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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. When was Sanja allergic to everything?

2. What color pickup is a man near who is stripped to the waist shaving?

3. Where did the language that David, Sem, and Harun spoke used to be spoken?

4. What abandoned mining town are Sem and Harun driving toward when a wild rabbit leaps out in the road in front of them?

5. Why was Sem in Germany in 1999?

Short Essay Questions

1. In what language does Sem write?

2. What difficulties has Sanja had with allergies?

3. Why do they not know how to treat Sanja after her stroke?

4. What does Harun photograph at night, and to what does Sem compare the way that Harun creates photographs?

5. What form of address has Hraun used for Sem?

6. How has Sem noticed America closing itself up from the outside world?

7. What memory of driving in New Mexico does Sem hope that Sanja has not forgotten?

8. What is unusual about the corridor from the elevator to Sem and Sanja's apartment door, and what problems has that caused?

9. What do they learn about Sanja's condition after doing scans at the hospital?

10. What does Sem think is problematic about how treatment is managed in the hospital?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Personification is a type of figurative language that assigns human characteristics to inanimate objects. How does the author use personification in the book? How does the use of personification assist readers in imagining scenes and objects?

Essay Topic 2

After her stroke, Sanja experiences memory loss. How do Sanja and Sem cope with her memory loss? Why does Sem wish there was a machine "that discovers forgotten events and returns them to memory" (221)?

Essay Topic 3

Sem decides to take a road trip when he learns about the side effects of a medication he takes. Why does Sem decide to take a road trip? Why is Sem concerned about memory loss? Why does he think memory loss can be the same as death?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 949 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample