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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. When David comes to the farm to visit, what proposal does Petrus have for Lucy that he asks David to offer her?

2. What is Petrus's position on reporting the young man who Lucy recognized to the police?

3. It is clear that Bev knows of David's past. About what does she know a great deal?

4. After the police visit the farm, why does David spend the morning digging a large hole?

5. What is one of the issues that Lucy feels is a motive for the assault on her and her farm?

Short Essay Questions

1. How might Lucy's and David's switching of bedrooms be construed as symbolic of some other switch between them?

2. David mentions that he has "never been given to lingering involvements" as he tries to figure out what is driving him to go see Melanie's play. What then motivates him to go?

3. What has Lucy's banjo become for David?

4. David explodes at Pollux and says to himself, "Swine. . .Teach him a lesson. Show him his place." How do these remarks reveal the racial attitudes David evidently has?

5. After Lucy is raped and she and David give their report to the police, David asks her why she omitted the fact that she was raped. What reason does she give her father for this omission?

6. What might one make of David missing the ducks and the dogs?

7. What is one aspect of Lucy's argument to keep the child that is actually aligned with her early Mother Earth persona?

8. What does David's description of Desiree suggest?

9. When David rhetorically asks, "Against this new Petrus, what chance does Lucy stand?" what is his implied answer?

10. How might one interpret Elaine Winter's treatment of David at the grocery store?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Chapter 24. How can David's bringing his dog to Bev be symbolic of his growth or transformation in this novel?

Essay Topic 2

Chapter 12. Explain how Lucy's rape altered her personality. Discuss Lucy's remarks about the issue of racism and inherent guilt in South Africa and how this guilt influences her beliefs and actions thus far in the novel.

Essay Topic 3

Chapter 21. The memories triggered by watching Melanie's play are insightful. They are, very much his version of events and of women. Nonetheless, how does this reverie work to define David and what is important to him?

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