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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. Who appeared in the premonition that the mother had before the father's death?

2. What helps to awaken the narrator's sexuality?

3. While living in the French colony of Chochinchina, in what city is the narrator's school located?

4. What type of automobile does the lover ride in?

5. Who drives a Citroën B12?

Short Essay Questions

1. Describe the mother's behavior toward her daughter's conduct during the height of her relationship with the lover in segments 15 and 16.

2. Who is the Lady from Savana Khet and why is her story put in segment 15?

3. In segment 14, according to the narrator, what evolved over a period of about seven years?

4. What metaphor is used in sync with the narrator's perfect moment in time, when she is on the ferry where she will meet the lover?

5. Why does the mother consider writing, in regards to a career for the narrator, to be unconscionable?

6. How does the moment on the ferry where the narrator meets the lover become a turning point in the life of the narrator and her family?

7. Why is the ferry crossing right before the narrator meets the lover considered her perfect moment in time?

8. Why does the narrator believe that she is able to become anything anyone wants her to be? What does this mean?

9. Describe the character of the older brother and his relationship with the family.

10. How does the lover feel about the narrator at the end of the relationship?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Child prostitution is an undertone throughout the novel. Explain what exchanges are being made and why the relationship would be considered child prostitution. Who benefits from this situation? Who loses?

Essay Topic 2

Identify the members of the family and describe their role in family life. What dynamic does each character bring to impact the family as a whole?

Essay Topic 3

At a point in the novel, the narrator compares her love for the lover to water hidden in sand. What does the narrator mean by this? When does the narrator realize she loved the lover? How does that come about?

(see the answer keys)

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