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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. In "Thalia: Comedy," what is the purpose of the letter from "a friend"?

2. When is the letter to Mrs. Laura Claxton regarding the address of Mr. Reardon dated?

3. What time is it when the woman enters the theater in "Erato: Love Poetry"?

4. In "Thalia: Comedy," what form does the letter from "a friend" arrive in?

5. Why are the woman's lips chafed in "Thalia: Comedy"?

Short Essay Questions

1. Describe the rhythm of "Terpischore: Choral Dance."

2. Describe the wife's relationship with her husband in "Erato: Love Poetry."

3. Why is the young girl at the well in "Polymnia: Sacred Poetry"?

4. Describe the young girl's attire in "Polymnia: Sacred Poetry."

5. Discuss at least two possible meanings of the partition imagery which appears in "Elitere: Lyric Poetry."

6. What does the woman give to the young girl in "Polymnia: Sacred Poetry"?

7. Examine the camera directions which describe the woman's experience in the cinema in "Erato: Love Poetry."

8. Describe the image at the opening of "Terpischore: Choral Dance."

9. Discuss the ending of the work. Why does it end with a child looking out a window?

10. Discuss the parallel between the ritual of becoming a nun and that of becoming a wife.

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Displacement, as it relates to exile and immigrant identity, is a recurring theme throughout this work. Think, for example, about Cha's mother's spirit trapped in Korea or about the narrator's experience in returning to Korea eighteen years after the conflict. How does a sense of displacement inform the identities of the people in the work? Are they marked by it? Are their lives made empty by a sense of yearning? Or do they perceive displacement differently? How?

Essay Topic 2

Much of Cha's text deals with the experience of being a Korean-American woman in the period following the Korean War. How does she treat this experience? How does she comment on her place and/or reception within U.S. American culture? Is she nostalgic for Korea? Proud to be an American? Both? Support your answer with evidence from the text.

Essay Topic 3

Discuss Cha's stylistic choices throughout the work, focusing particularly on the author's use of language. How does she integrate simile, metaphor, and other literary devices into her prose and poetry? How do these techniques relate to the message of the work as a whole? Support your argument with evidence from the text.

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