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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. In what year did the event take place that "the victors" call "Liberation Day" (211)?

2. In his youth, Bo dyed his clothes what color in order to "look like a Communist" (155)?

3. In what year did Bo's father visit, "bringing news from the North" (223)?

4. When Bo's father came to visit Bo, it had been how many years since they had seen one another?

5. Bo describes the "land reforms" (169) as a "process of" (169) as taking what action in relation to society?

Short Essay Questions

1. Describe the origins of Bui's memoir The Best We Could Do.

2. What happens when Bo's father visits Bo for the first time in 20 years?

3. In what way did the Communist party leaders use language to mask their true actions?

4. What is the meaning of the term "nguy" (221)?

5. In what year does Bo arrive in Saigon for the first time and to which of Thi's own experiences does she visually compare the moment in Bo's life?

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

7. How is the motherhood archetype portrayed within Chapter 7, entitled "Heroes and Losers"?

8. What do the glamourous photographs of Ma symbolize to Thi after she becomes an adult?

9. What two poses does Thi use to depict her childhood sketches of Ma?

10. What occurs on April 30, 1975?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Analyze the resolution stage of The Best We Could Do and write about its overall meaning within the text. How does Bui make connections between the resolution and the text’s major thematic messages?

Essay Topic 2

Analyze Bui’s focus on the theme of family bonds in The Best We Could Do. What message is Bui sending about aspects of family such as closeness, loyalty, and a shared sense of identity?

Essay Topic 3

Look carefully at the passages of The Best We Could Do that describe the ways in which Ma's parenting styles changed with each successive child. What is Bui's purpose for revisiting this topic again and again?

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