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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. After dinner and a smoke, who does Pieter wait for in the dark in Chapter 19?

2. What do Pieter and his companion drink while at the hotel?

3. Who does Pieter decide to confide in after evening church services in Chapter 12, once he decides not to confide in his wife?

4. Which one of Pieter's sisters is in love?

5. Who has a heart-to-heart conversation in the kitchen pantry?

Short Essay Questions

1. What involvement do Pieter's mother and aunt have in the social welfare working in their town?

2. What happens with Stephanie during her first trial?

3. How does the news of Pieter's charges affect Frans, Sophie and Pieter's mom?

4. What happens at Pieter's sentencing?

5. Why does Stephanie have power now over the young man that chased her into the shadows of the trees?

6. What does Pieter's mom do after Jakob dies?

7. What is going on at Jakob's birthday party?

8. According to Kappie, why does Pieter's neighbor, old Herman, spit and turn from him when he sees Pieter?

9. After being with Stephanie a second time, the lieutenant is even more upset with himself. How does he respond to being asked to be a diaken?

10. In Chapter 12, after evening church services Pieter tried to convey his need to his wife for more of her love and attention to keep him from temptation. What happens?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Several people make decisions in the first few chapters of the story (Pieter, Nella, Dick, Stephanie, Esther). What do these decisions reveal about each of these characters? What do these decisions reveal about the society in which they live? How do any of these decisions serve as an early indicator of what is to come in the story?

Essay Topic 2

Several times Pieter decides to confide in various people but does not. How does this affect the story? What is his relationship with each of them before he is found out and after he is found out?

Essay Topic 3

Paton uses this story to convey a disdain for the apartheid in South Africa. Cite specific details from the story that demonstrate this disdain, an indictment of such hatred and bigotry, as well as providing how such affected the story and its characters' "realness."

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 990 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample