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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 actually found Driss after his accident?

2. What name does Jeremy see on the board at the police station that makes him stop cold?

3. What does Coleman's colleague's son ask Coleman's son to participate in early in Part II?

4. How does Driss die?

5. How old was Driss when he died?

Short Essay Questions

1. How do Nora and Salma embarrass Maryam in Part II?

2. Why does Nora get upset at Salma's husband Tareq for his suggestions early in Part I?

3. Why does Salma become so bitter towards Nora in Part II?

4. Why does Jeremy go to see Mary in Part II?

5. What does Anderson Baker tell Coleman about the night Driss died in Part II?

6. What happens at the school play that ruins it for Efrain?

7. Why is Coleman uncomfortable talking to Murphy?

8. What happens that destroys Jeremy's family while he is in high school?

9. Why does Nora remember her father's death with contradictory thoughts?

10. Why does Nora spend so much time at her father's cabin in Part II?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

What are the most significant factors and feelings within the strong rivalry between Salma and Nora? Write an essay explaining your answers, citing specific references to the text to help support your conclusions.

Essay Topic 2

Why do you think Lalami chose to write this book from the perspectives of many different characters, and what effect does this choice have on the reader? Write an essay explaining your answers.

Essay Topic 3

What does music represent for Nora? Why is her experience of finally receiving a fellowship at a prestigious composers' gathering at the end of the novel so wrenching and disappointing to her? Write an essay explaining your answers, citing specific references to the text to help support your conclusions.

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