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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 is Maryam's family name?

2. Who suggests to Amina that Aisha's engagement be allowed until Khadija is married first?

3. What kind of eyes does Amina say Ahmad had that made her confess how she really was injured?

4. Who is left with the sorrow of a lost opportunity when Ahmad refues to let Aisha be married?

5. What does Amina feel transformed into when entering a mosque?

Short Essay Questions

1. How is Yasin and Amina's visit to the al-Husayn shrine described?

2. Why does Aisha stand alone at her window each morning?

3. How is Ahmad's daily ritual each morning described?

4. How is Yasin's meeting with his mother described in Chapter 18?

5. How does Yasin remember his happy childhood ruined by a fruit merchant?

6. How does Ahmad react to Shaykh Mutawalli's claim that he is an adulterer in Chapter 7?

7. How are Ahmad's attempts at getting Zubayda to sing at a party described in Chapter 15?

8. What happens to Amina after her broken collarbone has healed?

9. How does the family react to Ahmad's announcement that Aisha cannot marry in Chapter 26?

10. How does the family react when Fahmy asks Amina to arrange his marriage to Maryam?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Examine the author's portrayal of domesticity in the female characters of Ahmad's household. What is telling of the changes in culture based on Amina and Khadija's differing views on domesticity?

Essay Topic 2

Examine the role fate plays in the lives of Ahmad's children who refuse to argue with his rules, especially about marriage. What is telling of Aisha based on her decision to leave being married up to fate?

Essay Topic 3

Discuss the portrayal of martyrdom in the book, focusing on Fahmy's journey of becoming a martyr and the obstacles he overcame. What is the country's true feelings towards martyrs based on the nature of Fahmy's burial in the book?

(see the answer keys)

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