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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 happens when Valentino tries to find another hiding place?

2. Who does Valentino talk to on the walk to the village?

3. What is the name of Valentino's girlfriend?

4. What is the African American woman's name?

5. Where did Valentino meet Tabitha?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why do some of the Sudanese dislike Mary Williams?

2. Why does Valentino say the Arabs will destroy his village?

3. What does Valentino think about his new life in America?

4. What did Valentino know about African Americans before he came to America?

5. Why was Tabitha unusual among the Sudanese?

6. How does the boy react when Valentino calls out his name?

7. What are Valentino's feelings about Sudan now he has moved to America?

8. How does Valentino's mother react when they hear horses?

9. How does Valentino show the cultural differences between Americans and Sudanese in Chapter 13?

10. How do Valentino and his mother manage to escape to a compound full of grain?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Who are the SPLA and how influential were they in Sudan? What does Valentino thinks of the SPLA? How does Eggers express Valentino's views in the book?

Essay Topic 2

Compare Valentino's character to the person he was at the beginning of the book to who he is at the end.

1. What did Valentino hope to achieve at the beginning of the book?

2. What events changes Valentino ideas about life?

3. How has Valentino's character changed by the end of the book?

Essay Topic 3

Choose one of Eggers' previous books and contrast it with WHAT IS THE WHAT terms of the following:

1. Style.

2. Structure.

3. Themes.

(see the answer keys)

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