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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. What is Stephen Kumalo’s profession?
(a) He is a farmer.
(b) He is a reverend.
(c) He is a tribal chief.
(d) He is a teacher.

2. Which character is angriest that Absalom has disappeared?
(a) Kumalo.
(b) Msimangu.
(c) The reformatory worker.
(d) The girl.

3. How does Absalom react to Kumalo’s news that he will be married?
(a) He is happy to hear it.
(b) He is displeased to hear it.
(c) He is so despondent nothing can affect his mood.
(d) He begs his father to spare the girl the humiliation of marrying a condemned man.

4. What does the author indicate is the primary emotion that motivates how whites interact with blacks?
(a) resentment.
(b) Compassion.
(c) Pity.
(d) Fear.

5. What has become of Kumalo’s sister since she arrived in the city?
(a) She has become a nun.
(b) She has turned to liquor and prostitution.
(c) She has divorced her husband.
(d) She has been jailed without cause.

Short Answer Questions

1. What is the name of the family Absalom was living with in Orlando?

2. What hardship did Absalom’s girl suffer as a child?

3. What is the reformatory worker’s main concern about Absalom’s involvement in the murder?

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

5. How long does it take to erect Shanty Town?

Short Essay Questions

1. Explain why the lawyer, Mr. Carmichael, takes Absalom’s case without payment.

2. What happens to Kumalo as soon as he arrives in Johannesburg? How does this reinforce his feelings about the city?

3. Describe the reaction of the pregnant girl to the prospect of living in Ndotsheni. Why does she react this way?

4. Why is Kumalo upset that John Kumalo decides to get a lawyer to defend his own son in the trial about the murder?

5. Describe two sides of the debate that whites have about “native crime” as indicated in the conversations in Chapter 12.

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

7. Why does Msimangu apologize to Kumalo after they have met the pregnant girl?

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

9. Explain why Msimangu wants to see Mrs. Mkize alone rather than telling Kumalo after Mrs. Ndlela tells him the police are looking for Absalom.

10. What additional errand does a friend of Kumalo’s ask him to run while he is in the city? How does this reflect the themes of the novel?

(see the answer keys)

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