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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 is Curt determined to do?

2. Where was Linh sent when he answered a Help Wanted ad?

3. How long has Helen been in Vietnam?

4. Why does Helen not take any pictures in the field?

5. What is Helen's hope concerning herself and Linh?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why does Darrow worry about Helen?

2. What does Helen do with her bags in the motel and why does she do it?

3. How does Helen survive in Saigon without Darrow?

4. What was Linh's life like before he was drafted into the army?

5. How does Helen meet Annick and what happens when she does?

6. How does Helen finally get to be seen like one of the boys?

7. What happens in the evening of Helen's first trip into the field?

8. What happens when Helen and Linh arrive at the embassy?

9. What happens when Helen and Linh board a medical helicopter?

10. What happens and who does Helen meet the first time she goes into the field with Darrow?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Helen collapses when she learns that Darrow is MIA. Everyone knows that MIA means dead. They simply have not found the body. It is Gary and Linh that break the news. Already Linh is taking care of Helen. The trek out to find the helicopter is not wise but it is something that Helen and Linh both feel is necessary. Near death experiences bring Helen and Linh even closer together. After their last experience with the boy soldier, Helen decides that it is time to go back to California.

Returning to California is a strange experience. Helen is numb with grief - grief for Darrow, for herself, and for Vietnam. Although everything in California has stayed the same, Helen has changed beyond measure. Charlotte does not know what to do to help her daughter.

1. Discuss, in depth, Helen's behavior immediately following Darrow's death in relation to her ambivalent feelings towards him. Use examples from your own life and the book to support your reasoning.

2. Why do you think Linh and Helen's near death experiences in the field draw them closer together? Do you think this would happen to any two people? Why or why not? Use examples from your own life and the book to support your reasoning.

3. Discuss the changes you think have occurred in Helen from her experience in Vietnam. Use examples from your own life and the book to support your reasoning.

4. What are some ways in which you believe Charlotte might be able to help her daughter? Use examples from your own life and the book to support your reasoning.

Essay Topic 2

Marriage seems unavoidable for Helen and Linh. While Helen wants only a simple civil ceremony, Linh insists on a Buddhist ceremony. They can have a civil ceremony in Saigon if Helen wishes but it is important to Linh to marry in a traditional way. Despite the times, Helen is equally traditional and is grateful that she never shared her apartment with another man.

The story returns to the fall of Saigon and the exit of Helen, Tanner, Matt, and other foreign correspondents. Soli adds in some mysticism. Someone gives Helen a Buddhist coin which she takes with her to Cambodia. When Helen's convoy is hit, it is unclear what has happened or how, who is injured or dead. It seems that clutching the coin in her mouth has somehow saved Helen and the others.

It is grief that brings Linh and Charlotte together. Helen is assumed dead but Linh knows in his heart that she is alive. Robert helps out once again by sending Linh on assignment in Cambodia. Linh will have a difficult time finding ways to get information but is prepared to turn over every stone to find Helen.

1. Do you think Helen and Linh getting married was inevitable? Why or why not? Use examples from your own life and the book to support your reasoning.

2. Discuss the reasons that Helen might be so traditional about marriage when she was not traditional about having affairs or about going to Vietnam as a female combat photographer. Use examples from your own life and the book to support your reasoning.

3. Discuss the reasons why grief over the same person might draw two strangers together. Use examples from your own life and the book to support your reasoning.

Essay Topic 3

Discuss one of the following:

1. Thoroughly analyze how the setting informs the plot in The Lotus Eaters.

2. Trace and analyze one major theme of The Lotus Eaters. How is the theme represented by symbolism? By the characters' behaviors? By the action?

3. Trace and analyze two secondary themes of The Lotus Eaters. How are the themes represented by symbolism? By the characters' behaviors? By the action?

(see the answer keys)

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