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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. Who does Michael lose his virginity to?

2. Who does Francis appeal to after Jelly's audition?

3. What does Michael think Desirea's looks like, amazingly, just before Jelly's big audition?

4. Who arrives at Michael's house in Part III shortly after Aisha gets there?

5. Where do Francis and Michael get kicked out of after buying and eating a hot dog there?

Short Essay Questions

1. What happens when Francis and Michael go to try to find their estranged father in Part III?

2. What prompts the fight Francis gets into in Part IV that leaves him seriously injured?

3. What does Michael gradually discover about Jelly's and Francis's relationship?

4. What really upsets Michael when he comes home to find a party at his house in Part III?

5. How does Anton act in the aftermath of his being badly beaten, which Michael recalls in Part III?

6. What does Aisha tell Michael is the meaning of the spelling of Jelly's name, "Djeli?"

7. How does Jelly's audition go?

8. How does Francis seem to feel about the car he and Jelly share?

9. Why does Michael go to find Francis at Desirea's in Part III?

10. What happens when the cops show up at Desirea's in Part IV?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Write an essay analyzing the tone and language Chariandy uses in this novel through his narrator, Michael.

Essay Topic 2

How does Michael come to understand the nature and manifestation of his mother Ruth's grief in the aftermath of Francis's death? Write an essay explaining your answers, citing specific references to the text to help support your conclusions.

Essay Topic 3

Write an essay discussing Francis's and Michael's early experiences of racism in Canadian society.

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