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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 the man use to hit Valentino?

2. What country did Valentino walk to from Sudan?

3. What is Valentino worried Michael is looking at in his bedroom?

4. What kind of wife do most of the Sudanese in America want?

5. Why does Valentino say he likes Arab Sadiq?

Short Essay Questions

1. How does Valentino's mother react when they hear horses?

2. What does Valentino start thinking about when he was a little boy in Sudan?

3. What does the African American couple want?

4. How does Valentino introduce the themes of the book?

5. Why does Valentino say the Arabs will destroy his village?

6. Why was Tabitha unusual among the Sudanese?

7. What does the name Michael remind Valentino of?

8. What did Valentino know about African Americans before he came to America?

9. What problems do the boys have at the beginning of their journey?

10. How do the Arabs destroy Valentino's village?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

What publicity both negative and positive have the Lost Boys had since coming to America? How have the Lost Boys' lives changed since coming to America? Why has it been difficult for them to settle in America?

Essay Topic 2

Examine the author's writing style. How would you describe the author's prose style? What kind of vocabulary does he use? What meaning does the author's style give to the story?

Essay Topic 3

Choose one of Eggers' previous books and contrast it with WHAT IS THE WHAT terms of the following:

1. Style.

2. Structure.

3. Themes.

(see the answer keys)

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