Part I asks you to read four passages from our reading and then to identify the author, work, character(s), and situation. Next, you will be asked to respond to two analytical questions about each excerpt.
A. The manuscript pages were heaped in random order in the mute girl’s attic quarters. These flimsy pages represented Kien’s past; the lines told stories that were sometimes clear, but most were at best obscure and as vague and pale as twilight. They told stories from the precariously fine border dividing life from death, blurring the line itself and finally erasing it. Ages and times were mixed in confusion, as were peace and war.
1. Identify the author, work, character(s), and situation. (Three points)
2. How does this passage comment on the structure of the novel in which it appears? Provide an example from the novel of the novel’s unusual structure. (Eight points)
3. What role does the deaf-mute woman play in this novel, and why is it important that she is deaf and mute? In what ways is she allegorical? (Eight points)
B. The bag of ice slipped in my arms. I leaned down to catch it and as I pulled it closer to me, I thought I felt my brother’s breath upon me. This was not the warmth I’d felt earlier, but a chill now at the center of my spine. The feeling was so confusing and frightening, I ran.
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1. Identify the author, work, character(s), and situation. (Three points)
2. Why does the narrator feel her brother’s presence at this moment? Why doesn’t she fully mourn or even acknowledge his loss before this incident? (Eight points).
3. How does the narrator’s tendency to become her lost brother affect her gender identify? NB: Gender identify is the sense of being a man or a woman or non-binary. A strong answer will quote a scene to back up your point. (Eight points)
C. He left the door and came back to Kien, putting out his hand to pull him up. “Be quick. What the hell are you doin?’ We’ve got to get to the shelter. Listen, I was only going to screw her until Vinh. You could have her back after that. Hell, you’re really soft. A little bourgeois softie, aren’t you?”
1. Identify the author, text, characters, and situation. (Three points)
2. What are two aspects of this speech and the actions preceding it that probably offended the Vietnamese Communist officials who banned this novel? Why would they find these elements offensive? You may use bullet points. (Eight points)
3. How do the incidents occurring right after this scene change the protagonist’s relationship with his girlfriend? Be specific. (Eight points)
Lit 237 4 Mid-term
D. I walked the three long blocks down Orange to Euclid. The liquor store was on the corner. The screen door was closed and the store looked dark. I stepped into the cool and quiet inside. There was a tall man with thick hair standing behind the counter. He had a newspaper open across the counter and was leaning over it, reading. As I walked by him, he looked up and said, “Hi, there.” I turned my head toward him and said, “Hi, there,” in the same tone of voice. Then I laughed to myself, thinking, You bird. You parrot. You Polly. I mouthed the words Polly, Polly, Polly, as I walked between the tall shelves of bottles, making my way slowly toward the freezers at the back of the store.
1. Identify the author, text, characters, and situation. (Three points)
2. This passage features a newspaper and is about literacy. What does this excerpt indicate about the narrator’s complicated attitude toward learning English and becoming Americanized? (Eight points)
3. What are two other moments in the novel when the narrator discusses the process of becoming literate in English? You may use bullet points. (Eight points)
EXTRA CREDIT: What are the “Three Don’ts” of Vietnamese Communism (consult The Sorrow of War)
EXTRA EXTRA CREDIT. For the two daily edits, type out the sentences correctly, fixing the punctuation. (Two points each)
1. Koala bears are not actually bears, rather they are marsupials.
2. My favorite Mediterranean spread is hummus it is very garlicky.
EXTRA EXTRA EXTRA CREDIT: Why do you think Le Thi Diem Thuy named her novel The Gangster We Are All Looking For? In other words, what does this title mean, in the context of the novel? Please, no Internet balderdash: I’m looking for YOUR interpretation. (Seven points)