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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 advice does Umm Aya give Isabel in "A Beginning of an End"?

2. What must Sharif wait for before he can set up a school?

3. Why are 'Am Abu el-Ma'ti and seventeen other men arrested in Chapter 26?

4. Which character do Anna and Sharif plan to visit while in Europe?

5. Why is Anna's loom empty in Chapter 28?

Short Essay Questions

1. How does the "Entente cordiale" affect Sharif?

2. How does the Zionist movement affect the Egyptian characters in the book?

3. Why does 'Omar refuse to continue his relationship with Isabel in Chapter 22?

4. What fear does Sharif have for Nur's future?

5. Why is 'Omar concerned about Isabel's pregnancy?

6. How does Tareq offer to help Amal in Chapter 21?

7. How does Tareq help Amal and the fellaheen in Chapter 26?

8. Why is Sharif offended by the carriage driver in Chapter 23?

9. Why does Anna consider returning to England in Chapter 17?

10. Why does Anna feel her baby is in the balance against the ills of the world?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Discuss the rise of Zionism in the early 20th century and how it affects the characters in the novel. What fears do Sharif and his contemporaries have about the Zionist movement? How does history confirm or negate those fears? How does Zionism affect the distribution of Sharif's descendants, and ultimately, their cultural heritage?

Essay Topic 2

How is history blended with fiction in the novel? Which characters and events are fictional and which are historical? How does Soueif use historical events to motivate the fictional characters?

Essay Topic 3

How does Egyptian culture affect Anna throughout the novel? What adaptations does Anna have to make while traveling through Egypt? How does the religious and political climate of Egypt differ from Anna's traditional British upbringing? What British traditions and customs does Anna have to change when she becomes an Egyptian wife?

(see the answer keys)

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