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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 met Mawi's family at the airport upon their arrival in the United States in "A New Life"?

2. In their leisure time, Mawi and his brother would go hunting with what?

3. What does the author describe his father having a fear of and the destructive power behind them in "A New Life"?

4. When they were still in elementary school, Mawi's brother told him stories about five brothers from where?

5. Eventually, Mawi started making friends through what game in "Playground Warfare"?

Short Essay Questions

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

2. 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?

3. Who led the author's family across the desert in "Memories"? How is she described?

4. What did the strangers from Mawi's homeland bring to his family in "A New Life"? How did they help his mother?

5. How does the author explain the meaning of his name in the Author's Note? Whose story does he assert Of Beetles and Angels tells in this preface?

6. What stories does the author say his brother told him in "Playground Warfare"? What did he later realize about these stories?

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

8. What did Mawi's family learn about American culture through television in "A New Life"? What else did they do for entertainment?

9. How does the author describe the educational system and his interaction with other children in "The Camp"?

10. With whom did Mawi travel across the desert in "Memories"? Where were they going? How old was Mawi?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Identify and analyze foreshadowing in "A New Life," and discuss the impressions of American culture gained by Mawi's family through television and tours. What did Mawi's father think of the television? Why? How did television shape the way Mawi's parents instructed their children to act in public?

Essay Topic 2

Discuss the theme of sacrifice in the narrative, and examine the reasons for Haileab's sacrifice in leaving his homeland. What dangers did his family face in staying where they were? Why did Haileab leave behind his wealth and everything he owned? How many others faced the same perils in order to escape?

Essay Topic 3

Discuss Mawi's father's sense of morality and the morality he instilled in his sons. Was the story told by Mawi's father about the boy stealing realistic for the time and place in which it occurred? What punishment did the boys face for their actions after stealing the parking meter? Why did they fear their father more than the police officer?

(see the answer keys)

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