View a FREE sample

This test consists of 5 multiple choice questions, 5 short answer questions, and 10 short essay questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. Thi states that her "memories of [Bo] live in" (64) what kind of dwelling?
(a) An apartment building.
(b) A grocery store.
(c) A bank.
(d) A park.

2. What two armies forced the Vietnamese people to uproot their rice in order to plant jute?
(a) Chinese and Japanese.
(b) French and Japanese.
(c) Korean and Indonesian.
(d) Chinese and Korean.

3. What source does Thi NOT name among her childhood sources of knowledge about America?
(a) Her sisters' attendance of school.
(b) Television.
(c) Books.
(d) Ma's citizenship class.

4. How many years after Ma's suicide attempt does she bring up the subject with Thi for the first time?
(a) 30.
(b) 20.
(c) 5.
(d) 15.

5. What is Bui seeking when she meets with Viet Thanh Nguyen?
(a) Peace.
(b) Answers.
(c) Adventure.
(d) Wisdom.

Short Answer Questions

1. Bui worries most about which aspect of her parenting while she is still in the hospital after having her son?

2. Who is Travis?

3. Chapter 3 begins in what location?

4. Ma's first job in America requires putting what objects together?

5. What does Bo do while Ma is working at her first job in America?

Short Essay Questions

1. Describe Thi's expression in the panel depicting her reaction to Bo's dangerous behavior.

2. In what time and place does the opening scene of The Best We Could Do begin?

3. For what purpose does Bui begin Chapter 2: "Rewind, Reverse" in a particular place and then change to a different era on the very next page?

4. What behavior of Ma's disappoints Thi in the memoir's opening scene?

5. What lesson does Thi learn through undertaking a major change in 2006?

6. Thi likens the way she feels at the sight of the surgical instruments to what scene from her childhood?

7. How does the doctor respond to Thi's question about her child's birth?

8. How does Bui use visual elements to underscore her feelings about the doctor's answer to her question in the hospital?

9. For what purpose are allusions to heaven and hell included in Chapter 3?

10. As a young child, Thi imagines the lights of the cars on the highway as what other objects?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 888 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample