A STEP BEYOND

TESTS AND ANSWERS

TEST 1

_____ 1. Wang's love for Lotus cools when he sees the ways he

A. picks her teeth
B. squanders her money
C. treats his retarded daughter

_____ 2. When O-lan realizes she is dying, her principal request is

A. to have Wang renounce Lotus
B. to see her eldest son married
C. for opium to ease her pain

_____ 3. Wang's term of endearment for his first daughter is

A. "poor fool"
B. "little silkworm"
C. "sweet plum"

_____ 4. Pearl Buck's model for The Good Earth was

A. Charles Dickens
B. Chinese novels
C. East Wind, West Wind

_____ 5. Wang's fortunes are determined by

A. his scolding of the earth gods
B. his stolen treasure as the basis of prosperity
C. his uncle's membership in the robber gang

_____ 6. Wang supplies opium to his uncle to

A. cure the uncle's toothache
B. give him pleasant dreams
C. try to make him an addict

_____ 7. The eldest son persuades Wang to move into the Hwang mansion because

A. he wants finer quarters for his wife
B. the uncle and his family can be left behind
C. the old farmhouse is too crowded

_____ 8. Wang Lung's lifelong, overriding passion is

A. the land
B. his retarded daughter
C. Lotus Flower

_____ 9. The favor Wang asks of his last mistress, Pear Blossom, is

A. care for him in his old age
B. watch over his money for him
C. poison his retarded daughter when he dies

_____ 10. Wang works at pulling a riksha in the city because

A. he can make more money than in any other way
B. he is too proud to beg
C. it gives him time to think

11. Why does the Hwang family decline, and how does Wang Lung's family appear to be similarly doomed?

12. Compare the roles of wife and concubine in Wang Lung's household.

13. What forms of religion does Wang Lung practice and which is the most important to him?

14. Compare the relationships between Wang Lung and his two daughters.

15. Describe the circumstances in which O-lan kills her baby. How would you judge her act?

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