2. After the father's death, what happens to the family property the mother invests in ?
(a) The lands thrive and the family makes money off of it.
(b) Villagers set fire to it, and it becomes a wasteland.
(c) It is sold to a nearby village who builds a school on it.
(d) It isn't taken care of properly and falls into decay.

3. Chochinchina is today known as what country?
(a) North Vietnam.
(b) China.
(c) Indonesia.
(d) South Vietnam.

4. The major events recalled in the novel about the time the family lived in Chochinchina happen when the narrator is _________ years old.
(a) Sixteen and one half.
(b) Fifteen and one half.
(c) Seventeen and one half.
(d) Eighteen and one half.

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

Short Answer Questions

1. Who in the novel is both physically and mentally abusive?

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

3. After the father's death, the mother is in control of the family's finances. She consequently mismanages the money, leaving the family poor. What did the mother buy that resulted in the loss of the family's wealth?

4. In the novel, the mother is very concerned with the studies of her children and even attempts to plan the narrator's future. What does the mother decide that she wants the narrator to be?

5. What subject is the narrator less successful in?

Short Essay Questions

1. What becomes of the older brother after the narrator's family moves back to France?

2. Notice the difference in the mother and narrator's opinions of photography. What is the difference, and what does it point out about the difference in these characters?

3. Since the family's wealth is tied up in the land investments, how does the mother provide income for the family? How does the income benefit the family?

4. Explain why the relationship would not have lasted even if the narrator would have remained in Chochinchina.

5. What compels the Chinese financier to approach the narrator?

6. How does the mother feel about the education of her children? How do they act in return?

7. Describe the sequence of events that lead up to the narrator meeting the lover.

8. Describe the older brother's behavior toward the lover.

9. Briefly describe the life of the narrator around the time she is fifteen.

10. What is the narrator's relationship with her family later in life?

(see the answer keys)

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