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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. Who announces Sarhan's murder?

2. How old is Amer Wagdi when he returns to his old residence?

3. What does Sarhan relate?

4. Who owns Wagdi's old residence?

5. What does Hosny decide about Zohra?

Short Essay Questions

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

2. About what is Amer dreaming when he hears a ruckus in the hallway?

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

4. How does Hosny feel towards marriage and women?

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

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

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

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

9. Describe Sarhan al-Beheiry.

10. Describe Hosny Allam.

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Naguib Mahfouz has tried as much as possible to use historical events and facts around which to weave his work of fiction. Discuss the following:

1. Do you think "Miramar" qualifies as an historical fiction? Why or why not?

2. If much of the events in the book are historical, what surprises you about the way the events play out?

3. What surprises you about the culture of late 1960s Egypt?

Essay Topic 2

Certainly "Miramar" considers the subject of gender. Discuss the following:

1. Define the term "gender."

2. Does gender only refer to whether a person is male or female? Is gender easy to identify?

3. Discuss the Egyptian cultural definitions of gender during the era of "Miramar" and the expectations for each gender. Do any of those expectations exist today?

4. Would you like to live in a culture that has those expectations for men and women that are revealed in the book? Discuss fully with examples from the text.

5. Are women the only ones harmed by gender-based expectations? 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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