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. What language was "Year of the Elephant" first written in?

2. How many languages does Abou Zayd know?

3. What limb did Faqih loose in Vietnam?

4. Who is Rahma?

5. What is considered the language of the common man in Morocco?

Short Essay Questions

1. Describe Abou Zayd's childhood and how it affected her writing.

2. Describe the narrator of "The Year of the Elephant".

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

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

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

6. What did Zahra describe as an oasis and desert and why?

7. Describe Zahra's mood at the start of Chapter 4. Why does she feel this way?

8. Why might Abou Zayd have written "Year of the Elephant" in Arabic?

9. What was the education crisis Morocco faced in the 1950's?

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Zahra meets many interesting people in the book. These people influence her life in many ways. Choose one person or couple she meets that influence her life, and explain the positive and negative aspects of that influence.

Essay Topic 2

How does Abu Zayd address the theme of independence in his "Year of the Elephant"? Choose two examples of examples of this theme and explain how these examples contribute to the message of the story.

Essay Topic 3

Discuss the character of Zahra. How does Zahra change from the beginning to the end of the book "Year of the Elephant"? Why? Do you believe Zahra is innocent at any point of the book? When does she loose her innocence? Choose one other character in the book and explain their relationship with Zahra..

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 662 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample