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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 old is Merjan, the woman who greets Kosta at The Wandering Khayyam in "Butterflies and Bones"?

2. When did Yusuf Yiorgos Robinson live and die?

3. In "A Thousand Thorns" when Kostas returns to Northern Cyprus, how long has it been since it has been in Cyprus?

4. In "A Thousand Thorns," what is the name of Kostas room at the hotel where he stays?

5. What does Ada suggest that her aunt start with when she begins wearing her colorful clothes?

Short Essay Questions

1. How does the fig tree reveal that stories come together in real life?

2. What does the fig tree learn from a mosquito?

3. What does the fig tree learn about a military cemetery from a butterfly?

4. When does Defne go back to work after Ada is born, and what does she do?

5. In "Ancient Soul," why and how is Kostas beaten?

6. How do Kostas and Defne view human suffering?

7. How does Kostas take a cutting of the tree, and how does he care for it?

8. How does Kostas plan to contact Defne when he returns to Cyprus in the early 2000s?

9. Why does Dr. Norman agree to give Defne an abortion?

10. In "Remains of Love," what does Defne show Kostas that they found and what does she say regarding how they found it?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

The Happy Fig is a popular tavern. How is the tavern a place where different groups of people can socialize together? How does it touch people’s lives?

Essay Topic 2

What a reader knows about events and characters is determined by the point of view in a book. What is the point of view in the book? How does Shafak use two different viewpoints in the book? How do those viewpoints influence what readers know about events and characters? How do they help readers connect with and understand characters?

Essay Topic 3

The fig tree often commented on the pendulums of optimism and pessimism she had seen during her life. Why does the fig tree believe there are cycles of optimism and pessimism in humans?

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This section contains 1,067 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample