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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. As a young woman, the narrator was _________.
(a) Funny.
(b) Ugly.
(c) Beautiful.
(d) Quiet.

2. What does the narrator ride on to board the ferry?
(a) A car.
(b) A bicycle.
(c) A truck.
(d) A bus.

3. What is the name of the mother?
(a) Marguerite.
(b) Dô.
(c) Helene.
(d) She is unnamed.

4. At what age did the narrator start receiving sexual attention from men?
(a) Twelve.
(b) Fifteen.
(c) Fourteen.
(d) Twenty.

5. Who in the novel is especially terrorized and lives their life in a shadow of fear?
(a) The younger brother.
(b) Dô.
(c) The mother.
(d) The narrator.

Short Answer Questions

1. The major events recalled in the novel about the time the family lived in Chochinchina happen when the narrator is _________ years old.

2. How does the younger brother die?

3. In the beginning of the story, the narrator appears old and "ravaged." During what age period is it noted that her most rapid aging took place?

4. What contributed to the narrator's ravaged face?

5. The lover comments that it is rare to see a white girl ________.

Short Essay Questions

1. What structural functions does the opening segment of the novel perform?

2. During the height of the relationship, the narrator becomes increasingly fixed on her friend, Helene Lagonelle. What does the narrator express desire to do concerning Helene Lagonelle?

3. Once wealthy, now all of the family's money is tied up in property investments. Describe the family property around the time the narrator visits it.

4. Describe the narrator's outfit in Segment 2. In what way does it transform her?

5. Why does the mother act oblivious about her family's plight and her children's behavior?

6. Describe the conversation between the mother and the daughter shortly before the family departs for France.

7. What compels the Chinese financier to approach the narrator?

8. Explain why the relationship would not have lasted even if the narrator would have remained in Chochinchina.

9. Would the brothers and the narrator be considered to be equals?

10. The narrator describes both the lover's body and her own in unique ways at the very beginning of their relationship. Explain how.

(see the answer keys)

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