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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. Which prisoner tells Matigari he will "unravel" the "riddle," referring to the question Matigari asked the other prisoners?
(a) The informer.
(b) The murderer.
(c) The prisoner accused of theft.
(d) The drunkard.

2. Why does Gũthera decide to help Matigari despite thinking he might be insane?
(a) He reminds her of his father.
(b) She thinks he will pay her well.
(c) He saved her life.
(d) It is her duty as a Christian.

3. What does Matigari tell the man outside the house at the plantation that Matigari wants?
(a) The keys to his house.
(b) To find his family.
(c) A job.
(d) His horse.

4. What is the name of the voice Matigari hears over the radio in Part I?
(a) The Voice of Truth.
(b) The Voice of Compassion.
(c) The Voice of Peace.
(d) The Voice of Reason.

5. What are the children fighting over when Matigari chases them away with a stick?
(a) A case of bananas.
(b) A pile of old newspapers.
(c) A bunch of shirts.
(d) A bundle of shoelaces.

Short Answer Questions

1. Why did the people at Gũthera's church refuse to help her when she needed money to care for her siblings?

2. Why was Gũthera's father arrested after the war began?

3. What does one of the children accuse Matigari of doing as he follows them?

4. What happens to Matigari when he tries to enter the scrapyard in Part I?

5. What are the two guards, policemen, and tractor driver doing when Matigari passes them as he follows the children?

Short Essay Questions

1. Describe the scrapyard that the man follows the boys to after watching them dig through garbage.

2. What happens to Gũthera after she leaves the bar? How does Matigari save her?

3. What does Matigari think as he sees Black Africans driving cars at the start of the story?

4. What does Matigari think as he watches two officers, the guard and the tractor driver divvying up the money from the children?

5. What does Matigari witness children do after running after a tractor?

6. What does John Boy Junior tell Matigari the problem with Black people is after Matigari says he helped pay for John Boy Junior's education? Why does John Boy Junior believe white people are able to advance?

7. Describe the conversation between Matigari and Gũthera after she offers him "a little pleasure" (24).

8. What does Matigari tell Mũriũki happened the day he told Settler Williams he could not longer reap the rewards of Matigari's labor?

9. What does one of the prisoners describe seeing and hearing at the factory strike that he walked away from earlier that day?

10. What does Mũriũki tell Matigari happened to his mother as they sit at the Mataha hotel?

(see the answer keys)

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