View a FREE sample

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

Short Answer Questions

1. According to Bessie, what do African people push aside?

2. What does Bessie feel is the most important aspect to having friends in South Africa?

3. Who is Bessie referring to in "A Gentle People"?

4. How does Bessie describe the people from the place that the American woman hails from?

5. In "Village people," Bessie states that poverty in Africa is like a second skin and worn with what?

Short Essay Questions

1. In "A Gentle People," what are Bessie's feelings regarding the black people of Cape Town?

2. What facts about her parentage were brutally told to Bessie by the magistrate and the missionary?

3. In "preface to Witchcraft," why is Bessie angry with South Africa?

4. In "The Old Woman," what is Bessie referring to when she says "Gods walk around Africa barefoot with nothing"?

5. Why was Bessie given up for adoption?

6. How did Bessie react when she was forbidden to visit her adoptive family on school holidays?

7. What more compassionate details concerning her mother did Bessie learn over time?

8. Why is there no rage and oppression in Botswana?

9. In "Village People," how does Bessie describe the black African people?

10. What lasting effect did the treatment by the missionaries have on Bessie?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Bessie's friend, Snowball, had a difficult time living in District Six in Capetown. What was Snowball's general demeanor? Even though he was devoutly religious, what did he believe could live together in chaotic happiness? How was Snowball treated by the landlady and most of the community? Could they see beyond the fact that he had once been a professional thief and served jail time? Was this fair to him? What kind of humbling lesson did Snowball teach Bessie? What did she learn about herself and her attitude toward religion? Why did Bessie finally give up trying to protect Snowball? Do you think that Snowball left a lasting impression on Bessie?

Essay Topic 2

Bessie views African religion as "within oneself," with no need for institutions or communal worship. Does this seem to work well, for them? Why does Bessie think that this fits into their basic philosophy of life? Bessie states that this is the religion of any people who have never been wanted by the rest of mankind nor had the means or education to find God in a "posh place." Do you agree with this statement? Does a place of worship have to be posh? Is the fact of a community coming together more important than the structure that they worship in? Why, do you think, she assumes that all organized religions have elegant places of worship? Do you think she's right? Given the black South African's sense of being set apart from the rest of the world, do you think their type of "individual" worship only serves to emphasize their "aloneness"? Would a more group-based religion make them feel like part of something larger?

Essay Topic 3

Conflict is the main theme of "A Woman Alone". Do you think that there was just as much internal conflict in the book as external? Do you believe that external conflicts are a direct result of individual internal conflicts? Explain Bessie's internal conflict regarding her avoidance of all things revolutionary and liberatory. Was she always proud of this? Did it sometimes create problems with others? Do you think that Bessie avoided these issues because she didn't think that they were effective or because she knew that she couldn't deal with them mentally?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 1,001 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample