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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 Amer think of Marzug?

2. What does Wagdi recall?

3. Who does Hosny meet that he thinks would be worth marrying?

4. What happened in Azhar in 1919?

5. What does Hosny learn about Zohra at breakfast?

Short Essay Questions

1. Describe the encounter between Zohra, Hosny and Sarhan.

2. What do Amer and Mariana complain about and plan?

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

4. What are Hosny's impressions of the other Miramar residents?

5. What commotion in the hallway does Hosny respond to, and what does he do?

6. How does Hosny feel towards marriage and women?

7. How do Zohra and Amer have a chance to talk and how does Zohra feel about the two older, male boarders?

8. Describe Sarhan al-Beheiry.

9. What is Hosny's next encounter with Zohra and how does he react?

10. How does Amer respond to the news that Zohra is taking reading lessons, and how do others respond?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

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?

Essay Topic 2

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 3

Discuss the following:

1. Discuss Hosny Allam's character as symbolic of the corruption that underlies Egyptian culture at that time.

2. After researching Egyptian history from 1940 to the present, do you think Zohra Salama will make it as a single female in Egyptian society? Discuss fully using examples from your research.

3. Compare/contrast the life and choices of Zohra Salama to that of Safeya Barakat. How are their backgrounds similar or dissimilar? Why do they each make the specific choices they make? Could Zohra end up like Safeya? Why or why not? Is redemption possible for Safeya in the Egyptian culture of that time? Why or why not.

(see the answer keys)

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