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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. What does Alfa hear the night he approaches the German trenches to avenge Jean-Baptiste's death?
(a) Crying.
(b) Angry shouting.
(c) Snoring.
(d) Singing.

2. How does Alfa always kill the enemy soldiers?
(a) He disembowels them.
(b) He shoots them.
(c) He hangs them.
(d) He poisons them.

3. What is the Diop totem?
(a) An alligator.
(b) An elephant.
(c) A peacock.
(d) A panther.

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

5. What does Alfa imagine the Germans did for the person who killed Jean-Baptiste?
(a) Give him chocolate.
(b) Offer him tobacco and maybe even write a song for him.
(c) Punish him.
(d) Give him a parade.

Short Answer Questions

1. When do Alfa's trenchmates begin to really fear him?

2. What does Alfa understand that Captain Armand wants on the battlefield, but not back in the trenches?

3. What medal is Alfa told he will be awarded in Part II?

4. What does Mademba ask Alfa to do for him in Part I?

5. How old is Alfa when the novel starts?

Short Essay Questions

1. What was all Alfa could think about when he stayed with Mademba during Mademba's last hours?

2. How does Mademba Diop die?

3. How does Alfa always kill the German soldiers he kills after Mademba's death?

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

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

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

7. Why does Alfa feel almost entirely responsible for Mademba's death?

8. What does Mademba ask Alfa to do as Mademba lays mortally wounded on the battlefield?

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

10. Why do Alfa's own soldiers begin to fear and avoid him after he brings home the fourth severed hand?

(see the answer keys)

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