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This test consists of 15 multiple choice questions and 5 short answer questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. As James reads Arthur’s papers, what claim does his son make that offends him?
(a) Arthur claims James was a virulent racist.
(b) Arthur claims James was a superficial and unbelieving Christian.
(c) Arthur claims James cared more about money than people.
(d) Arthur claims James never taught him a sense of national identity and social responsibility.

2. Whose death devastates the villagers of Ndotsheni?
(a) Jarvis’ wife.
(b) Gertrude.
(c) The tribe’s chief.
(d) Kumalo’s wife.

3. Which adjectives does Mrs. Lithebe use to describe the people she thinks Gertrude should not spend time with?
(a) Promiscuous and vulgar.
(b) Idle and careless.
(c) Greedy and immoral.
(d) Brutal and mean.

4. What word does Kumalo use to describe a quality about Arthur to James?
(a) A “shine.”
(b) A “sunniness.”
(c) A “lightness.”
(d) A “brightness.”

5. Why does Kumalo also appear at the same house that Arther and Margaret are visiting as a respite from the trail?
(a) Because he wants to beg the Jarvises not to seek the death penalty against his son.
(b) Because he is looking for a villager who supposedly lives there.
(c) Because he noticed Jarvis at the trial and wants to apologize to him.
(d) Because he was sent on an errand by Father Vincent.

6. Which of the following is NOT one of the ways the agricultural demonstrator intends to improve the farming in Ndotsheni?
(a) He wants the village to invest in more cattle to fertilize the land.
(b) He wants to plant more trees.
(c) He wants farmers to plant the land communally rather than individually.
(d) He wants to implement new patterns of plowing.

7. What is the rumored purpose of the ground markings left by Jarvis and the magistrate in Ndotsheni?
(a) They mark out a village dairy.
(b) They mark out a dam.
(c) They mark out a new village school.
(d) They mark out a new church.

8. What day is Absalom set to be executed?
(a) The first of the month.
(b) The fifteenth of the month.
(c) The thirtieth of the month.
(d) None of the above.

9. How do the Jarvises travel to Johannesburg?
(a) By plane.
(b) By private car.
(c) By bus.
(d) By train.

10. Which of the following is NOT a reason Absalom gives for having a revolver at all?
(a) Because he thought it would frighten people off.
(b) Because he was told Johannesburg was a dangerous city.
(c) Because he had grown up having and using guns.
(d) Because he thought he needed it for self-defense.

11. Complete the following statement Kumalo makes when Arthur Jarvis’ son announces he will soon leave Natal: “When you go, something _______ will go out of Ndotsheni.”
(a) Important.
(b) Bright.
(c) Joyful.
(d) Harmonious.

12. When does the Jarvis boy tell Kumalo he will be leaving for Johannesburg?
(a) When his grandfather returns from Pretoria.
(b) When the new year begins.
(c) When his mother and grandfather find them a new house to live in.
(d) When his grandmother’s illness ends.

13. What vocation does Gertrude think she would like to try?
(a) She wants to be a secretary.
(b) She wants to be a teacher.
(c) She wants to be a nun.
(d) She wants to be a nurse.

14. Where does Kumalo keep vigil during Absalom’s execution?
(a) Up a mountain.
(b) By the sea.
(c) Deep into the forest.
(d) The Jarvis fields.

15. How does Kumalo’s wife react to the addition of Absalom’s wife and Gertrude’s child to the family?
(a) She has a difficult time swallowing Absalom’s wife’s promiscuous and immoral past.
(b) She worries ceaselessly about the increased financial burden they will engender.
(c) She curses Gertrude for shirking her only responsibility as a mother.
(d) She embraces them both as her own children.

Short Answer Questions

1. How many bullets were in the revolver at the time Absalom shot Arthur?

2. Where does Kumalo put his energy immediately upon returning from Johannesburg?

3. What do Ndotsheni’s children lack which is causing them to die in greater than average numbers?

4. What is the Jarvis boy excited to practice with Kumalo?

5. What had James Jarvis hoped would be his son’s career?

(see the answer keys)

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