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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 tells this story?

2. What does the narrator do when she first sees Selam at her apartment?

3. What is an emir?

4. During the Christian and Muslim riots, Jubril was beaten and _________________________.

5. What does the narrator's father tell Selam?

Short Essay Questions

1. What elements of Western life are uncomfortable for Jubril while on the bus?

2. What is the unifying thread of the conflicts in the story?

3. What does the narrator do during the days after being restricted from playing with Selam?

4. What does the Chief signify in the story?

5. What does the narrator experience on the day her parents inform her she can no longer play with Selam?

6. What is the message of the story at the end?

7. Why are the narrator and Selam no longer allowed to play together?

8. What is the core source of all the violence that takes place in the story?

9. What ban by the Nigerian government takes place just prior to the opening of the story, "Luxurious Hearses"?

10. Who is Jubril and why must he disguise his religious identity aboard a bus headed out of the city?i

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Create a character study of the narrator in "What Language is That? (Ethiopia)". What are her physical characteristics? What are her motivations? What are her fears? What are her dreams? What else can you say about the little narrator?

Essay Topic 2

Create a character study of Monique in "My Parents' Bedroom (Rwanda)". What are her physical characteristics? What are her motivations? What are her fears? What are her dreams? What else can you say about Monique?

Essay Topic 3

Evil is an important theme in the stories. Can you cite an example to support this theme? Name two other themes and cite examples to support your answer.

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