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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. Why did the lover want to kill his beloved?

2. What animal was the peasant leading when Sheikh Mahna came across him in the desert?

3. What would deprive the birds of everything in the Valley of the Quest?

4. How did Majnoun disguise himself to approach the campground?

5. To what did the "fool of God" compare the world?

Short Essay Questions

1. According to the story "The Lover Who Wanted to Kill his Beloved," what must one do to be pious and reach the Lord?

2. Describe the stone man.

3. What were the two things that the Sheikh of Turkestan loved?

4. What did the hoopoe tell the birds to expect in the Valley of Love?

5. Describe the Valley of Bewilderment.

6. According to the hoopoe, who does the Way belong to?

7. According to the hoopoe, what happened when one entered the Valley of Insight into Mystery?

8. How did the bird who claimed that he had bad luck substantiate his claim that he could not go on the quest with the hoopoe?

9. What did the hoopoe say about audacity being allowed before the Simorgh?

10. What did the "faithless Moslem" think about doing when the "faithful infidel" was bent in prayer?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Given that the book was written in Persia during the twelfth century, how successful is it in relating to current issues that people face today? Does Attar's book pass the test of time? Why/Why not? Is the book as relevant today as it was during the twelfth century? What did you find to be lost in translation?

Essay Topic 2

Attar mixes religious icons with historically important and known figures. Discuss the importance of this mixture. What did Attar hope to gain by this? Did it deepen the acceptance/understanding of the text? Why/Why not?

Essay Topic 3

Many of the stories detailed the different ways to deal with the Self. Choose three of the stories that dealt with the conquering of the Self and analyze the usefulness of the story in overcoming the negative influence that the Self had over the possessor.

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This section contains 744 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample