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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. What does Alfa suspect about Seck's translation of Captain Armand's directions to Alfa?

2. Who does Alfa think are the truly brave?

3. What alias does Alfa jokingly suggest to Mademba that Mademba could use if he became a wrestler?

4. What does Captain Armand order the other soldiers to do with the traitorous ones?

5. What does Alfa say when Captain Armand wants to know where his severed hands are?

Short Essay Questions

1. What does Alfa think the war has done to him, as he explains in Part III?

2. What does Alfa come to believe about God's role in what happens in war in Part III?

3. Who takes Alfa in after his mother leaves and fails to return?

4. Why do the soldiers in Alfa's unit decide to disobey Captain Armand in Part III?

5. What is one convention of romantic relationships in Gandiol?

6. How does Afla think he wins over Doctor Francois at the hospital?

7. Why does Alfa suspect his father lets him be adopted by another family?

8. What happens to Alfa's father when Penndo Ba fails to return?

9. What does Alfa do to make sure no one finds his severed hands?

10. What does Alfa bring to the hospital with him, and why?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

When and how does Alfa express remorse for his brutal acts of vengeance against German soldiers in the wake of Mademba's killing? Write an essay explaining your answers, citing specific references to the text to help support your conclusions.

Essay Topic 2

Why does Alfa believe it is so critical for him to keep the severed hands of the Germans he has killed concealed from Captain Armand, and how does he manage to do so? Write an essay explaining your answers, citing specific references to the text to help support your conclusions.

Essay Topic 3

Why does Alfa feel that he owes his best friend Mademba deeply, and in the end of the novel, how does Alfa seem to fulfill what he sees as his debt or obligation to the deceased Mademba? Write an essay explaining your answers, citing specific references to the text to help support your conclusions.

(see the answer keys)

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