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This test consists of 15 multiple choice questions and 5 short answer questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What does Jean-Baptiste do with the hand he steals from Alfa?
(a) Burns it.
(b) Buries it.
(c) Wraps it in bandages and sticks it to his helmet.
(d) Puts it on a German flag to humiliate the Germans.

2. What does Alfa understand that Captain Armand wants on the battlefield, but not back in the trenches?
(a) Friendship.
(b) Madness.
(c) Strength.
(d) Compassion.

3. In Chapter XI, what does Jean-Baptiste become that eventually leads to his death?
(a) A provocateur.
(b) A cook.
(c) An informant.
(d) A unit leader.

4. Why are the fires the men make in the trenches so small?
(a) They only have a little wood.
(b) The men are afraid of the heat.
(c) To make bigger ones would risk giving away their position to the enemy.
(d) No one knows how to make proper fires.

5. In what way does Mademba actually die?
(a) A German soldier shoots him.
(b) He is shot by one of his own infantrymen.
(c) A German solder disembowels him.
(d) A German soldier hangs him.

6. How do the other soldiers react to Alfa when he comes back to the trench in Chapter II?
(a) They say a prayer for him.
(b) They tell him he should have left Mademba's body behind.
(c) They welcome him as a hero.
(d) They shun him.

7. How do the Germans kill Jean-Baptiste?
(a) They shoot his head clean off.
(b) They stab him.
(c) They hang him.
(d) They run over him with a tank.

8. How old is Alfa when the novel starts?
(a) 20.
(b) 35.
(c) 18.
(d) 40.

9. What rite of passage did Mademba and Alfa share on the same day in their youth?
(a) Confirmation.
(b) Circumcision.
(c) Communion.
(d) Wedding vows.

10. Who does Alfa believe his thoughts belong to?
(a) His mother.
(b) Mademba.
(c) Him alone.
(d) His commander.

11. What, in war, is "bravery's sister," according to Alfa?
(a) Peace.
(b) Fear.
(c) Pain.
(d) Temporary madness.

12. How do Alfa's fellow soldiers react when he brings his first few "trophies" back?
(a) They write letters to his mother about him, concerned.
(b) They shun him.
(c) They are indifferent to him.
(d) They are pleased with him.

13. What is the Ndiaye totem?
(a) An elephant.
(b) An alligator.
(c) A peacock.
(d) A lion.

14. Who is Alfa's only real white friend among his fellow soldiers?
(a) Jean-Baptiste.
(b) Roland.
(c) Jean-Luc.
(d) Ibrahima.

15. How does Captain Armand signal to his own men that an attack is about to begin?
(a) His fingers snapping.
(b) His whistle.
(c) His hand sign.
(d) His trumpet.

Short Answer Questions

1. What does Alfa always do first to the soldiers he is going to kill?

2. Why is Alfa missing one of his hands?

3. What entreaty to Mademba does Alfa finish Chapter I with?

4. Where do the soldiers Alfa kills in the night always come out of?

5. What animal does Alfa compare Mademba to when he suffers as he dies?

(see the answer keys)

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