America

Question 1

Sohrab’s connection to Amir and Hassan

“He _____ me of you, how you _____ to read when you were little, Amir jan.”

Answer 1

Sohrab’s connection to Amir and Hassan

“He reminded me of you, how you loved to read when you were little, Amir jan.”

Question 3

Baba’s pride and rejection of welfare

“Thank you, but I don’t _____,” Baba said. “I work always. In Afghanistan I work, in America I work. I don’t like ______ money.”

Answer 3

Baba’s pride and rejection of welfare

“Thank you, but I don’t want,” Baba said. “I work always. In Afghanistan I work, in America I work. I don’t like free money.”

Question 4

Baba’s fall in status in America

“My student hand, clean and soft, on his laborer’s hand, grubby and ________… Now America. One last gift for Amir.”

Answer 4

Baba’s fall in status in America

“My student hand, clean and soft, on his laborer’s hand, grubby and calloused… Now America. One last gift for Amir.”

Question 5

Nostalgia vs forgetting

“For me, America was a place to _______ my memories. For Baba, a place to _______ his.”

Answer 5

Nostalgia vs forgetting

“For me, America was a place to bury my memories. For Baba, a place to mourn his.”

Question 6

Vastness and foreignness of America

“I was still _____________ at the size of this country… hills beyond mountains and mountains beyond ____.”

Answer 6

Vastness and foreignness of America

“I was still marveling at the size of this country… hills beyond mountains and mountains beyond hills.”

Question 7

Baba’s new life—physical labor

“___ days a week, Baba pulled _______-hour shifts… his face drawn and pale under the fluorescent lights.”

Answer 7

Baba’s new life—physical labor

“Six days a week, Baba pulled twelve-hour shifts… his face drawn and pale under the fluorescent lights.”

Question 8

Immigrant pride and dignity

“Baba missed people __________ in and out of his house… greeting people who knew his father. People who shared _________ with him.”

Answer 8

Immigrant pride and dignity

“Baba missed people milling in and out of his house… greeting people who knew his father. People who shared ancestors with him.”

Question 9

“I brought Hassan’s son from Afghanistan to America, lifting him from the certainty of ________ and dropping him in a turmoil of ________.”

Answer 9

“I brought Hassan’s son from Afghanistan to America, lifting him from the certainty of turmoil and dropping him in a turmoil of uncertainty.”