2. What is the jury's verdict?
(a) They find Willis innocent.
(b) They are a hung jury and come to no decision.
(c) They find Willis guilty.
(d) They nullify the law and set Willis free?

3. What recurring problem does Dorothy face when she is younger?
(a) Homesickness for her life in Taiwan.
(b) Sexual harassment.
(c) Racist beliefs about her intelligence.
(d) Being falsely accused of crimes.

4. What does Older Brother tell Green the protagonist is really asking for?
(a) To be left alone by Black and White.
(b) To be treated like any other American.
(c) To be declared innocent.
(d) For a leading role on Black and White.

5. What did the judge rule in People v. Hall?
(a) Chinese laborers can only live and work in Chinatowns.
(b) Marrying an Asian should cause an American to lose citizenship.
(c) Immigration of Asian peoples must be halted.
(d) Asians and Indians are the same group.

Short Answer Questions

1. Why does Chiang Kai-shek enter Taiwan?

2. Which person does the protagonist remember frequently playing characters who died?

3. What is the fear that Phoebe hesitates to tell the protagonist?

4. 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?

5. Why does Ming-Chen Wu leave UCLA?

Short Essay Questions

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

2. What is Green's argument when she accuses the protagonist of narcissism?

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

4. 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?

5. How does Yu set the reader up to feel the maximum impact of the revelation of Phoebe's fifth "fear"?

6. What thematic purpose does it serve to focus on the attractiveness of the prosecutor and witnesses and to include indicators of sexual tension in the courtroom?

7. 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?

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

9. What is Older Brother's purpose in introducing People v Hall?

10. What happens to Ming-Chen Wu when he finally gets the role of Sifu?

(see the answer keys)

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