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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. Upon returning from evening church services, Pieter kisses Nella. What does she do after he smiles at her?

2. Pieter vowed to give his life to God if there was no _____ in the dark.

3. What does the note say that is pinned to Pieter's door when he comes home from the field?

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

5. What does the lieutenant pick up off the floor of a cell during an inspection with Steyn?

Short Essay Questions

1. How does Pieter help Vorster after he sees Vorster's note?

2. Why does Pieter feel unclean after returning home to Nella from taking Stephanie the money for a lawyer?

3. After being with Stephanie the first time, why is Pieter terrified by the sound of a twig cracking a note on his door?

4. Why does Pieter refuse dinner at his father's the first night after he has been with Stephanie?

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

6. The narrator describes the lieutenant as "two men," in Chapter 1. How does the narrator justify such a description?

7. When Japie brought Pieter back home, what did Pieter do?

8. Who is Moffie and why does Pieter envy him?

9. What is the history of Pieter and his father regarding stamps?

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

How does the author convey happiness in Chapters 13 and 14? How does this affect the story's pace, tone, etc.? Use details from settings and character interactions to support your responses.

Essay Topic 2

Nella has a definitive opinion about black and white relationships as indicated in the beginning of the story. Describe this opinion. How does her perspective change by the time we get to the end of the story involving her husband, Pieter? Support all responses with story details.

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)

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