View a FREE sample

This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. What is the name of the horse that the son finds notes on?

2. What rivers does Abu Qais recall his teacher talking about?

3. Who does Assad borrow the money from?

4. When does the family reach Sidon?

5. Why is the son afraid that his father is dead in "If You Were a Horse"?

Short Essay Questions

1. What foreshadows the importance of the river in "Men in the Sun"?

2. What does the son realize at the end of "If You Were a Horse"?

3. What is ironic about the conversation Abul Khaizarun has with a man in the customs office?

4. In "The Land of Sad Oranges," how does the army affect the father's mental state in two extremes?

5. In "If You Were a Horse," why does the father refuse to allow his son to perform his surgery?

6. What is ironic about Abul Khaizarun confirming the bad reputation of smugglers?

7. In "The Land of Sad Oranges," when a child requests something from his father, what happens?

8. In "If You Were a Horse," why does the father wish his son were a horse?

9. What does the narrator's confusion about the father's money infer in "The Land of Sad Oranges"?

10. How is all the foreshadowing of death fulfilled in the end of "Men in the Sun"?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

In "Letter from Gaza," the narrator originally had different plans, but then his perspective changed, as well as his plans. How does the narrator's perspective change? Why does it change? Why is he able to see something so clearly that he has not seen before? Remember to answer each question with evidence from the story.

Essay Topic 2

In "A Hand in the Grave," Nabil and his father may share the same blood, but they are very different, and often fight. How does the father see his son? How does Nabil see the father? How would you describe their relationship in general? Remember to answer each question with evidence from the story.

Essay Topic 3

Irony is a theme that runs throughout "Men in the Sun" in the form of some of the character's actions and some of their words or the situations they find themselves in. Name three specific instances of irony, and explain why they are ironic. Remember to answer each question thoroughly with evidence from the story.

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 729 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample