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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. How many stories has Nam written in the year he has spent at the writing workshop?

2. Who does Ron meet before going to see El Padre?

3. What do some of Nam’s friends suggest he write because it is “hot” (9)?

4. Who does Henry go to see before his lunch with Elise?

5. What does Jamie’s mother do to the seagull after Jamie is unable to kill it?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why is Jamie praised at the school assembly at the start of “Halflead Bay”?

2. What does Cale confess to Jamie when he comes to his house to tell him that Tammie said Dory is going to beat Jamie up at practice?

3. What happened to the Chinese Poacher in “Halflead Bay”?

4. What did Jamie’s father do after his mother was diagnosed with MS?

5. How did Ron get involved with El Padre?

6. What does Linda say about Nam’s story after she reads it in the coffee shop?

7. What happened when Jamie hooked a seagull while fishing with his family?

8. What does Henry thinks when he sees Elise perform and spots her outside after the concert?

9. How does Alison behave when Jamie goes to Dory’s house to follow through with the fight?

10. How does Nam’s father treat the homeless man he finds by the river?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Write an essay analyzing how Jamie and his father’s relationship changes over the course of “Halflead Bay.”

Essay Topic 2

Write an essay analyzing the relationship between Olivia and Henry in “Meeting Elise.” What does this relationship represent and how does it impact the stories theme?

Essay Topic 3

Write an essay about the sensory details used in any one of Nam Le’s short stories in The Boat. Be sure in explain the deeper meaning and thematic significance of these details.

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 617 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample