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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. What writer does Bessie quote in "Social and political pressures . . ."?

2. In Chapter 2, what does Bessie say is the root of traditional African life?

3. According to Bessie in "Despite broken bondage . . .," what do men in Botswana mostly do?

4. What did Bessie feel defeated her in South Africa as a writer?

5. What does Bessie attribute her bad habits and violent nature to?

Short Essay Questions

1. In what ways did emancipation slowly make it's way to Botswana?

2. Why does Bessie think of the American woman as some sort of goddess?

3. In "Despite Broken Bondage . . .," how were women treated in Africa before independence?

4. In "African Religions," what, does Bessie state is the main difference between Asian and African religious ideals?

5. In "Social and Political Pressures . . . ," what astonished Bessie about the book "One Hundred Years of Solitude"?

6. When Bessie arrived in Botswana in 1964, what were the major differences that she noticed between that country and South Africa?

7. Why was it so difficult for Bessie to deal with South Africa creatively?

8. Why according to Bessie has Botswana survived by "sheer luck and unexpected good fortune"?

9. How is Bessie's hatred of the white man lessened in Chapter 2?

10. How are Bessie and the American woman different?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Atteridgeville in 1964 was a community full of poverty and desolation. What was the main reason for unemployment here? How far did people have to go just to work? Because of the high rate of unemployment, how were many of the young men looked upon? How did illegitimate births fit into this scenario? Why weren't young people getting married? What agency owned almost everything in Atteridgeville? Do you think that the young men of this town stood a chance of bettering themselves professionally or personally?

Essay Topic 2

At the independence celebration in Botswana a student relays a story to the group. He says that when he shouted to burn the British flag, he was told that he was embarrassing everyone, especially the white people present. Why would anyone in Botswana care what the white people thought? Is Botswana held to a different standard because it's never been occupied? Do you think that some people think that they should appreciate the treatment that they've been given by the British? Do you agree? Do you think that the student's frustration stems from a perceived lack of understanding from the Botswana villagers of his passion for liberation? Does he look at blacks as one unified group while they are still looking at the situation from a Botswana point of view only?

Essay Topic 3

In "Preface to witchcraft," Bessie states that while living in South Africa she lived with a shattering sense of anxiety. Do you think that some anxiety remained even after her move to Botswana? Do you feel a sense of this in her writings? Is the format of "A Woman Alone" a reflection of an anxious person? Does the constant "skipping around" from one to piece to another, one subject to another, speak of an anxious brain? Do you perceive a lack of finishing one thing before starting another? Or, do you think the format is intentional and simply reflects Bessie's individual style?

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