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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 5, entitled "Either, Or," revolves around which person?

2. How old is the only child of Bo and Ma when people start to say that Saigon will "become a sea of blood" (214)?

3. Who helps Ma to avoid the abortion she is technically required to have?

4. The destruction of whose only assets led to their return to a situation of domestic violence?

5. What objects do communists call "capitalist filth" (220), according to Ma's instructions?

Short Essay Questions

1. Who was Truong Chinh and whom did he emulate?

2. What action does Bui depict in order to symbolize Ma's dedication to her children?

3. What is Thi's hypothesis about why one particular person in her life is difficult for her to write about?

4. For what specific purpose does Bui depict Ma's dedication to her children?

5. What objects must the Bui family burn when the Communists begin to search the people's homes?

6. What is ironic about Ma's openness with Travis, as depicted within the setting of the car?

7. What occurs on April 30, 1975?

8. What new law is one that Ma is unwilling to follow?

9. What do the glamorous photographs of Ma symbolize to Thi during her childhood?

10. How do the policies of the Communist party affect the Bui family?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

William Faulkner once famously claimed that the most important literature deals with the subject of the human heart in conflict with itself. Explain how the theme of Human versus Self is demonstrated within Bui’s memoir The Best We Could Do. Create a decisive, arguable claim and prove it with quotes from the memoir.

Essay Topic 2

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 3

Discuss the instances of irony within the narrative of The Best We Could Do and analyze Bui’s purpose for including each instance you discuss.

(see the answer keys)

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