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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. How did the three accomplices disguise themselves during the housebreak?
(a) They wore sunglasses.
(b) They pulled stockings over their faces.
(c) They wore hats pulled low over their eyes.
(d) They tied handkerchiefs around their mouths.

2. What building does Jarvis’ wife want to finance for Ndotsheni?
(a) A church.
(b) A school.
(c) A refrigerated outbuilding for milk.
(d) A medical clinic.

3. Which sacrament is performed immediately following the sentencing in the prison?
(a) Last Rites.
(b) Matrimony.
(c) Reconciliation.
(d) Communion.

4. What did Absalom do with the revolver after the murder?
(a) He hid it at the home of a friend.
(b) He threw it in a river.
(c) He buried it in a plantation.
(d) He sold it.

5. How does Jarvis react when Kumalo admits it was his son who murdered James’?
(a) James is surprised by compassionate.
(b) James demands that Kumalo leave the property immediately.
(c) James breaks down sobbing.
(d) James lashes out violently against Kumalo.

Short Answer Questions

1. What word best describes the relationship between James and Arthur Jarvis?

2. What gesture of respect does Arthur Jarvis’ son show Kumalo because he does not know any better about his implied superiority?

3. Who performs the sacrament that is performed immediately following the sentencing in the prison?

4. What made-up story does Kumalo tell his brother during their last meeting out of spite?

5. Which character is MOST impressed by John Kumalo’s oratorical gifts?

Short Essay Questions

1. What surprises James Jarvis most about people’s reaction to his son’s death?

2. Briefly describe the relationship between James and Arthur Jarvis. How does it differ from Arthur’s relationship with his mother?

3. Explain the metaphorical usage of the rainstorm that occurs in Book Three, Chapter 3.

4. Describe the incident Kumalo tells his friend about as a way of explaining his idea that James Jarvis is a compassionate man.

5. Compare and contrast Napoleon’s and Kumalo’s attitudes towards James Jarvis.

6. Describe the villagers’ reaction to Kumalo’s return to Ndotsheni, from the time he gets off the train until he reaches the church.

7. What happens to Gertrude at a church meeting at Msimangu’s mission? What does she do afterward?

8. How does James Jarvis react when Kumalo tries to thank him for all the good work he is doing in Ndotsheni? Why does he likely react this way?

9. Briefly summarize Arthur Jarvis’s argument about the responsibility of whites to blacks in the papers James Jarvis reads.

10. Compare and contrast the lifestyles of James Jarvis and Stephen Kumalo living so close to each other in the Natal province.

(see the answer keys)

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