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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 does Zhong Liang tell the narrator that their professor was always mentioning?

2. Who is the "innocent person" Jiang Tan killed to try to save his lover?

3. What kind of creatures are heartsick beasts?

4. Who does Zhong Liang discover is actually the woman in his dreams?

5. Who takes care of Lucia's heartsick beast while she is on vacation?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why do female prime beasts sometimes kill their own children?

2. How does the narrator realize she herself is a heartsick beast?

3. Who saves the narrator from the impasse beast's effects?

4. What is Zhong Liang's role in the professor's operations?

5. How does Methuselah die?

6. What kind of relationship does the narrator have with Fei Fei in Part III?

7. Who creates heartsick beasts?

8. Who does the narrator realize must be her "father?"

9. How does the narrator arrange for her cousin's family to be saved from the debacle at the airport?

10. What kind of relationship seems to be developing between Zhong Liang and the narrator in Part IV?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

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.

Essay Topic 2

In what ways, and my what means, are various beasts exploited and/or oppressed by people throughout the novel? Write an essay explaining your answers.

Essay Topic 3

Why do you think Ge chose to have sorrowful beasts die if they smile, and what is the symbolism behind this mechanism? Write an essay explaining your answers, citing specific references to the text to help support your conclusions.

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