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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. Why does Alfa ask Mademba to describe the soldier who stabbed him?

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

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

4. What is the Ndiaye totem?

5. When does Alfa always kill the enemy soldiers he kills?

Short Essay Questions

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

2. Why does Alfa think both the Germans and his own allied soldiers flee from him?

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

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

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

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

7. What was the purpose of the joking relationship between Alfa and Mademba?

8. What does Alfa notice about Ibrahima Sack's translations for Captain Armand to Alfa in Part II?

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

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

What are some of the barriers that would realistically prevent Alfa from ever being able to be with Fary Thiam for the long-term? Write an essay explaining your answers, citing specific references to the text to help support your conclusions.

Essay Topic 2

Judging from Alfa's own experiences in Gandiol, what is the reader's impression about the treatment of women in the culture in which he was raised? Write an essay explaining your answers, citing specific references to the text to help support your conclusions.

Essay Topic 3

What are Alfa's feelings about his village, Gandiol, his experiences there coming of age, and his father? Write an essay explaining your answers, citing specific references to the text to help support your conclusions.

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