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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 does Mina's mother say to her after the car accident?

2. Who does Mazen stay with when he gives up his hotel room?

3. What kind of shipping container does Mina meet patients in in Part IV?

4. What does the old woman in Part IV from Deir ez-Zor tell Mazen?

5. What does Rasheed bring to share with Mina and Asma in the very beginning of Part I?

Short Essay Questions

1. In Part III, how does Mina's mother react after the car accident in her childhood?

2. What personal story of loss does Mina share with Asma in Part IV?

3. In Part IV, what does Mina realize about the economic situations of the refugees she sees in the camps?

4. What happened to Linda Abdullah's father at the end of his life?

5. What affliction does one woman tell Mina she has in Part IV that Mina can find no physical cause for?

6. What particular topic does Mina remember Francine having written about in 2009?

7. What does the scent of cardamom mean to Mina and the writer?

8. What is the jewel in the dream house the writer's father built in Lebanon?

9. How did Rasheed help two Iraqi gay men get settled in Europe?

10. Who is Sumaiya most worried about in her family for after she dies?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Alameddine explores a range of strong emotions at a fever pitch throughout the novel - fear, anger, frustration, sadness, and even joy. Write an essay analyzing Alameddine's tone at different points throughout the novel, citing specific references to the text to help support your conclusions.

Essay Topic 2

How does Alameddine describe Mina's process of gender transition? Why do you think he chooses to pace the revelations about Mina's gender transition the way he does throughout the novel? Write an essay explaining your answers.

Essay Topic 3

What complications about the motivations and goals of the aid workers on Lesbos does Alameddine reveal throughout the novel? What are some of the different and opposing perspectives different characters, including Emma, Rasheed, and Mina take about the aid workers? Write an essay explaining your answers, citing specific references to the text to help support your conclusions.

(see the answer keys)

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