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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. Msimangu ministers to a community of people who suffer from which of the following?
(a) They are blind.
(b) They cannot walk.
(c) They are mentally handicapped.
(d) They have leprosy.

2. Why does Kumalo feel betrayed by his brother John?
(a) Because John is secretly gleeful that a white man is dead.
(b) Because John is willing to hire a lawyer to lie about his own son’s involvement in the murder.
(c) Because John is prepared to act as an alibi to get his own son off the hook.
(d) Because John renounces any familial bond with Stephen or Absalom.

3. Mrs. Lithebe is afraid which character will be a bad influence on Absalom’s girl?
(a) Mr. Carmichael.
(b) Gertrude.
(c) Mrs. Mkize.
(d) Absalom.

4. After meeting with Absalom’s girl, how does Kumalo feel about the prospects for the future?
(a) He feels pessimistic.
(b) He feels completely optimistic.
(c) He feels a little bit of weight lifted from his shoulders.
(d) He feels exactly the same.

5. Who tells Kumalo that Absalom is responsible for the murder?
(a) Father Vincent.
(b) Gertrude.
(c) The reformatory worker.
(d) John Kumalo.

Short Answer Questions

1. Which of the following is NOT an excuse Absalom gives for shooting Jarvis?

2. What has become of Kumalo’s sister since she arrived in the city?

3. Which of the following is NOT something the white reformatory worker tells Kumalo about Absalom’s recent experiences?

4. Which of the following is John’s main political agenda?

5. What is John Kumalo’s profession?

Short Essay Questions

1. Explain the irony of the death of Arthur Jarvis at the hands of a black person.

2. How does the first chapter describe the land of the Umzimkulu valley? How does this reflect on the state of the people who live there?

3. What surprises Kumalo about the behavior of many whites regarding the bus boycott?

4. How does Gertrude react to seeing Kumalo in Johannesburg? How does she feel about her own behavior, and the prospect of returning to Ndotsheni?

5. Briefly discuss John’s hypocritical attitude towards both the church and tribal chiefs.

6. What does Kumalo fear when he hears of Arthur Jarvis’ murder?

7. Why does Mrs. Lithebe warn the pregnant girl about spending time with Gertrude?

8. What are two ways Absalom seems to have been getting into trouble since moving to Johannesburg?

9. Describe the white reformatory worker’s reaction to the news that Absalom killed Arthur Jarvis, and why he reacts this way.

10. Explain how Kumalo and his wife a.) mainly intended to use their savings; b.) how they have to use it now; and c.) why this shift does not ultimately matter.

(see the answer keys)

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