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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. What adjective does Thi use to describe the "demons" (68) from her parents' pasts that had haunted Thi's childhood home?

3. Ma flies from California to attend the birth of which of her grandchildren?

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

5. Throughout the memoir, Bo's grandfather is referred to as what type of gentleman?

Short Essay Questions

1. What major change do Thi and Travis undertake in 2006 and why?

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

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

4. For what reason is Bo unable to teach in the United States, though he had taught in Vietnam?

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

6. What is the strongest emotion Thi feels toward Bo toward the end of her adolescence?

7. 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?

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

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

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

How is the topic of The Other treated within the memoir and what is Bui's purpose for portraying Otherness in this way?

Essay Topic 2

Sensory details are used frequently by Bui in order to create vivid pictures of each character's progression through the narrative of The Best We Could Do. Choose three scenes in which sensory details are heavily used and discuss how the sensory details used serve Bui’s creation of vivid characters to populate the narrative.

Essay Topic 3

Discuss Bui’s messages about guilt and responsibility within The Best We Could Do.

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