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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. How is the person supposed to wait in "Terpischore: Choral Dance"?

2. Which place is mentioned at the end of 'Aller'?

3. How does the wife speak without words in "Erato: Love Poetry"?

4. What is the first action of the woman in "Thalia: Comedy"?

5. What color are the subtitles that appear on the screen in "Erato: Love Poetry"?

Short Essay Questions

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

2. Identify one central symbol of "Terpischore: Choral Dance" and discuss its relevance.

3. Describe the woman's relationship with the person on the telephone in "Thalia: Comedy."

4. Discuss the opening lines of "Terpischore: Choral Dance." What is the general impression you gain from these lines? ("You remain dismembered...apart from the congregation.")

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

6. Examine the imagery of the veil in "Elitere: Lyric Poetry."

7. Discuss the passage titled "Memory." Why does it receive a capitalized title?

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

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

10. Discuss the photograph of the woman which concludes "Erato: Love Poetry."

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

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.

Essay Topic 3

Language and the power of speech recur as central needs throughout the work. Often the act of speech or the need to communicate becomes the central focus of particular passages or entire sections. Analyze Cha's treatment of speech and language in the work. Is the power of speech celebrated? Is silence championed? How do the pressures of language acquisition factor into her commentary on language and communication? How do the pressures of immigrant or exile identity affect speech and language?

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