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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 does Cale tell Jamie about his dead girlfriend whose necklace he wears?

2. What was Nam’s occupation before deciding to become a writer?

3. What is one of the things Nam tries to hide from his father when he first arrives at his apartment?

4. What does Lester tell Jamie is going to happen at practice on Monday?

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

Short Essay Questions

1. Who is Cale and how does Jamie know him?

2. What does Alison tell Jamie her relationship with Dory is like when they are alone on the pier after the party?

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

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

5. What does Nam find out about his father’s past when he gets drunk at a party in Melbourne and tells his friends his story?

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

7. What does Henry’s gastroenterologist tell him at his appointment?

8. Who is Alison Fischer and what is her relationship with Jamie?

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

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

The ocean is a symbol in several of the stories in Nam Le’s The Boat. Choose two or more stories that include the ocean as symbol and write an essay analyzing the roles and symbolic significance of the ocean.

Essay Topic 2

Write an essay analyzing Nam Le’s use of flashbacks at least two of his short stories. Discuss how these flashback’s impact the reader’s experience and whether you think they are effective. Be sure to include direct examples from the text to support your argument.

Essay Topic 3

Write an essay analyzing whether Nam is a reliable narrator or not in “Love and Honor and Pity and Pride and Compassion and Sacrifice.”

(see the answer keys)

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