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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 infamous Nazi does the author describe in Chapter 8?

2. What film of the Auteur's is described in Chapter 8 as being "about the failure of the American Dream"?

3. When did the narrator's family flee to the South after living in a northern hamlet?

4. How old was the communist agent with the papers in her mouth when she was arrested?

5. What is the name of the Congressman's wife?

Short Essay Questions

1. What is the first business venture the General undertakes in the U.S.? Why?

2. Who is Professor Hammer and what is his relationship to the narrator?

3. How does the narrator describe the task of a spy in Chapter 11?

4. Where are the Vietnamese refugees taken after arriving in America in Chapter 4?

5. How would you describe the narrator's relationship with the Auteur?

6. How is the theme of sympathy explored in Chapter 12?

7. What does the narrator fear when he is called in to speak with the General at the opening of the store in Chapter 5? Why?

8. Whom does the narrator become entranced by at the wedding in Chapter 7? Why?

9. How would you describe the narrator and protagonist of The Sympathizer?

10. How would you describe the narrative style of The Sympathizer?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Describe the narrator and Bon's capture in Thailand. What mission are they on when they are captured? Who captures them? Where are they taken after capture?

Essay Topic 2

Discuss the events surrounding the Fall of Saigon. When did the Fall of Saigon occur? For how many years was the Vietnam War fought? How does the author depict these events in The Sympathizer?

Essay Topic 3

Discuss the theme of betrayal in the novel. What are examples of acts of betrayal committed by the narrator and other characters? How is this theme supported through imagery, symbolism, and setting?

(see the answer keys)

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