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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 impresses Kathy about Behrani's behavior as they emerge from the bathroom?

2. What does Kathy do to make things better at the house while she waits for Lester?

3. What does Lester try to convince Kathy to do now that they have held the Behrani family overnight?

4. How does Alvarez punish Lester's threatening the Behranis?

5. Why is Nadereh angry with Behrani after he forces Kathy to leave?

Short Essay Questions

1. How does Kathy feel as she goes back into the house to wait for Lester?

2. Who does Lester want to call from jail and what does he plan to say?

3. When Nadereh told Lester that her husband was "only good," Behrani believed that she had a different meaning than a positive comment on his character. What does Behrani believe Nadereh meant?

4. Lester watches his own image in the elevator doors spread out from the middle, then disappear. How is this symbol a metaphor for his situation?

5. As Kathy reviews events in her mind, she believes that she was willing to let Lester do anything to put off one moment. What is she so anxious to postpone?

6. Why is Kathy's judgment so confused as she drives to the house and parks in the driveway?

7. How do Behrani's feelings change when he finds Kathy in the car in his driveway?

8. What is nazr?

9. What is Connie Walsh's planned defense for Kathy?

10. Why does young Deputy Gleason's expression of gratitude when he encounters Lester on the street make Lester feel worse?

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

Uniforms have a big effect on characters in this story. Perhaps even Kathy's way of dressing is a uniform of sorts, designed to create a specific impression on the men who look at her. Using quotations from the story, discuss the effect of Behrani's uniform, Lester's uniform, or Kathy's mode of dress on themselves and the other characters.

Essay Topic 3

Lester's past has a strong effect on actions he believes he must take now. What happens in his younger days that skews his view of the world now? What is he trying to prove and why does he feel he must prove something? Support your idea with quotations from the book.

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