View a FREE sample

This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. Who does the bartender at the Dolphin Bar tell the narrator miss Charley?

2. What did Li Chun really do to the mayor's daughter?

3. What are sacrificial beasts trendsetters in?

4. What is the square in front of Cloudtop Towers?

5. When does the beast Cloud really die?

Short Essay Questions

1. How does a joyous beast reproduce?

2. Where does the narrator like to hang out, and what does she do there?

3. Why is Lucia upset by her visit to Cloudtop Towers?

4. What is Charley's connection to Li Chun?

5. How did being in close contact with a joyous beast seem to affect the mayor of Yong'An?

6. What is the nature of sacrificial beasts?

7. What is unusual about the death of sacrificial beasts?

8. Why does the narrator feel guilty about her role in the killing of the sacrificial beasts?

9. How does Ge describe the smile of a sorrowful beast?

10. What is the nature of sorrowful beasts?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

How does Ge treat the topic of deep betrayal in this novel, particularly as it relates to the way the narrator is tricked into revealing the whereabouts of the sacrificial beasts? Write an essay explaining your answers, citing specific references to the text to help support your conclusions.

Essay Topic 2

Why do you think Ge chose to write this novel from the first-person perspective of the unnamed narrator? How does this choice affect the reader's experience? Write an essay explaining your answers, citing specific references to the text to help support your conclusions.

Essay Topic 3

How and why is this novel an example of the genre of magical realism? Write an essay explaining your answers, citing specific references to the text to help support your conclusions.

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 560 words (approx. 2 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample