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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 taught Mina how to drive originally?

2. What does Mina's GPS sound like?

3. Where does Mina eventually go to college?

4. Where was the unnamed writer traveling from when he first came to Lesbos?

5. How does Mina meet Jennifer?

Short Essay Questions

1. In "How to Become a Westerner," how does Rania Kassem find herself again?

2. Who did Mina worship as a young child and try to model herself after?

3. In "You, the Nervous Wreck," what does Mina say is the influence of the writer's work on her decisions?

4. What does Mina buy for the children in "The Little Rascals Go to Camp" and how does this turn out?

5. Why is Mina's being a woman significant in her work as a doctor with the refugees?

6. Whose betrayal hurt Mina more than that of her parents?

7. In "Here Comes the Boat," why does Mina think the old woman is so mean to her adult son?

8. In "Doctors in Drag," why does the family ask Mina if she is a man?

9. Who was the only person Mina ever talked about her family with and why?

10. In what way does Mina remember her mother loving herself and her siblings?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

What do you think Alameddine is trying to communicate to the reader with the unnamed writer's panic in hiding in his hotel room for much of his time on Lesbos? Write an essay explaining your answers, citing specific references to the text to help support your conclusions.

Essay Topic 2

What do you think Alameddine is trying to reveal to the reader at the many points in the novel in which he points out Western - and particularly American - apathy towards refugees from other parts of the world, especially the Middle East? Write an essay explaining your answers, citing specific references to the text to help support your conclusions.

Essay Topic 3

How does Mina's alienation from her own family, except for her brother Mazen, affect her interactions and her ability to connect with the refugees she encounters on Lesbos? Write an essay explaining your answers, citing specific references to the text to help support your conclusions.

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 691 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample