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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. Why was the land of the narrator condemned?

2. What did the narrator do with the door of the triangular room when leaving?

3. Why did Hosna think Mustafa knew he was going to be gone?

4. Who are Mahmoud and Sa'eed?

5. In what kind of condition were the narrator and his friend Mahjoub in when they talked about Mustafa?

Short Essay Questions

1. What were the narrator and Mahjoub talking about when they were in a drunken state before he leaves the village?

2. What had happened to Hosna and Wad while the narrator was away from the village?

3. Give your opinion about the book and its two main characters.

4. Who did the narrator and his driver run into during the car trip and what happens?

5. What did Mahjoub tell the narrator about Mustafa?

6. The narrator never finished his story about Mustafa. How would you end this story?

7. During the car trip, the narrator decided to write somebody. Who did he want to write and why?

8. How does the narrator learn what happened to Hosna and Wad?

9. Soon after leaving the village, the narrator has to go back. Why?

10. How does the book end?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

The narrator's grandfather plays an important role in the narrator's life. Explain their relationship and use examples from the different chapters. What do you know about the grandfather? Where does he live? How does his house look like? What kind of a person is he? What do he and the narrator talk about? How do you know he is important to the narrator? Relate this importance to the narrator's memories and his experiences when visiting his village.

Essay Topic 2

In pages 45-60, an important event is talked about. Describe the event. What do you learn about the river? What's its name? How frequent does an event like this happen? Why is it called legendary? Why is the event important for the plot of the book? How do you relate this event to the character of Mustafa? How do you relate it to the character of the narrator? What do you think happened to Mustafa? Why?

Essay Topic 3

Foreshadowing is used when the narrator visits Mustafa's widow and they talk. What is being said that will influence Hosna's future? Where is the foreshadowing being used? What does foreshadowing mean? Explain this principle with the example about Hosna in the book. Are there other cases of foreshadowing used by the author? If so, give a few more examples.

(see the answer keys)

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