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This test consists of 5 multiple choice questions, 5 short answer questions, and 10 short essay questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

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

2. In Chapter II, what does Alfa think the trenches look like?
(a) A woman's genitals.
(b) A river.
(c) A snake.
(d) A diamond.

3. Which of the following phrases about God does Alfa repeat throughout Part I?
(a) God's truth.
(b) God knows well.
(c) God, who cannot hear me.
(d) God's light.

4. When does Captain Armand finally call Alfa in to have a serious talk about his conduct regarding enemy soldiers?
(a) After Alfa is missing for three straight days.
(b) After Alfa brings back a severed head.
(c) After Alfa stops speaking to anyone.
(d) After Alfa brings back his seventh severed hand.

5. Who is Alfa's best friend?
(a) Captain Armand.
(b) Moby.
(c) Jean-Baptiste.
(d) Mademba Diop.

Short Answer Questions

1. What does Alfa do when a retreat is called, in the wake of Mademba's death?

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

3. What does Alfa think of himself in Chapter III when he "leaves the belly of the earth"?

4. Who translates the words of Captain Armand for Alfa?

5. What does Alfa always come back to the trenches with after Mademba dies?

Short Essay Questions

1. What does Alfa often see in his enemy's eyes before he kills him?

2. What does Alfa think about his fellow soldiers and his perceptions of who is really is in Part I?

3. What does Alfa say he becomes when he goes out to seek the vengeance on German's for Mademba's death?

4. What changes between Alfa and the rest of the soldiers after Jean-Baptiste's death?

5. Why does Alfa not want to reveal where he is hiding the severed hands of the Germans to Captain Armand?

6. What does Afla think of the trenches as when he takes Mademba back there with him following Mademba's death?

7. What does Alfa begin to understand that his fellow soldiers think he is?

8. What is the cultural attitude from Alfa's culture towards the symbol of a totem?

9. Why does Alfa think the mad are useful on the battlefield?

10. Why does Jean-Baptiste decide to goad the enemy into killing him?

(see the answer keys)

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