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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 organization had Hyeonseo's grandmother joined at the age of 19?

2. What red article of clothing did Hyeonseo wear to school that caused the teacher to call her a capitalist and to slap her face?

3. What was the last present Hyeonseo received from her father prior to his death?

4. What does hyeon mean in Korean?

5. Hyeonseo says that she will never be truly free of her country's what, no matter how far she travels?

Short Essay Questions

1. What are the two types of prison in the gulag?

2. What quality of her mother's personality does Hyeonseo state is an unusual trait for a woman of high songbun?

3. How is the theme of appearance versus reality demonstrated within the description of Hyeonseo's mother's behavior once her husband has been detained for ten days?

4. What reason does the author provide for her claim that her family's new home in Hyesan was perfect for her "mother's illicit enterprises" (57)?

5. How does Hyeonseo feel about her forced participation in the Socialist Youth League?

6. What beliefs about Chinese people does Hyeonseo say are taught to every North Korean child?

7. What does the family's color television symbolize within the narrative?

8. What does Hyeonseo mean when she tells the reader, "We were now living in a sensitive area, politically," in relation to the family's home in Hyesan (59)?

9. What do the hills surrounding the city of Anju symbolize within the text?

10. What does the author say is the reason that "kindness toward strangers is rare in North Korea" (38)?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

The memoir is littered with the use of sensory details to create a vivid picture of the many different places Hyeonseo finds herself once she has crossed the Yalu River into China. Discuss the author's purpose in including the sights, sounds, smells, tastes and tactile sensations of Hyeonseo's experiences.

Essay Topic 2

The epilogue of the memoir provides the reader with Hyeonseo's final thoughts about how her North Korean upbringing and her subsequent life events have shaped her as a person. Discuss the author's choice to include this epilogue and its intended effect on the reader within the context of the whole memoir.

Essay Topic 3

Many instances of irony are included in the memoir's narrative, including the scene in which Hyeonseo's boyfriend reveals to her that he is exhausted due to rounding up so many North Koreans in one day. Find three other instances of irony within the memoir and discuss each instance's significance.

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