Study Guide For The Pick-Up

Part 1.

1. Who did Julie meet at the car shop? Why was she there?
2. Where do Julie and her friends meet every day?
3. What does Abdu do during these meetings?
4. Why doesn’t Julie want to introduce Abdu to her family?
5. Why does Julie hide her wealth from Abdu?
6. What is Abdu’s nickname?
7. What is the significance of the friends always hanging out in the same place? What is the role of each friend?

Part 2.

1. Why does Julie run to the bathroom in her fathers house?
2. What does the letter order Abdu to do?
3. What advice do the friends give Abdu?
4. What does Abdu want Julie to do, but she refuses? Why does she refuse?
5. What does Julie’s uncle think she came to him for?

Part 3.

1. Where did Julie and Abdu go?
2. Where did Abdu already have a record of illegal entry that Julie wanted to move to?
3. Where does Abdu find work?
4. What did Maryam want to do with her life?
5. Why doesn’t Abdu want Julie to tour the village?
6. What is the taboo?

Part 4.

1. What important position does Abdu/Ibrahim get offered? By who?
2. Why does Ibrahim turn the job offer down?
3. Where does Julie always walk to, and what does she see?
4. Where do Ibrahim and Julie finally get visas to?
5. Who does Julie ask for money? How much does he give her?
6. Where exactly do they decide to go?
7. What present from the family do they decide to definitely keep?
8. What decision does Julie make that angers Ibrahim?
9. What does Khadija predict about Ibrahim when he leaves?

Terms Part 1 Pp. 1-50
Deftly- skillfully
Musingly- in a reflective manner
Enthroned- to sit in a place associated with a position of authority or influence
Bazaar- a market in a Middle Eastern country
Xenophobia- intense or irrational dislike or fear of people from other countries
Benighted- in a state of pitiful or contemptible intellectual or moral ignorance
Locutions- a word or phrase
Genteel- polite, refined, or respectable
Dilapidation- a state of deterioration due to old age or long use
Nuance- a subtle difference in or shade of meaning, expression, or sound
Visage- the face, countenance, or appearance of a person or sometimes an animal
Sombre- so shaded as to be dark and gloomy

Terms Part 2 Pp. 50-100:
Witticisms- a cleverly witty and often biting or ironic remark
Cultivating- to foster the growth of
Infallibly- incapable or error
Promulgated- to make known by open declaration
Haggard- having a worn or emaciated appearance
Jacaranda- any of a genus of the four o’clock family of ornamental tropical American woody vines and shrubs with brilliant purple or red floral bracts
entrepreneurs- a person who starts a business and is willing to risk loss in order to make money
Heckle- to interrupt by shouting annoying or rude comments or questions
Margaritas- an alcoholic drink made of tequila, lime, and an orange flavored liquor
Sector- an area of an economy: a part of an economy that includes certain kinds of jobsxf
Stifled- to now allow yourself to do or express, to stop from doing or expressing
Oblivion- the state that is not remembered, used, or thought about anymore
Tackle- equipment that is used for a particular activity (especially fishing)

Terms Part 3 Pp.100-150:
Evading- to stay away from; to avoid
Banal- boring or ordinary; not interesting
Edict- an official order given by a person with power or by government
Remotely- to a very small degree; barely; from a far distance
Broach- to introduce a subject or issue for discussion
Protruding- to stick out
Filament- a thin thread or hair; a thin wire in a light bulb that glows when electricity passes through it
Treble- the highest range of sounds used in music
Forthwith- without delay
Unobtrusively- not conspicuous or attracting attention
Bequeathed- leave (a personal estate or one’s body) to a person or other beneficiary by a will
Haughtily- arrogantly superior and disdainful
Masonry- stonework
Divested- deprive (someone) of power, rights, or possessions
Consular-an official appointed by a government to live in a foreign city and protect and promote the government’s citizens and interests there.
Tantalizing-torment or tease (someone) with the sight or promise of something that is unobtainable
Adage- a proverb or short statement expressing a general truth

Terms Part 4: Pp. 150-220:

Malcontents- a person who is dissatisfied and rebellious
Colloquially- with the use of not formal or literacy expression
Prodigal- spending money or resources freely and recklessly; wastefully extravagant
Gait- a person’s manner of walking
Minaret- a tall slender tower, typically part of a mosque with a balcony from which a muezzin calls Muslims to prayer
Detritus- waste or debris of any kind