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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. Chapter 1, entitled "Labor," takes place in what location?

2. The city of Hai Phong is how far away from the border of China?

3. Who is the oldest of Bui's sisters?

4. In what year did Japan send troops to occupy northern French Indochina?

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

Short Essay Questions

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

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

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

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

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

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

7. How does Bui incorporate foreshadowing in her creation of The Best We Could Do?

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

9. What event causes a very young Bo to mentally disown his father?

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

How is the role of motherhood treated within The Best We Could Do and how does its treatment relate to the memoir's depicted messages?

Essay Topic 2

Could The Best We Could Do be classified as a coming-of-age story? Why or why not?

Essay Topic 3

Provide a thorough analysis of the ways in which the visual elements of the memoir amplify its emotional messages.

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