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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. What does July report in Section 4 about the towns?

2. What does Maureen understand about the question she asks July in Section 5 that puts him ill at ease?

3. On what do the Smalls become intoxicated?

4. What did July bring back with him after taking the bakke without permission?

5. Why does Maureen want to keep the small warthog?

Short Essay Questions

1. Describe the situation with the vehicle in Section 3.

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

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

4. Why is July so humiliated that Maureen doesn’t like him having the car keys?

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

6. What was the relationship between July’s “town woman” and July? What was the relationship between July's town woman and Maureen?

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

8. Describe the bakke, and its use in the Smalls family, both previously and currently.

9. What is happening in South Africa at the time of the novel?

10. What does July learn to do in Section 4, and who teaches him?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

The children in the novel regress throughout the book, and by the end, they are having difficulty even reading. Describe at least three moments in the book where one of the children “loses” their privileged behaviors and instead substitutes behaviors they are learning from the village children. What does this indicate about their ability to adapt, as opposed to their parents’ ability?

Essay Topic 2

In the book, the chief is willing to kill other blacks in order to save his own lands and power. Describe this concept. Why would the chief be willing to kill “his own people” in the words of the Smalls? What does July explain that shows blacks are not all in collusion with one another? How does the chief see other blacks if they threaten his power? Does the Smalls’ belief that they should band together show support or a lack of understanding? Why?

Essay Topic 3

Apartheid is another primary topic in the novel, as the blacks were continuously kept down by the white minority in power. Bam and Maureen claimed to fight against this concept. Do you think they really did? Why or why not? How do their actions in the novel show they enjoyed their privileged state more than they openly admitted? How did July feel about this?

(see the answer keys)

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