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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. Who does the judge say will decide if the protagonist is a victim or a suspect?

2. How does Allen, Ming-Wu's college roommate, die?

3. What space has Phoebe used to create her imaginary land?

4. What does the protagonist think is true about Phoebe?

5. What does the phrase "a castle in the air" refer to?

Short Essay Questions

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

2. What are the main points that the protagonist makes in his monologue?

3. When the police come for the protagonist, where does Karen say he is going, and what evidence is there that she does not really understand the protagonist's plan?

4. How does Dorothy's sister Angela treat her, and what is ironic about Angela's eventual fate?

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

6. What does the protagonist see as the benefits and drawbacks of the place where his daughter is growing up?

7. 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?

8. 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?

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

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Write an essay in which you explore the effect of the second-person narration on the reader's emotional response to the novel. Consider at a minimum the impact on the reader's relationship to characters, the reader's response to plot, and the effectiveness of themes couched in the second person rather than the more traditional first or third person points of view. Be sure to use textual evidence to support your claims.

Essay Topic 2

Willis's ambitions are entirely circumscribed by the world of Chinatown. And yet, to go outside of Chinatown to find better opportunities would mean leaving behind a significant part of himself. To what extent does American culture demand that a person give up primary loyalty to their heritage in exchange for success? Does this happen to everyone, or only to those in certain groups? Is there a logical way around this problem, or is it just one of the harsh realities that some people have to face? Write an essay in which you explore how this motif is developed within the novel and then make a claim about how well this represents modern-day America. Be sure to back claims in both sections of your essay with strong evidence and warrants, and remember that anecdotes about individuals are not evidence--evidence about social phenomena comes from studies of groups, not from individual cases. Cite all sources in MLA format.

Essay Topic 3

Write an essay that examines how Interior Chinatown's status as metafiction as well as its use of pastiche, and hyperreality and simulacra relate to the thematic motif of performance versus authenticity. Be sure to support your ideas with evidence from the text and to cite any outside references in MLA format.

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 1,285 words (approx. 5 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample