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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 was the true cause of Hyeonseo's father's death?

2. What document does a North Korean citizen need in order to even leave their local county?

3. To what city does Hyeonseo's family move after leaving Hyesan?

4. What quality of Hyesan does Hyeonseo say leads to its status as a moneymaking town?

5. With whom did Hyeonseo and Min-ho stay while their mother tended to their father in the Hyesan hospital?

Short Essay Questions

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

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

3. 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)?

4. What is shown about Hyeonseo's maternal grandmother's character within the description of her reaction to Hyeonseo's mother's divorce and child borne of the marriage?

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

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

7. 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?

8. What does the author claim is ironic about North Korea's beginnings as a communist state?

9. 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)?

10. What event causes Hyeonseo to change her behavior of listening to South Korean pop with her friends?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Explain the structure the author uses to construct the memoir and discuss what her purpose is for breaking the narrative into three parts as she does. What advantages does this choice give her and how does it align with the messages she is trying to get across to the reader?

Essay Topic 2

Deception is a theme that shows up often in The Girl with Seven Names, both in relation to the author's use of deceit to elude her would-be captors and in relation to the deceptive techniques employed by the North Korean secret police in their quest to identify traitors. Develop a claim stating the author's message regarding deception and prove your claim with at least three instances of deception within the memoir.

Essay Topic 3

Discuss the author's decision to include a variety of photographs within the text. What purpose did she have when choosing and including these images? Back up your strong, specific claim about the author's use of photographs with concrete details from the images she includes in the book.

(see the answer keys)

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