Tasting the Sky: A Palestinian Childhood

Multiple Choice and Long Answer questions create ideal opportunities for whole-text review, unit exam, or summative assessments.

Multiple Choice

1. In Part 1, Ibtisam confesses that she feels “doubly occupied” (12). What does she mean by this?

A) She feels imbued with the beliefs of two cultures—Palestinian culture on the one hand, Israeli culture on the other.

B) She feels preoccupied with thoughts of the war and also thoughts of suicide.

C) She feels controlled twice over—both by her mother and by the Israeli soldiers that occupy Palestine.

D) She feels obsessed with two opposing ideals—on one side, wanting to be a “good” Palestinian girl, and on the other, wanting freedom to be whoever she chooses, free from traditional Muslim constraints.

2. Which of the following best describes why Ibtisam refers to her PO box as “the only place in the world that belongs to [her]” (8)?

A) Because her father is the postmaster of the post office, so she has special access to its offices and the PO boxes.

B) Because she alone holds the key to her PO box, and she has a private and deeply personal relationship with her international pen pals.

C) Because she is forced to share a room with multiple siblings, and so she considers her PO box her only private possession.

D) Because she is being sarcastic when she says this—she knows that the Israeli soldiers read through and rifle through her letters, that nothing is private or really “hers.”

3. What article of clothing does Ibtisam lose in Part 2, Chapter 1, as she runs from Israeli soldiers, fleeing with her fellow villagers to seek refuge in the caves of Jordan?

A) A headscarf

B) A bracelet

C) A glove

D) A shoe

4. In Part 2, Chapter 3, which of the following best describes Ibtisam’s attitude toward the stray dogs that surround the shelter in Jordan?

A) She sees them as similar to herself and her family; she views the stray dogs as refugees, as well.

B) She does not even notice them in the chaos of life in the packed shelter.

C) She feels a sense of protectiveness over them; she wants to give them food and water, even if it means sacrificing her own rations.

D) She feels like a “normal” kid when she sees them; she wants to play fetch with them in the sunshine.

5. Ibtisam feels that her father loves her for herself. What incident in Part 2, Chapter 4 makes Ibtisam wonder if she and her brothers are interchangeable to her mother?

A) Her mother is absent when Ibtisam wakes up from anesthesia in the hospital.

B) Her mother forgets Ibtisam’s birthday.

C) Her mother mistakenly calls Ibtisam by a pet name usually reserved for her brothers.

D) Not realizing that Ibtisam is within earshot, her mother says that she wishes she could start her entire life over again.

6. When the family gets 10 chickens and a rooster in Part 2, Chapter 11, what quality about the rooster does Ibtisam’s father like in particular?

A) That the rooster is beautiful and brightly colored.

B) That the rooster is head of the henhouse—he is a leader.

C) That the rooster is small, but mighty.

D) That the rooster’s song wakes him up for morning prayer.

7. Ibtisam’s mother listens to a radio show where Palestinian refugees communicate with friends and relatives in occupied territories. What is the name of this show?

A) “Tales of Togetherness”

B) “Stories of Siblings”

C) “Letters of Longing”

D) “Fables of Farce”

8. The children are outraged when their father breaks his promise not to kill Zuraiq the goat for the circumcision feast. How does father justify breaking this promise?

A) He says it’s a necessary religious custom; it will please Allah.

B) He says it will lift their mother’s spirits; she’s been depressed lately and this will make her happy.

C) He says he cannot afford all the food for the celebration; he didn’t intend for them to keep Zuraiq as a pet forever.

D) He says Zuraiq has been “bad” lately; he has been eating their garden plants.

9. Ibtisam enjoys school, but fears walking home alone. Why?

A) Because there is a bully at school, Khalil, who makes fun of her when she’s alone

B) Because there is a high-school dropout, Zuhair, who lurks around the road and frightens her with rude gestures

C) Because there is an Israeli soldier who always heckles her when she passes by a fork in the road

D) Because there is a vicious stray dog who chases her for a mile-long stretch of the route home

10. What is the final event that forces Ibtisam and her family to move from their family home in the spring of 1971?

A) A bomb strikes their neighbors’ home.

B) A flood wipes out their basement supply of seeds and farming supplies.

C) A lack of food has finally worn them down.

D) An Israeli soldier makes sexual gestures at Ibtisam’s mother.

Long Answer

Compose a response of 2-3 sentences, incorporating textual details to support your response.

1. Why does Ibtisam dedicate her memoir, in part, to the letter “Alef”? What is “Alef”?

2. Ibtisam titles the final section of her memoir “A Letter to Everyone.” What is the meaning behind this title?