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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. In "Scavengers," what does the speaker compare himself and his lover to?

2. In "Not Even," what does the speaker suggest "made" his people instead of "the crash"?

3. In "Künstlerroman," what is the name of the dog the speaker lost?

4. What is each wave in "Toy Boat" like?

5. Why does the speaker say he kept dancing even though the song had finished in "Not Even"?

Short Essay Questions

1. What does the speaker in "The Punctum" learn about?

2. What is one reason that the speaker is a writer in "Ars Poetica as the Maker"?

3. In "Amazon History of a Former Nail Salon Worker," what does the reader learn about the speaker's mother?

4. Who does the speaker wish to communicate with in "No One Knows the Way to Heaven"?

5. What items point to the suffering of the speaker's mother in "Amazon History of a Former Nail Salon Worker"?

6. What is the poem "Toy Boat" about?

7. In "Nothing," what does the speaker wonder about himself and Peter?

8. Where does the speaker see himself in "Tell Me Something Good"?

9. What does the speaker do with Peter in "Nothing"?

10. What particular item in "Amazon History of a Former Nail Salon Worker" is ominous and morbid?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

What personal struggles does the speaker in some of these poems convey to the reader, and through which poems does the speaker reveal his struggles? Write an essay explaining your answers.

Essay Topic 2

Which individual poems do you think Vuong demonstrates the most skill and effectiveness through throughout this collection? Write an essay explaining your answers, citing specific references to the text to help support your conclusions.

Essay Topic 3

What relationship does Vuong draw between intimacy and distance throughout this collection? Write an essay explaining your answers, citing specific references to the text to help support your conclusions.

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