A Hope More Powerful Than the Sea

Chapters 1-3

Reading Check

1. Doaa’s husband has died. (Chapter 1)

2. She needs to rescue two young girls. (Chapter 1)

3. She nearly drowned when she was six. (Chapter 1)

4. A severe drought (Chapter 1)

5. They hope a new wife will give him a son. (Chapter 1)

6. To the communal family house (Chapter 2)

7. The rooftop (Chapter 2)

8. To attempt to root out the terrorists (Chapter 3)

9. A group of demonstrators who fight the Syrian government (Chapter 3)

10. Leave Syria (Chapter 3)

Short Answer

1. He is an Alawite Muslim with a Sunni Muslim wife and has a western education. (Chapter 1)

2. He used emergency powers for 48 years and dealt with challenges in a brutal fashion. (Chapter 1)

3. The people dislike the oppression under Bashar al-Assad’s father, there was civil unrest due to drought, the Tunisian protest, and the people were inspired by the overturning of other governments in the Middle East. (Various Chapters)

4. They arrest those who graffiti protests on the walls and torture them, they shoot tear gas and water cannons into crowds of protesters, and they open fire on four people in one of the demonstrations. (Chapter2)

5. She was part of a demonstration and was spotted and chased. She escaped by hiding in the home of an unknown person. (Chapter 2)

Chapters 4-7

Reading Check

1. She doesn’t want to leave. (Chapter 4)

2. A job (Chapter 4)

3. A hotel (Chapter 4)

4. In a factory (Chapter 4)

5. Her passport (Chapter 5)

6. General Sisi took over the government. (Chapter 5)

7. Because there is no legal way to cross into Europe (Chapter 7)

8. Extremist jihadi groups (Chapter 7)

9. 2,000 (Chapter 7)

10. They go to jail for 10 days. (Chapter 7)

Short Answer

1. Doaa feels as though she is an unwelcome guest who has abandoned her country. There is little work, the streets are filled with trash, and there are few amenities. (Various Chapters)

2. She feels resentful at first that he wants to marry her and continues to pursue her even though she does not want to get married. When Bassem begins to help her family financially by paying for hospital visits, Doaa’s attitude toward him changes and she accepts his proposal. (Chapter 5)

3. The attitude toward refugees becomes increasingly hostile. People harass refugees on the street, men threaten to attack Syrian children who attend school, and Syrian children are eventually barred from attending school at all. Bassem’s financial hardship and the abuse at the hands of the Egyptians convince Bassem he needs to leave. (Chapters 6-7)

Chapters 8-Epilogue

Reading Check

1. Various countries; Palestine, Sudan, Somalia, Syria, and Egypt (Chapter 8)

2. Tins of rotted meat (Chapter 8)

3. Another boat intentionally rams the refugee boat. (Chapter 9)

4. People are being sucked into the propellor of the boat. (Chapter 9)

5. An inflatable ring normally used for children (Chapter 9)

6. Forgiveness (Chapter 9)

7. A tiny baby, Malak (Chapter 9)

8. The baby she is holding (Chapter 9)

9. Masa (Chapter 9)

10. Masa’s aunt contacts her. (Chapter 10)

11. The smugglers (Chapter 10)

Short Answer

1. They are given rotten food to eat, and many are sick from seasickness. The people are cold and wet at night and face sweltering temperatures during the day. Some of the boats they are transported on hardly look seaworthy. (Chapter 8)

2. They face delirium, exhaustion, cold temperatures, and despair. (Chapter 9)

3. She wants to become a lawyer and help refugees. (Epilogue)