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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 color is Nelson Denoon's hair?

2. How many homesteads are in Tsau?

3. How often does Nelson Denoon take his retreats?

4. Who grabs the narrator by the hips and pushes her forward after Nelson Denoon's speech?

5. What happens at the end of Nelson's speech at the party?

Short Essay Questions

1. What does the narrator pretend to be when she enters Tsau? Why?

2. What does "intellectual love" mean in the book?

3. There are disagreements as to whether or not Nelson and the narrator should be a couple. Describe the feelings on this subject in the village.

4. What happens when the narrator is summoned before the Mother Committee? What must she do to stay in Tsau?

5. What does the narrator take with her to Tsau? Why is this significant?

6. Nelson leaves Tsau on retreat for four days. Why doesn't he tell the narrator why or where he is going? How does the narrator react?

7. How does the author depict the relationship between Grace and Nelson Denoon? How does the reader know this?

8. What does the sandstorm at the end of the American diplomat's party represent?

9. What does the narrator obsess about losing after her donkey runs away? Why?

10. What drives the narrator to contact Nelson Denoon?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Describe the Mother Committee and the powerful women involved. This experimental village is meant to give women rights and powers that they don't have in ordinary society. However, based on the characters you've just described, what are the differences and similarities between men in ordinary society at that time and the women in Tsau?

Essay Topic 2

The narrator faces several perils in the desert on her way to Tsau. What are they? How does the way the narrator handle those challenges speak to her character and the way she is evolving in the story? Include the way the narrator feels about her journey and her accomplishments in your answer.

Essay Topic 3

Describe the exchange between Dineo and the narrator that ends in the bathhouse. What message is Dineo trying to send the narrator through her conversation and her actions?

(see the answer keys)

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