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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 word from Chapter 16 refers to the treatment of light and shade in painting?

2. What kind of gun does the narrator take to kill Sonny with in Chapter 16?

3. Where did the narrator, Bon, and Man swear their blood oath?

4. Where does the General say his men were surrounded when he was taken to a Communist prison camp in Chapter 16?

5. What is Violet listed as in the credits for the film in Chapter 17?

Short Essay Questions

1. What information does the narrator relate to Man in his letter in Chapter 13?

2. How is the commissar described when the narrator finally meets him in Chapter 19?

3. What is the answer to the question that the narrator must answer to the commmissar in the end of the novel?

4. What is revealed in the jar on the commandant's desk? What does it symbolize?

5. Where does Claude take the narrator and Bon once they arrive in Thailand in Chapter 17?

6. How has the narrator's past year in the prison been described in Chapter 19?

7. How does the admiral compare the plight of the troops to Jesus in Chapter 17?

8. What is symbolized by the narrator's rucksack in the novel?

9. What is significant about Ms. Mori's family photos being set out in Chapter 13?

10. Why does Bon insist on returning to Vietnam for the General in Chapter 13?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Discuss the narrator's revisions on his confession. Why is the commandant insistent that the narrator revise the work? What are his criticisms of the work? How does the narrator appease him?

Essay Topic 2

How does the General respond when he discovers the courtship between the narrator and Lana? How does the narrator feel about the General's response? How does Madame feel about the situation?

Essay Topic 3

Discuss the theme of duality in The Sympathizer. How does the author establish this theme in the first lines of the novel? How does the theme of duality evolve throughout the story? What symbolism relates to this theme?

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