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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 Mademba ask Alfa to do for him in Part I?
(a) Feed him.
(b) Kill him.
(c) Pray for him.
(d) Take him home.

2. Before Mademba died, how did Alfa usually conduct himself with Mademba on the battlefield?
(a) He made sure Mademba was covering him.
(b) He made sure he was close to Mademba so he could try to protect Mademba.
(c) He made sure Mademba was always under a spell that Alfa cast, making Mademba invisible.
(d) He made sure he was far away from Mademba.

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

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

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

Short Answer Questions

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

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

3. How old is Alfa when the novel starts?

4. How does Alfa repeatedly refer to Mademba Diop?

5. What does Alfa think "the Captain's France" requires of him and other Black soldiers?

Short Essay Questions

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

2. Why does Alfa receive the Croix de Guerre, a medal of honor?

3. What does Captain Armand want Alfa to do in Part II?

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

5. What is Alfa's relationship with Jean-Baptiste?

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

7. What does Alfa let the reader know, through his narration, about the way his best friend Mademba died?

8. How does Alfa repeatedly refer to Mademba in the narration?

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

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

(see the answer keys)

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