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This test consists of 5 multiple choice questions, 5 short answer questions, and 10 short essay questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What kind of darkness does Thi remember inside her childhood home?
(a) Stifling.
(b) Soothing.
(c) Ominous.
(d) Claustrophobic.

2. Thi witnesses which person get spat on as he is called a racial slur?
(a) Bo.
(b) Ma.
(c) Lan.
(d) Tam.

3. How old was Thi when her parents separated?
(a) 21.
(b) 13.
(c) 19.
(d) 7.

4. In what year did Japan send troops to "block Chinese supply routes" (102)?
(a) 1923.
(b) 1950.
(c) 1940.
(d) 1942.

5. Once all of Thi's family lives in the same state, where does Ma live?
(a) In a hotel.
(b) In Tam's backyard.
(c) In Thi's backyard.
(d) In Bich's guest house.

Short Answer Questions

1. What adjective does Thi use to describe the "demons" (68) from her parents' pasts that had haunted Thi's childhood home?

2. Thi and her siblings go to bed at what time every night while under the care of Bo?

3. What two armies forced the Vietnamese people to uproot their rice in order to plant jute?

4. Throughout the memoir, Bo's grandfather is referred to as what type of gentleman?

5. After moving her own family to be closer to her parents, Thi realizes that what two elements are "not the same" (31)?

Short Essay Questions

1. What event within her adolescence does Thi describe as "living the dream" "for an immigrant kid" (24)?

2. For what purpose does Bui begin Chapter 2: "Rewind, Reverse" in a particular place and then change to a different era on the very next page?

3. As a young child, Thi imagines the lights of the cars on the highway as what other objects?

4. For what purpose are allusions to heaven and hell included in Chapter 3?

5. In what time and place does the opening scene of The Best We Could Do begin?

6. Describe Thi's expression in the panel depicting her reaction to Bo's dangerous behavior.

7. What question does Thi ask the doctor when she is in labor with her child?

8. What food always brings comfort to Thi and why?

9. How does the doctor respond to Thi's question about her child's birth?

10. How does Bui incorporate foreshadowing in her creation of The Best We Could Do?

(see the answer keys)

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