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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 is a widow's walk?

2. Why does Kathy buy a can of gasoline?

3. What does Kathy say about the Behranis in her house?

4. Why is Behrani worried that Esmail is alone with a visitor during Soraya's homecoming party?

5. What news from Kathy's mother comes in the mail?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why does Kathy feel that everything she says has another side to it?

2. When Kathy explains her need to keep the house to Nadereh, what is Nadereh's concern?

3. Why does Behrani say that he is not a man of faith?

4. In the interview with Connie Walsh, what does she indicate that Behrani should do?

5. Why does Behrani feel that Soraya is right to disrespect him when he notices her behavior during her homecoming party?

6. Why does Kathy feel superior to the everyday people she sees on the street?

7. In the first meeting between Behrani and Kathy, what does he advise her to do?

8. Why does Kathy say she feels like a witch waiting for her brew to take effect?

9. What is the BEAST that Kathy has been taught to avoid?

10. What do you make of the fact that Kathy counts and itemizes all the kinds of alcohol in her client's house?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

The gun is an important symbol in this story. Those who are holding it sometimes feel stronger when they have it, sometimes weaker, as if it is a burden. In your essay, track the path of the gun from hand to hand, with the effect that it has on each person who carries it. Start with this thought: Do you think it is unusual that Lester would leave his gun with Kathy? Do policemen do such things under normal circumstances? What do you make of that occurrence?

Essay Topic 2

If Kathy had felt supported rather than criticized by her family, do you think the outcome of this story would have been different? Do you think her feelings are justified by their treatment of her? Using quotations and facts from the text, analyze Kathy's relationships with her mother and brother.

Essay Topic 3

One definition of addiction is behavior that we continue even when we get negative consequences or when we know our actions are bad for us. When Kathy is waiting for something to happen, rather than taking action, she watches movies back to back, often without remembering what she has watched. Are movies another addiction for her? Can things that are not chemical be addictive? List Kathy's addictions and discuss the effect they have on her life.

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