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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 limb did Faqih loose in Vietnam?

2. Where does Zahra's husband go to jail?

3. Whose grave does Zahra visit in Chapter 2?

4. What can Zahra and her husband not discuss while at the jail?

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

Short Essay Questions

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

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

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

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

5. What was Zahra's experience in Chapter 2 like while living in Casablanca?

6. Why does Faqih dislike the French?

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

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

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

10. What was Zahra's childhood like?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

How does the setting effect the reader's experience of the story? Does it matter that the story is set in another country? Describe the setting of the story of you choice and explain how it is intertwined with the plot.

Essay Topic 2

Describe how the Moroccan independence movement affected AbuZaud's life as an artist. How does the independence movement play a role in her character's lives?

Essay Topic 3

Define the term protagonist and identify who you believe is the protagonist in the story "The Stranger". Supply evidence from the book that supports your argument.

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