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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. _______ was sold by his brothers into slavery in Egypt , gradually came to power there, and made a complicated trade route.

2. In the poem, "Give ______ slowly" Rumi uses the new moon as a metaphor for patients and slowness in creation.

3. Rumi's mystical work was contained within the patterns of ______ Sufism but the life was witness to the boundless universality of the heart.

4. Rumi suggests that "sitting in hell at the bottom of the dark, we are afraid of our own ________."

5. According to the book, the eye is for _______; the soul for joy. The head is for loving; the legs for running.

Short Essay Questions

1. What does Barks have to say about Rumi as being a True Human Being? What does Barks say this means?

2. What happens after Joseph is sold into slavery by his brothers, according to the writings of Rumi?

3. What is the real work of human beings, according to the writings of Rumi?

4. What does Rumi do when he is so impressed with the depth of the knowledge of Shams?

5. Why was Shams pushed out of the area by the students of Rumi, according to the beginning of the book?

6. What is the story of Ramahrishna that Rumi tells at the start of this section of the book?

7. Where do human beings sit, according to the writings of Rumi, when they are in a prison?

8. What does Rumi say has happened since he has been knocking on a door?

9. What does Rumi realize about his friend Shams when he doesn't believe that he is actually dead?

10. What is the metaphor Rumi uses in order to describe the pull of love in one's life and how one should be pulled by love?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Rumi continues to use metaphors in the poems, helping to show the reader how they are akin to other beings and plants in the world.

Part 1: Why do you think poets rely on metaphors to help them with their messages?

Part 2: Do you think it's better to use metaphors or to speak directly to a reader?

Part 3: How do you think the metaphors affect a reader? How did the metaphors affect you as you read them?

Essay Topic 2

Rumi is a man who asked a lot of questions, if the poems are to be believed as being his life retold.

Part 1: Why do you think it's important to ask a lot of questions?

Part 2: How do you think a person might learn in life if they don't ask any questions?

Part 3: Are you a person who likes to ask a lot of questions? Why do you ask a lot of questions or why don't you?

Essay Topic 3

Barks points out that repetition can be spiritual, not numbing as many people have come to think of it, in his opinion.

Part 1: Why do you think repeating something again and again can be spiritual?

Part 2: Are there any things you do again and again which you might find spiritual?

Part 3: How do you think the brain changes when it has to repeat the same action again and again?

(see the answer keys)

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