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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 is the woman's first enemy?

2. How often does Maxine's mother tell stories?

3. Why does Maxine add a word to boys' names?

4. What does Maxine say about the separation between China and America?

5. Where does the girl stay at the top of the mountain?

Short Essay Questions

1. How does the title of the section, "Shaman," relate to the stories told in the section?

2. Do you think the story of the narrator's aunt is true? Explain why or why not.

3. When does the narrator throw temper tantrums?

4. Who does the narrator believe is the crazy person in her home?

5. Why do you think the narrator feels that her American success is sometimes useless? Give an example to support your position.

6. After reading this section of the novel, do you think the narrator's mother's stories leave a strong impression on her daughter?

7. In "White Tigers," describe the return of the girl, now a young woman, to her village.

8. Describe the narrator's relationship with other students in her elementary school.

9. What bothers the narrator the most about the mentally retarded man who comes and sits in the laundry?

10. When she is about to stay overnight in the haunted room at school, what does the narrator's mother tell the other girls at medical school to do if they find her very afraid in the morning?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

The idea of women in power often comes into conflict with the Chinese ideals of women's roles in society in the novel.

Part 1) Why do you think stories such as the one told in "White Tigers" teach girls to become heroines even though it is not socially acceptable?

Part 2) Describe at least two examples from the novel where a woman is in power. Contrast these examples with at least two examples from the novel where a woman's power is being suppressed.

Essay Topic 2

Throughout the novel, the narrator and her mother have dynamic interactions with one another and an intense relationship. Use the following questions as a guide to craft an essay that describes the narrator's relationship with her mother throughout the novel. Your essay should have a thesis statement describing their relationship. Use the guiding questions to help craft support for your thesis.

Part 1) Compare and contrast the narrator and her mother. Note their similarities and differences, and give examples to support your claims.

Part 2) Choose one way in which the narrator's mother strongly influences the narrator in the novel. Describe the influence, give at least one example of it and explain how it affects the narrator.

Part 3) With whom do you sympathize while reading the novel, the narrator or her mother? Explain and support your choice.

Essay Topic 3

The role of women in Chinese culture is a strong theme in the novel. Choose two of the following options to respond to.

1) What are some of the narrator's major concerns about how women are treated in Chinese culture? Describe at least three.

2) According to the narrator, is the role of a Chinese woman in America the same or different from the role of a Chinese woman in China? Explain why or why not.

3) Do you think the narrator is a traditional woman with respect to the Chinese culture? Explain why or why not.

(see the answer keys)

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