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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. Throughout the memoir, Bo's grandfather is referred to as what type of gentleman?
(a) Dapper.
(b) Leisurely.
(c) Careful.
(d) Cunning.

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

3. Bui tells Nguyen that she had done what it took to get out of what California city?
(a) San Diego.
(b) San Francisco.
(c) Sacramento.
(d) Los Angeles.

4. What procedure does Bui want to avoid if at all possible during the birth of her son?
(a) An episiotomy.
(b) A repair of a genital tear.
(c) A Caesarean section.
(d) An epidural.

5. A toddler-sized Bo is depicted as thinking, "YOU are not my papa" (115) after what event?
(a) His father marries again.
(b) His father beats Bo's mother severely.
(c) His father beats him severely.
(d) His father becomes a Communist.

Short Answer Questions

1. What is Bui seeking when she meets with Viet Thanh Nguyen?

2. What happened during the very last time Bo ever saw his mother?

3. When Chapter 2 begins in 2015, in what California city is it set?

4. Bo recalls how in the midst of starvation, his mother had sometimes been able to buy a small piece of what type of meat to share only with Bo?

5. Thi states that to understand her father's personality, she needs to understand what happened to him during what time period?

Short Essay Questions

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

2. What are the qualities of Thi's memories about her childhood home in San Diego?

3. What event within her adolescence does Thi describe as "living the dream" "for an immigrant kid" (24)?

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

5. Describe two different methods Thi uses to address her problems with Bo.

6. What sort of tone does Bui use to describe Bo's parenting style?

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

8. What is one element of Ma's parenting that Bui depicts as being different for each one of her children?

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

10. Explain the nature of the present-day relationship between Bo and Ma.

(see the answer keys)

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