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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 is the "first" this book is known for?

2. Who surprises Zahra during one of her meetings in Chapter 4?

3. Who do the literacy meetings in Chapter 4 help?

4. Who taught Zahra the skill she will use to make money?

5. What natural disaster occurs in Chapter 1 to Zahara's town?

Short Essay Questions

1. Who is Safia?

2. How does Zahra join the Moroccan resistance movement?

3. What happens to Zahra's husband in Chapter 4? How does she find out?

4. Who is Rahma and why does Zahra want to get to know her?

5. Why does Faqih dislike the French?

6. Why did Faqih not want the woman's group to store items in his home?

7. Who raised Zahra and why could she not go back to their home?

8. What imagery does the author use in Chapter 1?

9. Why is Zahra distraught at the start of Chapter 1?

10. Why does the author of the introduction claim that "Year of the Elephant" is "an event in cross-cultural literary history"?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Who is Zahra's faqih (note the spelling of faqih) and what role does he play in her life choices ?

Essay Topic 2

Analyze the interaction between the men in the story "The Discontented". How are the men different from one another? What occurs at the end of the story that sets the two men further apart?

Essay Topic 3

What does Abu Zayd's writing suggest about the treatment of women in Moroccan society? Provide several examples that demonstrate the different social rules for men and women in Abu Zayd's book.

(see the answer keys)

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