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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. How does the cousin's statement make Umm Saad feel?

2. When does Nabil wake up in "A Hand in the Grave"?

3. Who is Nabil going to fulfill his task with?

4. What does Umm Saad ask her cousin?

5. How is Suhail injured?

Short Essay Questions

1. Briefly describe the story of the Nar.

2. How does Umm Saad want to support her son?

3. How does Jadaan show his indifference to everyone around him?

4. What does the father's religiousness foreshadow in "A Hand in the Grave"?

5. Why does Nabil decide to rob a grave?

6. How is Umm Saad related to the narrator, and how is this revealed?

7. What is the rumor concerning Jadaan and a red-haired woman?

8. What does Nabil learn about the graveyard seven years later?

9. What did Jadaan do after he met the red-haired woman?

10. Why does Nabil transfer out of medical school?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

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.

Essay Topic 2

As with most stories, there is usually a beginning, middle, climax, and end; "The Land of Sad Oranges" is no different. Discuss the events of the story leading up to the climax. What does the climax of the story demonstrate? What does the father's desperation show? How is this a turning point for the narrator? Remember to answer each question with evidence from the story.

Essay Topic 3

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.

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 629 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample