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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 does Amer say opens the way through eloquence for the current generation of engineers and economists?

2. What has Mansour studied for his radio program?

3. What does Zohra explain to Mansour about the fight in the hall?

4. Who does Mansour learn is arrested?

5. What does Mansour think of Amer on the night of the Umm Kulthum concert?

Short Essay Questions

1. What are Mansour's first impressions of Zohra?

2. What does Mansour do when he learns of Fawzi's arrest?

3. Describe Mansour's version of the altercation in the hallway between an unknown woman, Zohra and Sarhan.

4. Summarize Mansour's analysis of the time the boarders spend together the night of the Umm Kulthum concert.

5. What does Sarhan say about Mariana when he asks to rent a room and how does Zohra act when she sees him at the Miramar?

6. How does Mahmoud inadvertently give Sarhan an excuse to move out of living with Safeya, and what does he say about marriage?

7. Describe Sarhan's encounter with Tolba on the street.

8. How does Ali convince Sarhan to join him in the heist?

9. What are Ali and Sarhan's plans to gain money?

10. What do Mansour and Amer discuss one night?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

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.

Essay Topic 2

Sarhan commits suicide (presumably). Discuss the following:

1. Trace and analyze five major events that leads up to Sarhan's suicide. Could any of them have been altered? What does each event contribute to Sarhan's fateful decision?

2. Suicide is often considered by people who feel they have no other options. Do you think Sarhan is at that point when he kills himself? What other options does Sarhan have (consider the times and culture in which Sarhan lives)?

3. Is Sarhan's suicide an act of courage? Stupidity? Selfishness? Do you hold him responsible for the impact his death will have on those who love him? How do you think they will be affected?

4. Do you think Sarhan's friends are partly to blame for the his problems? Why or why not?

Essay Topic 3

Oftentimes, a book is more of a character-driven plot rather than action driven, and sometimes the other way. Some books seem to balance the two. Discuss the following:

1. What do you think it means to say that a plot is character driven? Action driven?

2. How do you think a plot differs if it is character driven versus action driven?

3. Which type of plot do you find more interesting? Why?

4. Do you think it is possible to have a plot where action and character development share equal time? Why or why not.

5. What type of plot do you think "Miramar" is? Explain your response.

(see the answer keys)

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