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This test consists of 15 multiple choice questions and 5 short answer questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What is the mother obsessed with in regards to the narrator?
(a) Her being a great writer.
(b) Sending her to France.
(c) Having her escape poverty.
(d) Having her marry the lover.

2. In the beginning of the story, the narrator appears old and "ravaged." During what age period is it noted that her most rapid aging took place?
(a) 15 to 19.
(b) 25 to 30.
(c) 30 to 40.
(d) 18 to 25.

3. What becomes enshrined in the ravaged face of the narrator?
(a) Envy of her friend's wealth.
(b) Hatred of the mother.
(c) Fear of the older brother.
(d) Regret over the lover.

4. What subject does the narrator excel in?
(a) Literature.
(b) Chinese.
(c) French.
(d) Mathematics.

5. What does the narrator ride on to board the ferry?
(a) A truck.
(b) A bus.
(c) A car.
(d) A bicycle.

6. Where does most of the mother's income go?
(a) To buy dresses and jewelry for the mother.
(b) To paying the brother's debt.
(c) To pay the workers on the family's land.
(d) To pay for the narrator's schooling.

7. Who escaped the law of error?
(a) The narrator.
(b) Dô.
(c) Hélène Lagonelle.
(d) The mother.

8. Around what time is the novel narrated?
(a) 1973.
(b) 1983.
(c) 1929.
(d) 1989.

9. Although seemingly impossible, according to society at the time, what could the wives of the colonial potentates have done to keep their husbands from straying?
(a) Retained their beauty.
(b) Grow younger.
(c) Put spells on them.
(d) Locked their husbands up at home.

10. Who drives a Citroën B12?
(a) The lover.
(b) Hélène Lagonelle.
(c) The older brother.
(d) The mother.

11. What is the name of the narrator's friend?
(a) Hélène Lancaster.
(b) Harriet Lagonelle.
(c) Hélène Lagonelle.
(d) Harriet Lancaster.

12. What does the narrator praise of Hélène Lagonelle's?
(a) Her grades.
(b) Her long, flowing hair.
(c) Her body's sexual virtues.
(d) Her family's fine home.

13. What does the narrator consider takes a personal toll on women?
(a) Getting married.
(b) Colonial life.
(c) Having children.
(d) Going to school.

14. In which city does the family reside while living in Chochichina?
(a) Bien Hoa.
(b) Saigon.
(c) Sadec.
(d) Can Thoa.

15. The narrator remembers a photograph of her mother in segment 4. When was the photograph taken?
(a) Right before the mother's death.
(b) After the younger brother's death.
(c) A decade before the ferry ride.
(d) A decade after the ferry ride.

Short Answer Questions

1. Who is a competent tailor?

2. Who uses the money that the narrator has access to through her relationship?

3. As a young woman, the narrator was _________.

4. Who takes care of the family property?

5. What happened between the older brother and Dô?

(see the answer keys)

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