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This test consists of 15 multiple choice questions and 5 short answer questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. How does Joseph look different to Danticat when she meets him at the airport in 1983?
(a) He looks ill.
(b) He has gained some weight and somehow looks shorter.
(c) He looks very thin.
(d) He looks taller and stronger.

2. What does Joseph wear on his way out of Bel Air in the fall of 2004 so he will not be recognized?
(a) A towel over his head.
(b) A doctor's coat.
(c) A UN uniform.
(d) A thick fake beard and glasses.

3. Why does Danticat think Joseph asked for asylum rather than use the valid visa he had to travel to the United States?
(a) His religion dictated that he should request asylum.
(b) He was ashamed of the visa.
(c) He did not want to leave his son Maxo.
(d) He knew he would be staying longer than 30 days and he wanted to tell the truth.

4. Who is gathered in Joseph's house on the morning of October 24, 2004?
(a) His congregation.
(b) Foreign doctors.
(c) Many of Joseph's family members, including his son and grandchildren.
(d) His students.

5. Why does Joseph choose not to use his voice box often during the last days of October 2004?
(a) It broke.
(b) It will draw attention, and he is trying to lay low because the neighborhood gangs are out to get him.
(c) He ran out of batteries.
(d) He is forbidden to use it by his doctor.

6. Who decides to go into Bel Air and help get Joseph to safety in the fall of 2004?
(a) Bob.
(b) Mira.
(c) Tante Zi.
(d) Maxo.

7. What is the name of Danticat's father's cab?
(a) A daisy cab.
(b) A gypsy cab.
(c) A flowered cab.
(d) A checkered cab.

8. When did Haitians begin arriving in Florida in large numbers by boat?
(a) The mid-1990s.
(b) The early 2000s.
(c) The early 1970s.
(d) The early 1980s.

9. What story does Tante Denise tell Danticat the last time Danticat visits her in Haiti?
(a) The Angel of Death and Father God.
(b) The House With the Golden Windows.
(c) The Snake and the Badger.
(d) The Old Goat and the Young Ram.

10. Who is Tante Zi mourning when she wears white?
(a) Her brother, Mira.
(b) Her mother, Lorna.
(c) Her husband, Nick.
(d) Her son, Marius.

11. What does Danticat think her bedclothes in the United States smell like?
(a) Chanel perfume.
(b) Moth balls.
(c) Citronella and vetiver.
(d) Soap.

12. What do some of the young men of the neighborhood demand of Joseph to make amends for what they think are his crimes?
(a) They demand exorbitant amounts of money to cover the funeral costs of the neighbors who were shot by the riot police and UN soldiers.
(b) They demand that he pray for them.
(c) They demand all the drugs and medical supplies he has.
(d) They demand that he smuggle them out of the country.

13. Which person was sworn in as president of Haiti in 1991?
(a) Jean-Bertrand Aristide.
(b) Daniel Fignole.
(c) Papa Doc Duvalier.
(d) Baby Doc Duvalier.

14. Where do Maxo and the rest of Joseph's family reluctantly leave Bel Air for in October 2004?
(a) Port-au-Prince.
(b) Los Angeles.
(c) New York.
(d) Leogane.

15. Why does Danticat sense that Bob eats so much during their first dinner with their parents in the United States?
(a) He is very hungry from the flight.
(b) He never liked the food that Tante Denise had cooked.
(c) He has a glycemic disorder.
(d) He wants to please their parents.

Short Answer Questions

1. What does Danticat's father give her on her second day in the United States?

2. Which airline does Danticat call in the fall of 2004 to try to get information about Joseph?

3. What hurtful question does Kelly ask Danicat and Bob their first night in the United States?

4. What does Danticat mistake the fire escape for?

5. What earlier historical tragedy does the asylum system and process sometimes remind Danticat of?

(see the answer keys)

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