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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. Why does Maureen want to keep the small warthog?
(a) Out of respect for the village.
(b) Out of respect for July.
(c) It is easier to cook.
(d) It will be tender.

2. What does Bam mean when he notes that “women are cowards”?
(a) He means women choose to strike when they are at their strongest.
(b) He means women are weak.
(c) He means women are manipulative.
(d) He means women choose to strike when men are at their weakest.

3. What does Maureen believe about July as he addresses her and Bam in Section 4?
(a) That he sees them as equals.
(b) That he sees them as inferior.
(c) That she is always who he is speaking to.
(d) That he is always speaking to Bam.

4. Who helps the Smalls escape their home at the beginning of the novel?
(a) Martha.
(b) Ellen.
(c) Nora.
(d) July.

5. What is happening politically, economically, and socially in the novel?
(a) Democracy is being challenged.
(b) Apartheid is being challenged.
(c) Whites are being sold as slaves.
(d) Blacks are being sold as slaves.

Short Answer Questions

1. What does Maureen note in Section 3 that she doesn’t want to hear a spiel on?

2. Who takes the bakke in Section 3?

3. What is the real reason Bam and Maureen do not leave South Africa?

4. What is understood by July's girlfriend in the city to be July’s responsibilities?

5. Who used to visit Maureen in the yard with July?

Short Essay Questions

1. In Section 2, what does July try to explain to his family about the Smalls?

2. What does Victor’s anger at the “stealing” of “their” water show?

3. What does Maureen mean when she thinks that the balance between love and duty is maintained differently based on the lovers’ place in the economy?

4. Explain Martha and July's mother's reaction to meeting Maureen in Section 2.

5. What does Maureen mean when she says “death is a purchase” (pg 65)?

6. Explain where the Smalls find themselves in the opening section, and where they came from.

7. What does Martha mean in Section 2 when she says she was surprised at the way Maureen looked?

8. What does the author mean by “a contempt and humiliation that came from their blood and his” (pg 62)?

9. Explain Maureen’s reaction to meeting Martha and July’s mother in Section 2.

10. Why do you think July is so insistent that the Smalls continue to allow him and his family to work for them?

(see the answer keys)

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