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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. Where does Tessie and her family wait out the riots?

2. Where do Desdemona and Lefty move to when they arrive in the United States?

3. What artistic medium does Julie Kikuchi work with?

4. How does Lefty communicate with Calliope?

5. How is Lefty able to get he and Desdemona out of the burning city of Smyrna?

Short Essay Questions

1. What is particular significance of Lefty and Desdemona (brother and sister) marrying for Cal/Calliope, the narrator?

2. Describe the events that allow Desdemona and Lefty to depart from Smyrna.

3. Describe Detroit in 1967.

4. Why do the Ford Sociological Department workers visit Lefty's home? What do they find that concerns them?

5. Describe the Greek General Hajienestis.

6. What goes through Tessie's mind as she watches movies at the theatre?

7. Describe Desdemona's transformation after Calliope's birth.

8. How does Desdemona react to the speeches that she hears through the heating grates while working in the Silk Room?

9. Describe Sourmelina's appearance when Lefty and Desdemona first arrive in Detroit. What is the significance of the way she looks?

10. Describe Calliope's baptism.

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

One of the themes Middlesex explores is "nature vs. nurture". Discuss what the novel has to say about this theme. Cite several specific examples from the novel to support your ideas.

Essay Topic 2

Discuss the relationship between tradition and the modernity in Middlesex. How does the author represent the traditional and the modern in the story? How do the two interact with each other? What is the impact of modernity on tradition? Cite several specific examples from the novel to support your ideas.

Essay Topic 3

One of the themes in Middlesex is "you can't stop the inevitable". Discuss how Eugenides demonstrates this theme in the novel. Cite several specific examples from the novel to support your ideas.

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