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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. As French colonists in a predominantly non-Caucasian nation, what does the family enjoy despite their relative poverty?

2. Who appeared in the premonition that the mother had before the father's death?

3. Who watches out for the narrator?

4. Whose wasteful lifestyle contributes to the family's poverty?

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

Short Essay Questions

1. Describe the mother's behavior toward her daughter's conduct during the height of her relationship with the lover in segments 15 and 16.

2. What is the social and economic status of the lover when the narrator meets him?

3. Who chooses to ignore the relationship? Why?

4. What becomes of the older brother after the narrator's family moves back to France?

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

6. How does the narrator feel after she receives news of the younger brother's death?

7. Is the narrator in control of the relationship with the lover, through its beginning to the end?

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

9. The lover makes a comment about the narrator's method of transportation. What is it...why is it strange... and what does it indicate?

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Discuss the positive and negative factors in the relationship between the narrator and the lover. How are the lives of the narrator and the lover impacted by their relationship? What are the societal implications of their relationship in the time it took place? Also, discuss the implications of a similar relationship in present day.

Essay Topic 2

Identify important symbols in the novel. What can be seen as symbols of the relationship? What symbolizes the dysfunction of the family? What symbolizes the narrator's sexuality? How are these symbols related to the novel and what do they express about the subjects they are symbolizing?

Essay Topic 3

Compare and contrast the early life of the narrator with the later life of the narrator. How does the narrator change? How do her circumstances and family life change? Are there any characteristics of the narrator that remain unchanged from her early life into her later life? What aspects of the narrator's personality does she carry with her throughout life?

(see the answer keys)

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