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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 does the Chinese word of the number of the building floor from which Ona jumped sound like?

2. What does Mah want to keep open, though Leila refuses to help, so Mah is forced to ask Luday?

3. What brings Leon home tanned, relaxed, and bearing gifts for the family?

4. When Nina takes the urn to ____________, Mah gets upset and hides it from sight.

5. Who comes to the house, bringing comfort food and giving advice to the grieving family members?

Short Essay Questions

1. Leila wonders why Mason does not introduce her to his family. What is the reason?

2. Why does Leon want to tell everyone about the death of Ona in Chinatown?

3. Why did Leila have to translate between Leon and a Woolworth's manager when Ona was eight or nine?

4. Why did Mah and Leon get married in the first place, according to the both of them?

5. What is the only thing Nina asks Leila to do in order to handle Mah's trip to Hong Kong?

6. Things have changed after the affair. What are Leon and Mah like after the affair with Tommie Hom?

7. To what does Leila compare the feeling of time rushing forward and then snapping still?

8. What have the women done by the time the S.S. Independent docks at the shore?

9. What is the argument between Leon and Mah regarding the ashes of Ona after her death?

10. What do the sewing ladies do for Mah and the rest of the family after the death of Ona?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Leila seems to be the character who gets put into the middle of a number of situations in the story.

Part 1: Why do you think that Leila is often put into the middle of situations within this story?

Part 2: Is there another character in the story who might be a better mediator? Why or why not?

Part 3: Why is Leila resentful of being the one who has to mediate some situations?

Essay Topic 2

The strained relationship between Leon and Mah was not always that way. It seems to have slowly disintegrated along with the family structure and the family luck in this story.

Part 1: Why do you think that Leon and Mah got married in the first place?

Part 2: How do you think Leon and Mah have to change in order to be happy again?

Part 3: Do you think that Leon and Mah have any chance of being happy with each other again? Why or why not?

Essay Topic 3

The guilt surrounding Ona's death seems to be ripping the family apart within this story.

Part 1: Why do you think that Leon feels guilty about the death of Ona? Should he?

Part 2: Why do you think that Leila feels guilty about Ona's death? Should she?

Part 3: Do you think there is any reason for the family to feel guilty about Ona's death? Why or why not?

(see the answer keys)

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