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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. How does Lester know that Kathy doesn't need to go to the hospital?

2. Why do the police release Behrani with no charges against him?

3. What question does Lester's friend Doug ask him?

4. Who gets injured by the gun?

5. Of whom does Kathy remind Behrani?

Short Essay Questions

1. As Kathy takes the pills to kill herself, how does her attitude toward the Behranis change?

2. Why does Lester feel like a fraud?

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

4. How does Kathy feel as she goes back into the house to wait for Lester?

5. When Lester asks Kathy whether she really wanted to die, what does she answer and why is this answer important?

6. Why does Kathy go sit in the car to wait for Lester to return? Why doesn't she stay inside the house?

7. 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?

8. How do Behrani's feelings change when he finds Kathy in the car in his driveway?

9. Which of the Behranis takes responsibility for saving Kathy when they find her after she took the pills?

10. 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?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Behrani's relationship with his fellow soldiers led him to agree with things he didn't really believe in. Lester's relationship with his fellow officers has led him to do things he doesn't really believe in. Kathy says she believes that without the men "throwing their weight around," the women could have quickly solved the problem between them. Do you agree with her? Why or why not?

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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

The gun is an important symbol in this story. Those who are holding it sometimes feel stronger when they have it, sometimes weaker, as if it is a burden. In your essay, track the path of the gun from hand to hand, with the effect that it has on each person who carries it. Start with this thought: Do you think it is unusual that Lester would leave his gun with Kathy? Do policemen do such things under normal circumstances? What do you make of that occurrence?

(see the answer keys)

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