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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 substance is the girl shown that could allow her to live forever?

2. Who does the girl meet at the top of the mountain?

3. For how long does the girl agree to stay with the people she meets?

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

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

Short Essay Questions

1. Who does the narrator believe is the crazy person in her home?

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. Why do you think the narrator feels that her American success is sometimes useless? Give an example to support your position.

4. Why do you think the author emphasized that all of Brave Orchid's children majored in science and math?

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

6. What are two of the three Chinese customs the narrator comments on after pondering how her aunt became pregnant?

7. How does Moon Orchid's husband react when he sees her?

8. What happens to the baron's family after the woman beheads the baron?

9. How do the girls at the medical school get materials to burn out the ghost from the haunted room in the dorms?

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Throughout the novel, the narrator and her mother have dynamic interactions with one another and an intense relationship. Use the following questions as a guide to craft an essay that describes the narrator's relationship with her mother throughout the novel. Your essay should have a thesis statement describing their relationship. Use the guiding questions to help craft support for your thesis.

Part 1) Compare and contrast the narrator and her mother. Note their similarities and differences, and give examples to support your claims.

Part 2) Choose one way in which the narrator's mother strongly influences the narrator in the novel. Describe the influence, give at least one example of it and explain how it affects the narrator.

Part 3) With whom do you sympathize while reading the novel, the narrator or her mother? Explain and support your choice.

Essay Topic 2

A large part of the novel describes the narrator's childhood.

Part 1) Explain at least two of the secrets the narrator has to keep during her childhood. How do you think these secrets affected the narrator's personal and social life?

Part 2) Why do you think the Chinese American children are warned about immigration growing up? Explain what fears immigrants had during the time period of the novel's setting, and how these fears relate to the events of the novel as a whole.

Essay Topic 3

Throughout the novel, there are many ghosts, imaginary beings and legendary characters in the narrator's mother's stories and the narrator's accounts of different stories. Choose three of these creatures and answer the following questions about each.

1) What story is this character a part of? What role does it have in the story?

2) What might the character symbolize?

3) How does the inclusion of this character impact the story?

4) How does the narrator feel about this character? Do you think the narrator believes it is real or imaginary?

(see the answer keys)

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