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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 what decade did Maxine's father leave China?

2. How does the woman kill the baron of her village?

3. What happens to Maxine's aunt the night her baby is due?

4. Why is Maxine fired from her job at the land developer's association?

5. Which of these Chinese customs does Maxine comment on?

Short Essay Questions

1. What is narrator's impression of her mother when looking at the old medical school photograph?

2. What are some of the "battles" the narrator feels she must face as a woman warrior in modern society? Name at least two.

3. According to the narrator, does the narrator's aunt ever say who impregnated her?

4. Why does Moon Orchid hesitate to go see her husband in America?

5. Why are the Chinese afraid of the ghosts of people who died in the manner of the narrator's aunt?

6. How do Brave Orchid and Moon Orchid trick Moon Orchid's husband into see them?

7. Why doesn't the narrator visit her parents often?

8. In "White Tigers," who does the woman feel is riding with her while she is with her army?

9. When she is about to stay overnight in the haunted room at school, what does the narrator's mother tell the other girls at medical school to do if they find her very afraid in the morning?

10. Explain how the girl in the white tigers fantasy story meets the old couple who train her.

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

In "Shaman," the narrator's mother goes to medical school. Use these questions as a guide to describe her experience there. Your essay should include a thesis statement that explains how medical school affected the narrator's mother's life path. Use the guiding questions to help craft your thesis support.

1) Who are the "new women" the narrator's mother meets? How does she view them?

2) How does the narrator's mother change after going to medical school? What does she learn there?

3) How is the narrator's mother treated when she returns from medical school? Why is she treated in this way?

Essay Topic 2

The role of women in Chinese culture is a strong theme in the novel. Choose two of the following options to respond to.

1) What are some of the narrator's major concerns about how women are treated in Chinese culture? Describe at least three.

2) According to the narrator, is the role of a Chinese woman in America the same or different from the role of a Chinese woman in China? Explain why or why not.

3) Do you think the narrator is a traditional woman with respect to the Chinese culture? Explain why or why not.

Essay Topic 3

This novel has several autobiographical elements, but we never learn if the narrator and the author are the same person.

Part 1) After learning about autobiographies in class, do you view this novel as an autobiography? Explain why or why not using at least three examples from the text to support your position.

Part 2) Do you think the author and the narrator are the same? Explain why or why not.

(see the answer keys)

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