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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. Which of the following is not one of Ahmad's morning rituals?

2. What does Ahmad say when Amina asks him about Fahmy marrying Maryam?

3. What profession is the man that Yasin has learned his mother will marry in Chapter 17?

4. What is the relationship between Fahmy and Yasin in the book?

5. Whose shrine does Yasin convince someone to go to in Chapter 27?

Short Essay Questions

1. How are the three visitors that come to Ahmad's home described?

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

3. What happens when Amina confesses leaving the house to visit the al-Husayn shrine to Ahmad?

4. What is the nature of Yasin's complaints about his mother when he visits Ahmad in Chapter 17?

5. How is Amina injured on her way home from visiting the al-Husayn shrine?

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

7. What does Fahmy do while sitting on a roof with Kamal in Chapter 10?

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

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

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

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 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 concept of marriage is one subject that is discussed by numerous characters throughout the book, each with his/her own ideas of what it represents.

Part 1.) How do characters like Aisha and Khadija feel about the notion of marriage?

Part 2.) What reasons does Ahmad have for not allowing his children to be married when they wish?

Part 3.) What is telling about the nature of marriage in the book based on Yasin's experience?

(see the answer keys)

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