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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 country borders Eritrea to the southeast?

2. The bully who stole Mawi's bird in "The Camp" later had to join what, where he became one of the "list of senseless casualties"?

3. When a bully came after Mawi and pressed them into a fence, who came to his aid?

4. Mawi's father took in a homeless man and helped him. What did the man give him in return when he departed in "God's Angels"?

5. What is a literary device in which an author indistinctly suggests certain plot developments that might come later in the story?

Short Essay Questions

1. What did Mawi's parents believe about education, as described in "Playground Warfare"? Why?

2. How does Mawi describe his memories of his family as refugees in "The Camp"?

3. Who helped Mawi's family in "Coming to America"? What does this organization do?

4. How did the children in Mawi's new home perceive his family, as described in "Playground Warfare"? How did they treat them?

5. What woman helped Mawi's family find a sponsor in "A New Life"? How did the family adjust to the culture shock of the new country?

6. How does the author describe his origins in the Author's Note? What is the political history of this region?

7. How does the author describe the Sudanese rebels in "The Camp"? Where did the author's father want to go in order to find security?

8. What incident does Mawi describe of being bullied terribly in "Playground Warfare"? Who saved him?

9. Where did Mawi's family stay upon their arrival in the U.S. in "A New Life"? Who met and helped them at the airport?

10. What example of foreshadowing does the author employ in "A New Life"? What did the family learn about American culture in this chapter?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Describe the political atmosphere of Sudan in the early 1980s. How many rebel groups were there, and what were their objectives? Also discuss Haileab's vision of America. How correct were Haileab's perceptions of the United States? Who warned him against immigrating?

Essay Topic 2

Discuss the history, geography and cultures of Eritrea and Ethiopia. When did civil war break out between these nations? What were conditions of the war like? When did the political upheavals during the 1980s and 1990s originate? What led to the civil war?

Essay Topic 3

Describe and discuss the impact of Tewolde's death on the narrator. How was Tewolde killed? What foreshadowing refers to this incident early in the narrative? How does Mawi describe the aftermath of the accident? How was Tewolde remembered at his funeral?

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