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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, in addition to her name, did Ayaan lie about on her paperwork for refugee status in Chapter 10, "Running Away"?

2. Whose quotes did Ayaan claim to find in the Quran after the September 11 attacks in the U.S.?

3. When did Ayaan's short film made with Theo van Gogh air on Dutch television?

4. Ayaan was sent to a small town in what U.S. state when she went into hiding following the assassination of Theo van Gogh?

5. When was Mahmoud Ahmadinejad born?

Short Essay Questions

1. Where did Ayaan travel when death threats became an issue in Chapter 15, "Threats"? How did she encounter politics on this trip?

2. How does the author describe her relationship with her sister in Chapter 13, "Leiden"?

3. What were Ayaan's first days as an official refugee like in Chapter 11, "A Trial by the Elders"?

4. Where did Ayaan decide to seek political asylum in Chapter 10, "Running Away"? Why?

5. What interactions did Ayaan have with her father and husband in Chapter 11, "A Trial by the Elders"?

6. When was Theo van Gogh killed in Chapter 17, "The Murder of Theo"? What effect did his murder have on Ayaan's safety?

7. Where did Ayaan travel in the beginning of Chapter 10, "Running Away"? Who did she meet there?

8. What does the author write regarding her decision to leave Holland in the Epilogue?

9. How does the author describe her return to Parliament in Chapter 17, "The Murder of Theo"?

10. Describe the situation in which Ayaan went into hiding in Chapter 17, "The Murder of Theo." For how long was she allowed minimal contact with friends and family?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Discuss and analyze the author's year in Ethiopia in Chapter 4, "Weeping Orphans and Widowed Wives." What led the family to move to Kenya? Also describe Ayaan's first encounters with Christianity at the school in Ethiopia. What were the living circumstances like for the author?

Essay Topic 2

Analyze and discuss the narrative style of the autobiography and the main settings described in the Introduction. Where did the author spend the majority of her childhood? In what person and tense is the story related?

Essay Topic 3

Describe and discuss the setting of Holland and Ayaan's first weeks there. How long did it take Ayaan to file for refugee status? Where did Ayaan find housing and with whom? What did Ayaan think of the helpfulness of the Dutch people?

(see the answer keys)

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