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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. Which of the following does Leigh note available for sale along the path to what had been Dorothy’s favorite Taoist temple?

2. Which of the following does Brian bring as a gift for Waipo?

3. To which of the following does Leigh compare herself when considering Brian not having hugged her?

4. On which of the following streets does Leigh live?

5. Which of the following “singsong rhymes” does Leigh recall (8)?

Short Essay Questions

1. What signs from Caro does Leigh interpret as disbelief of her account of Dorothy’s transformation?

2. What does Leigh note about her fourteenth birthday?

3. What small talk does Brian relate to Leigh when they arrive at her grandparents’ home?

4. What does Leigh advance as a working definition of family?

5. What is contained in the box the bird Dorothy became left for Leigh?

6. On her way to Taipei from the United States, Leigh muses on encroaching coldness. She offers two ideas about it; what are they?

7. What reason is given to Leigh for the change to the pastry shop’s logo?

8. What reasons does Leigh cite for thinking Two Point Fives Day “was supposed to be celebratory” (1)?

9. How does Leigh describe the feather she finds in her dresser at her grandparents’ home?

10. What actions does Leigh take to try to assuage herself the day after Dorothy’s funeral?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Leigh repeatedly calls attention to cracks in reality that appear only in brief flashes. Explicate the imagery of those cracks.

Essay Topic 2

Leigh’s grandfather is never named by his name in the novel; he is only ever referred to as Waigong. What purpose is served by the refusal to name him? How is it served?

Essay Topic 3

Sources attest to the presence of The Astonishing Color of After on best-seller lists. Assuming that sales figures reflect popularity, what accounts for the popularity of the novel? How does it do so?

(see the answer keys)

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