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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 did the hoopoe say was the lure of the falcon?

2. What advice did the hoopoe give to the goldfinch about earthly claims?

3. According the the Shiekh Sam'an, what did the Self ignore?

4. What happened to the fisherboy's father?

5. Who did the hoopoe say the francolin had to reject?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why did the hoopoe compare the finch to Moses?

2. What happened between Nimrod and the mosquitoes?

3. Describe the parrot's plumage.

4. What was the "glance of Solomon"?

5. Why did a "cowardly bird" protest going on the quest for the Simorgh?

6. What must the francolin do with his Self?

7. According to the text, how does an earthly king act?

8. What did Socrates say to his student about burying him?

9. What happened after the hoopoe was chosen as their leader?

10. What was the problem with love according to the hoopoe?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

The introduction of the book describes Attar's favorite literary device as the anaphora. Address the following in a paper: What is an anaphora? Why did Attar choose to use the anaphora? What purpose did the anaphora serve in the book? Give multiple examples of anaphoras used in the text and describe their use.

Essay Topic 2

Two of the most important themes that traverse the book's entirety are the importance of passionate love and the destruction of the Self. However, many times these two themes are joined to show that one depends wholly on the other. Discuss the dependency that passionate love and the destruction of the self have throughout the book. Why do they depend on each other? What stories show this dependency, and how do the stories speak to the dependency? Use only details from the book for support.

Essay Topic 3

Discuss the actual conference of the birds. What was the purpose of the conference? What did the birds learn about the journey that they were to go on? Why does this journey parallel one that can be seen in anyone's life?

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This section contains 711 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample