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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 is jealous of Fahmy wanting to be married and points out Maryam's faults?

2. What is the name of the neighbor girl who Fahmy watches do chores from the roof?

3. What does Amina discover she has broken?

4. What color hair does Aisha have?

5. What does Yasin's mother do joyfully when he visits her for the first time in the book?

Short Essay Questions

1. How are Amina's duties on her roof described in Chapter 6?

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

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

4. How does Amina's sons react when they come to visit her at her mother's house just after her exile?

5. What is the nature of Khadija and Aisha's conversation regarding marriage in Chapter 5?

6. How is Amina's mother described when she goes to stay with her during her exile?

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

8. How is Kamal's visit to Maryam in Chapter 21 described?

9. What does Amina help her husband with when he comes home drunk at midnight every night?

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Compare and contrast the characters of Yasin and Ahmad. What parallels are present between these two characters and what is significant about these?

Essay Topic 2

Examine the author's portrayal of Egyptian society in the book, and note if Ahmad fits into this portrayal or not. What clues can be found to suggest that Ahmad's household rituals are more extreme than the norm in Egypt?

Essay Topic 3

The underlying theme throughout the entire book has been Ahmad's tyranny over his family, with little explanation for what motivates his actions towards others.

Part 1.) What is Ahmad's nature based on his need to be a tyrant over his household?

Part 2.) How does Ahmad's tyranny parallel similar political actions going on in Egypt at the time?

Part 3.) Does Ahmad's ponderings after Fahmy's funeral suggest that he may have had a change of heart regarding his tyrannous treatment of his family?

(see the answer keys)

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