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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. Who strongly disapproved of the dancing taking place at the wedding depicted in "Six Minutes"?

2. What thought caused Leila to feel a sense of gloom descend upon her during the wedding reception?

3. In what type of periodical did Leila and Sinan first see a hula hoop?

4. Leilia has a "sinking feeling" (11) when she realizes that which event has just occurred?

5. What is the name of Leila's biological mother?

Short Essay Questions

1. Discuss a particular detail in the prologue entitled "The End" that communicates an element of Leila's personality.

2. How did Leila first meet Nalan?

3. What was the setting of Leila's birth?

4. How did Leila meet Sinan?

5. What were the circumstances of the sexual abuse Leila endured throughout her childhood?

6. Who was Tarkan?

7. In what way did Leila make a sacrifice willingly in order to get under Uncle's skin at a family function?

8. Which event described in "One Minute" was later considered by Binnaz, Leila's biological mother, to be the moment that "had debilitated her forever" (33)?

9. How did Haroun's increasing religious fervor cause changes in Leila's life during her adolescence?

10. What connection does the narrator draw between Tarkan's diagnosis and Leila's alienation from her father?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Discuss how and why Shafak instills three different humanist messages into the narrative of 10 Minutes 38 Seconds in This Strange World.

Essay Topic 2

Sensory details are used frequently by Shafak in order to create vivid pictures of each character's progression through the narrative of 10 Minutes 38 Seconds in This Strange World. Choose three scenes in which sensory details are heavily used and discuss how the sensory details used serve Shafak’s creation of vivid characters to populate the narrative.

Essay Topic 3

Explicate the theme of hope within 10 Minutes 38 Seconds in This Strange World. What is Shafak’s message regarding hope and how do you know?

(see the answer keys)

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