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Naguib Mahfouz, The Answer Is No

Naguib Mahfouz, The Answer Is No

Read The Answer Is No and check your comprehension by answering the following questions. Then “submit” your work.

1. From where does the narrator know the new headmaster?

Her mother used to speak highly of him at the dinner table.

He used to visit her mother frequently.

He used to tutor her in mathematics.

He was a former teacher of hers in grade school.

2. Why does the narrator denounce marriage?

Her own parents’ marriage was chaotic and unloving.

Badran raped her.

She wants to marry Badran but is not allowed to.

She has never been attracted to anyone.

3. What does the narrator try to convince herself of?

“Don’t be frightened or sad. Keep it to yourself.”

“Happiness is not confined to love and motherhood.”

“Good things will come to those who wait.”

“Nobility of character is most important.”

4. Why is the narrator unhappy at the end of the passage?

She is upset that Badran is a prominent figure not only in her past, but also in her present.

She recognizes she will never see eye to eye with her mother.

She misses the fatherly presence Badran brought to her life.

She realizes she will never be loved.

5. Where is the narrator’s father at the end of the piece?

He divorced her mother and left in the night.

He is in a retirement home.

He is dead.

He is at work.