View a FREE sample

This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. In "Reasons for Staying," where do the speaker's best words come from?

2. In "Not Even," what does napalm have?

3. In "Reasons for Staying," by what light does the speaker read his books?

4. In "Reasons for Staying," what is the speaker's "last address"?

5. Who were the victims of the poorly-documented lynchings in "The Punctum"?

Short Essay Questions

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

2. In "Tell Me Something Good," what does the speaker want to tell his younger self?

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

4. In "Scavengers," who is the speaker with and in what context?

5. What are some reasons the speaker wants to stay in his hometown in "Reasons for Staying"?

6. In "The Punctum," what does the tour guide say that historians have done?

7. In "Not Even," what does a young woman tell the speaker that the speaker finds offensive?

8. What does the speaker eventually realize about himself and the man in the movie in "Künstlerroman"?

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

10. Where does the speaker in "The Punctum" visit?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

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.

Essay Topic 2

Which specific aspects of childhood and adolescence does Vuong treat throughout this collection? Write an essay explaining your answers, citing specific references to the text to help support your conclusions.

Essay Topic 3

How does Vuong create a sense of continuity for the reader throughout this entire collection? Write an essay explaining your answers, citing specific references to the text to help support your conclusions.

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 520 words (approx. 2 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample