester doesn't have it, either. What is that piece of information?

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

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

6. 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?

7. Why does Lester feel like a fraud?

8. What is nazr?

9. Lester watches his own image in the elevator doors spread out from the middle, then disappear. How is this symbol a metaphor for his situation?

10. As Kathy reviews events in her mind, she believes that she was willing to let Lester do anything to put off one moment. What is she so anxious to postpone?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

One definition of addiction is behavior that we continue even when we get negative consequences or when we know our actions are bad for us. When Kathy is waiting for something to happen, rather than taking action, she watches movies back to back, often without remembering what she has watched. Are movies another addiction for her? Can things that are not chemical be addictive? List Kathy's addictions and discuss the effect they have on her life.

Essay Topic 2

Main characters in this story reach a point where each feels that he is through with lies and deception. Analyze the importance of deception in this story. What does each of the men pretend to be that he is not? What do you think Dubus is trying to teach us about lies?

Essay Topic 3

Imagine that you are Lester's defense attorney. He has been charged with extortion, breaking and entering, false imprisonment, and kidnapping. How would you defend him against these charges?

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