View a FREE sample

This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. Thi says that Bo had fished for what kind of creatures in his childhood spent in Hai Phong?

2. Thi tells a story about her Bo that involves what kind of body of water in Hai Phong?

3. With what assessment of Ma's does Bo disagree in Chapter 3?

4. How many young children are still in the home when Bo takes over most of the parenting?

5. Thi says that the last time Bo saw his mother was during "the height of the" (111) what?

Short Essay Questions

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

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

3. 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?

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

5. Thi likens the way she feels at the sight of the surgical instruments to what scene from her childhood?

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

7. What lesson does Thi learn through undertaking a major change in 2006?

8. What major change do Thi and Travis undertake in 2006 and why?

9. What event causes a very young Bo to mentally disown his father?

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

How is the role of motherhood treated within The Best We Could Do and how does its treatment relate to the memoir's depicted messages?

Essay Topic 2

William Faulkner once famously claimed that the most important literature deals with the subject of the human heart in conflict with itself. Explain how the theme of Human versus Self is demonstrated within Bui’s memoir The Best We Could Do. Create a decisive, arguable claim and prove it with quotes from the memoir.

Essay Topic 3

Write a critical essay about The Best We Could Do while using the critical power theory lens of feminist theory. Use textual evidence to back up your strong, specific claim regarding the memoir's treatment of gender roles, the objectification of women, female empowerment, misogyny's role within society, or any other issues related to feminist theory that can be found in the memoir.

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 912 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample