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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 doesn't Nelson Denoon tell the narrator he is leaving Tsau?

2. How many homesteads are in Tsau?

3. What secret does "Z" finally share?

4. Where is the narrator preparing to go in Chapter 2?

5. Who disrobes in front the narrator in the bathhouse?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why does the narrator have such difficulty finding the place where Nelson Denoon is rumored to be staying?

2. The narrator travels across the desert to Tsau with two donkeys. How does she feel about them? Why?

3. What kinds of jokes does the narrator tell Nelson after dinner at Mma Isang's? Why?

4. 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.

5. What does the narrator discover through her thesis work in the African bush? Is it what she expected?

6. What secret does the narrator learn from "Z"?

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

8. The narrator begins to have very strange experiences in the desert. What are they, and how does she overcome it?

9. What does the reader learn about the narrator in Chapter 1? What characteristics does she display?

10. The narrator has conflicting feelings about Nelson Denoon after talking to him further in the squatter settlement. What are they?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

The narrator does not understand Nelson's calm nature when he is accused of and jailed for Hector's murder. However, he does remain extremely calm, saying he is content to let the village he created deal with him. Explain the dynamic that is occurring in this situation between Nelson and the villagers and Nelson and the narrator.

Essay Topic 2

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?

Essay Topic 3

In Chapter Four we see the relationship between Nelson and the narrator evolving. What examples does the author give of this evolution and future development? How do each of the characters feel about this progression in their relationship?

(see the answer keys)

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