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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. Where does Roukia get locked in?

2. How much does Zahra's wool spinning business make her?

3. What religion does Aziz convert to?

4. What job does Aziz hope to obtain?

5. What is the state official's life like?

Short Essay Questions

1. How does Zahra's husband change when he receives his "caid"?

2. Who is the surprise guest in "A Vacation" and how does Roukia react to the visitor?

3. Describe the life of the woman in "Out of Work" while she was working.

4. What trick do the girls in "House in the Woods" play on the old man?

5. Describe the main character in "Divorce".

6. What do the men in "The Discontented" blame the childhood friend's station in life on?

7. Who does not agree with Zahra's choice to move to Casablanca and why?

8. What offer does one man make to the other in "The Discontented" and what is the man's response to the offer?

9. Why is Aziz nervous at the start of "The Stranger"?

10. Describe Zahra's experience with the fortune-teller.

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

What role does religion play in "Year of the Elephant"? Choose two examples and explain religion plays a role in the story "Year of the Elephant".

Essay Topic 2

Compare and contrast the genres of fiction and non-fiction. Which genre does this book fall? How does narration cloud the reader's understanding of fiction and non-fiction?

Essay Topic 3

How does the Moroccan independence movement affect the lives of the characters in Abu Zayd's book? Choose one character (other then Zahra) and discuss how the independence movement affects his or her life.

(see the answer keys)

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