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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. Why does Adan hide before he knows who has come to visit them in Chapter 6?

2. What does Mira's mother suggest doing on the phone after Peter's death?

3. Why does Lala take the baby back from Adan in Chapter 6?

4. Who does not want to let Mira and the children in at the convenience store?

5. What kind of woman was Wilma in 1963?

Short Essay Questions

1. Whose fault does Adan tell Lala he thinks Peter Whalen's murder is?

2. What problems does Sam have following Peter's death?

3. What is Wilma's story to the police about her own marriage to Carson?

4. Why does Esme resent Wilma so much in later years?

5. Why does Mira repeatedly buy raisins at the store following Peter's death?

6. What interrupts the robber in Mira's house in Part I?

7. How does Mira Whalen behave for the first five days after the murder of her husband Peter?

8. What does Sergeant Beckles think about the death of Baby?

9. How does Baby die?

10. What is Peter trying to do when the robber kills him?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

What is the relationship between people like Adan, Tone and Lala to tourists in Barbados? Write an essay explaining your answers.

Essay Topic 2

What connections does Jones draw between Mira Whalen's upbringing as the illegitimate mixed-race child of a Black businessman in Barbados and her later marriage to Peter Whalen and her adult life in general? Write an essay explaining your answers, citing specific references to the text to help support your conclusions.

Essay Topic 3

What do you think Wilma wants Lala to understand from her story about the one-armed sister early in the novel? What is the actual effect of this story on Lala? Write an essay explaining your answers, citing specific references to the text to help support your answers.

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 625 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample