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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. What does Sarhan insist about Zohra?

2. About what does Amer warn Zohra?

3. What do all of the three younger boarders declare?

4. About what does Hosny obsess?

5. What helps the group gathering?

Short Essay Questions

1. What is the general atmosphere at the beginning of the Umm Kulthum concert, and how does that change?

2. Why is Sarhan fighting a drunken Hosny in the hall one evening?

3. Who announces Sarhan's death and what is Hosny's reaction?

4. With whom does Hosny hook up after leaving the Umm Kulthum at intermission, and what is the woman's advice to him?

5. Describe Mansour Bahy.

6. Describe Hosny Allam.

7. After dropping the woman off at Mazarita, how does Hosny relieve his tension?

8. Why does Hosny move to Miramar and what is his first thought about Zohra?

9. What is Tolba Marzuq relationship to Mariana, and what does Amer think of him?

10. How does Hosny feel towards marriage and women?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

In the world of academe, historical fiction is often considered an inferior form of the novel compared to "classic" literature. Discuss the following:

1. Why do you think historical fiction might be considered second-rate compared to the classics?

2. Do you think historical fiction has the same elements as the classics? Why or why not?

3. What are the purposes do you think for people reading "the classics"? What are the purposes for people reading historical fiction? Is one purpose better than another? Explain your response.

4. Would you read historical fiction even outside an educational setting? Why or why not?

Essay Topic 2

Many events that happen in "Miramar" are foreshadowed by previous events and/or signs. Discuss the following:

1. Define the literary term "foreshadow."

2. Why would an author use foreshadowing? Do you think it adds or detracts from your experience as a reader? Explain.

3. Trace and analyze five instances of foreshadowing in the story. Match up what is mentioned earlier and what it foreshadows. Did you guess that each instance of foreshadowing was a "heads up" of something to come? Why or why not.

Essay Topic 3

Naguib Mahfouz published over 50 novels, more than 350 short stories, dozens of movie scripts, and five plays over a 70-year career. Many of his works have been made into Egyptian and foreign films. There are a number of interesting questions raised by this book. Questions that Mahfouz may have wanted readers to consider and think through carefully. Discuss the following:

1. Research the life of Naguib Mahfouz and see if/where his life may have influenced his writing. Write a 2-3 page informative essay about Mahfouz as an author.

2. What does the term "author agenda" mean?

3.. Name one idea/concept you think may have been a part of the Mahfouz's agenda. Analyze that idea throughout the book and discuss Mahfouz's probable agenda concerning that idea.

3. Do you think writers who have an agenda for writing should point it out in a preface?

4. How often do you think fiction is written with a clear agenda in mind by the author?

(see the answer keys)

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