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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. Where does the man who worked at the jewelry store say he and his family booked flights to get away from the police?

2. What is the first sentence Mina writes in her correspondence to Mazen to help repair their relationship in Part III?

3. What city does an alleged coordinated sexual assault take place on New Year's Eve in Part IV?

4. Where do Samaiya and her family move to in Part IV?

5. What event changes the way Muslims and Middle Easterners are seen and treated in America according to Mina in Part IV?

Short Essay Questions

1. What does Mina think of George W. Bush's post-9/11 speech?

2. What does Rasheed say Mina should wear so the women in the refugee camp will trust her more?

3. What can Mina not help thinking about women from Deir-ez-Zor?

4. Why does Sammy tell the journalists they finally left Syria?

5. What does Mina really think of the man who says he worked for a jewler?

6. What happens in Cologne on New Year's Eve that impacts Europe's attitudes towards refugees?

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

8. What does Mina know happened to Lesbos and the refugee situation there after she left?

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

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

What does Alameddine's book title refer to, and why do you think he chose this title for this novel? Write an essay explaining your answers.

Essay Topic 2

Why does Mina ultimately help Sumaiya to end her own life? Write an essay explaining your answers, citing specific references to the text to help support your conclusion.

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)

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