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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 kind of worker was the man that wooed Yasin's mother and ruined his childhood?

2. What kind of eyes does Amina say Ahmad had that made her confess how she really was injured?

3. What is on a provocative poster that Kamal looks at along with the shrine of al-Husayn?

4. How old is Ahmad in Chapter 14 of the book?

5. What does Amina ask God to forgive her husband for when she helps wash him after he gets home?

Short Essay Questions

1. How are Ahmad's actions to those outside his household described?

2. What is the nature of Khadija and Aisha's conversation regarding marriage in Chapter 5?

3. How is Amina's mother described when she goes to stay with her during her exile?

4. How does the family react when Fahmy asks Amina to arrange his marriage to Maryam?

5. How are Ahmad and Mme. Zubayda's interactions described in Chapter 14?

6. How does Ahmad react to Fahmy's request to marry Maryam?

7. How are Amina's duties on her roof described in Chapter 6?

8. How are Ahmad's actions at a party where he hires Zubayda to sing described?

9. What is the nature of Yasin's complaints about his mother when he visits Ahmad in Chapter 17?

10. How does Yasin remember his happy childhood ruined by a fruit merchant?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Compare and contrast the characters of Yasin and Ahmad. What parallels are present between these two characters and what is significant about these?

Essay Topic 2

The underlying theme throughout the entire book has been Ahmad's tyranny over his family, with little explanation for what motivates his actions towards others.

Part 1.) What is Ahmad's nature based on his need to be a tyrant over his household?

Part 2.) How does Ahmad's tyranny parallel similar political actions going on in Egypt at the time?

Part 3.) Does Ahmad's ponderings after Fahmy's funeral suggest that he may have had a change of heart regarding his tyrannous treatment of his family?

Essay Topic 3

Examine the role fate plays in the lives of Ahmad's children who refuse to argue with his rules, especially about marriage. What is telling of Aisha based on her decision to leave being married up to fate?

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