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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. How many years before Meryem's mother died, did her father die?

2. What type of fur coat does Meryem have?

3. How old was the fig tree when Kostas took a cutting that he brought to England?

4. What language besides English does Kostas speak?

5. In "The Moon," what is thrown into The Happy Fig?

Short Essay Questions

1. What note does Yusuf find on the tavern door that he does not share with Yiorgos?

2. What is the fig tree's history?

3. How does the fig tree compare how humans regard the death of cute animals and the death of the bats in Nicosia during the heat wave?

4. What story does Ada remember that her mother told her about soldiers during World War II?

5. Why does Kostas begin to worry about Yusuf and Yiorgos during the heatwave?

6. Who contacts the fig tree in the night on page 99, and why?

7. What is Ada doing in "A Girl Named Island"?

8. What is Kostas' career, and what does he do?

9. What happened to the trees that used to cover Cyprus?

10. What does the fig tree miss buried in the ground?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Imagery is a literary device authors use to describe something using the five senses to help readers experience what a character is experiencing. How does Shafak use imagery to help readers imagine the world and characters she has created?

Essay Topic 2

Backstories are used to present information about events that happened before events in a novel. How do backstories provide insight into characters and events? What is the importance of backstories in The Island of Missing Trees?

Essay Topic 3

An analogy is the comparison of an unfamiliar object or idea to a familiar one in an attempt to explain the unfamiliar or to help readers understand characters, events, or concepts. What are some analogies Shafak uses in The Island of Missing Trees? How do these analogies help readers comprehend characters, events or concepts?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 907 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample