Essay questions

English 103-02 / Midterm Spring 2021

Answer two questions from the list below: one from section I and one from section II. Your paper should be formatted and referenced in MLA style.

Each question is in two parts. Answer each part in a well-structured, full paragraph--focus on a strong central point. Your paragraphs should be approximately 200 words long (a bit more or a bit less, is okay). Be sure to include several short quotations from the primary text with MLA style citations and provide parenthetical page citations when you discuss specific passages through summary or paraphrase.

When citing a passage from the play Chef, provide page numbers as you would for a novel and short story because Mahfouz gives no act, scene or line numbers. However, when you quote from Chef observe the line breaks in the text and do so with a slash: e.g. “She would have loved a little sorbet/ flavoured with her favourite tea flower…” (Mahfouz 36).

This midterm is testing your interpretation of the primary texts. If you choose to consult any secondary sources, to avoid plagiarism you must give in-text citations to show where these sources inform your work. Include the secondary sources in your work cited list.

Questions

Section I

1. a. “Grand Union”: Why does the narrator seek advice from her mother and how helpful is her mother’s response? b. How does this story comment on the history of Jamaica?

Section II

2. a. Chef: How does food preparation liberate the protagonist in Sabrina Mahfouz’s play? b. Why does Mahfouz open the play with a peach and end the play with sorbet and berries?