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This test consists of 5 multiple choice questions, 5 short answer questions, and 10 short essay questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What is a "dialectic"?
(a) A conversation.
(b) Something that operates through opposing forces.
(c) A manner of speaking outside of the mainstream.
(d) Something intended to sabotage an official process.

2. What role does Karen usually play?
(a) Special Guest Star.
(b) Floating Latina.
(c) White Girl With Exotic Eyes.
(d) Ethnically Ambiguous Woman Number One.

3. What does the phrase "a castle in the air" refer to?
(a) A perspective from which to see more clearly.
(b) A secure position from which to defend oneself.
(c) A dream that is not likely to come true.
(d) A pure place that uncomfortable truth cannot touch.

4. In the context of "ACT V: KUNG FU DAD," what does "xie xie" mean?
(a) Good morning.
(b) Hello.
(c) Thank you very much.
(d) Time to wake up.

5. When the protagonist offers to play with Phoebe, where does she retreat?
(a) To her imaginary "school."
(b) To the set of her show.
(c) To her castle.
(d) To Karen's room.

Short Answer Questions

1. What does Ming-Chen Wu's father try to save from their burning house?

2. After Green takes the stand, what objection does Older Brother raise?

3. On page 233, who tells the protagonist "Your oppression is second-class"?

4. What did the judge rule in People v. Hall?

5. When the protagonist runs into "Attractive Officer" by the donut table, who else does she point out is "invisible" in the world of Black and White?

Short Essay Questions

1. When Ming-Chen tells Dorothy, on page 155, "This is how we met. And fell in love," what is Dorothy's response, and what compromise do they reach?

2. What is the significance, during the protagonist's monologue, of the light hitting him "just right" (245)?

3. When Dorothy and Ming-Chen Wu first meet, Dorothy asks him "Now that you've found me, what do you have to say for yourself?" (132) What is his response, and what is its significance?

4. What is the real struggle that the protagonist is undergoing as he tries to tell Phoebe a story?

5. What happens to Ming-Chen Wu's friend Allen after he becomes a success in the United States?

6. On page 188, the script notes that Karen and Phoebe's show is "a cartoon. Sort of." In what sense is this both literally and figuratively true?

7. What does the protagonist believe he will gain and lose by staying with Phoebe and Karen?

8. What is the conflict between the protagonist and Karen about how Phoebe is growing up?

9. What causes the protagonist to finally go in search of his family?

10. Why does the protagonist react badly both to the news about the baby and the later news about Karen's new show?

(see the answer keys)

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