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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. How does Maryam feel in the days after Driss's death?

2. Who is the wife of the witness to the accident?

3. When did Maryam and Driss move to America?

4. Who is Salma's husband?

5. Who does Nora frequently call to check on the investigation into her father's death?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why does Efrain hesitate to go the police as a witness to the hit-and-run?

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

3. Why does Coleman move to a Mojave Desert town?

4. What does Maryam do in the period that Nora thinks of as the "Cold War" phase of her parents' relationship?

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

6. Why does Jeremy decide to go to Nora's family's house for her father's wake?

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

8. What early embarrassing experience does Maryam have in trying to speak to a stranger and make friends in Part I, during her early days in America?

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

10. How does Nora challenge Jeremy on his past in Part II?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

How does Lalami evoke the reader's sympathy for several different characters who are in conflict with each other throughout the novel? Write an essay explaining your answers, citing specific references to the text to help support your conclusions.

Essay Topic 2

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 3

What happens to lead to a near-breakthrough in Nora's and Salma's understanding with each other, and why is it never fully realized? Write an essay explaining your answers.

(see the answer keys)

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