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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 do the members of the Good Old Pals play for in Chapter 14?

2. In Chapter 15, how many times before has Mr. Witern dined with a Chinese or an Aframerican?

3. What color kimono does Seraphine wear in Chapter 15?

4. What is the only thing that Seraphine has for breakfast in Chapter 15?

5. At the end of Chapter 10, how many police cars arrive with sirens blaring?

Short Essay Questions

1. In Chapter 12, how does Castle define the term "nigger-rich"?

2. When Seraphine is searching Tasan's apartment in Chapter 18, what does she learn about Princess Benebe?

3. What is eaten and drank at Tasan's place when he invites Seraphine to dinner in Chapter 17?

4. Why can Alamaya not prove he is who he says that he is?

5. What happens to Castle when the Sufi and Senegambians get involved in the demonstration in Chapter 10?

6. What is the Good Old Pals?

7. What does Seraphine's mother tell her about carrying on with white men in Chapter 17?

8. In Chapter 13, what were the goals of the Hands to Ethiopia group?

9. What happens toward the end of the evening when Peixota gets together with the Good Old Pals in Chapter 14?

10. In Chapter 16, how does Jean Danou believe that democracy can be cured?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Although not an invited guest, Professor Koazhy joins in the parade and speeches at the beginning of the novel. How is Professor Koazhy’s presence significant? What is the importance of what he says to the audience? Why is he a pivotal character in the proceedings in the first chapter?

Essay Topic 2

The committee of Hands to Ethiopia has observed the communist propaganda tactics in the Aframerican community and see communism as a type of dictatorship. How do they view dictatorship and democracy? How do they believe that dictatorship or democracy positively or negatively impact the lives of black people?

Essay Topic 3

Seraphine makes some hurried decisions, including her decision to leave her parents’ home and to marry Dandy. What decisions does Seraphine make throughout the novel? What do these decisions reveal about Seraphine and her character?

(see the answer keys)

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