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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. What type of media is included within Chapter 8 that appears nowhere else in the memoir?

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

3. How many months' pregnant was Ma when she and Bo planned their escape?

4. Thi depicts Ma's devotion to her children by showing Ma peeling what type of fruit?

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

Short Essay Questions

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

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

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

4. One day a box arrives at the Bui home and it is from Vietnam. What is contained inside?

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

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

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

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

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

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

How do the themes of deception and secrecy function within The Best We Could Do and what is Bui’s message regarding these themes?

Essay Topic 2

Discuss how and why Bui instills three different humanist messages into the narrative of The Best We Could Do.

Essay Topic 3

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?

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