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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 the name of the girl that is the foster daughter of the singer Zubayda?

2. What is the name of Ahmad's assistant?

3. Which of the following things are women not doing inside the mosque in Chapter 27?

4. What is the name of the sheikh that admonishes Ahmad for his adultery and drunkenness?

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

Short Essay Questions

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

2. How are Ahmad's actions to those outside his household described?

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

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

5. How does Ahmad react to Fahmy's request to marry Maryam?

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

7. How are Ahmad and Mme. Zubayda's interactions described in Chapter 14?

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

9. How is Aisha's beauty regimine described in the book?

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Compare and contrast Ahmad's dual personalities with his family and outside in public. How is the reader able to know Ahmad's true nature based on the secret fantasies he has about others in public?

Essay Topic 2

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 3

The subject of religion is discussed on many levels, including Amina's piety, the presence of holy figures, and talk of the Qur'an.

Part 1.) How does Amina represent pious and religious behavior in the book?

Part 2.) What purpose might the author have for including holy figures like al-Husayn and the sheikhs in the book?

Part 3.) What role does the Qur'an play in the book?

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