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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 did Osiris ban?

2. What news does T Malice bring?

3. How has the Wallflower Order figured out how to undermine the Jes Grew?

4. Who notices the unusual black ship at the pier?

5. What was Set known for, in PaPaLaBas’ story?

Short Essay Questions

1. How is Moses’ concert received?

2. What does Isis want from Moses?

3. What was the meaning of Abdul Hamid’s epigram?

4. What is the meaning of the chart inserted in the historical account leading up to Hinkle Von Vampton and Safecracker Gould’s arrest?

5. What solution does Mr. Mellon propose for containing the Jes Grew?

6. What happens when Moses read the Work to the people?

7. What strategy does Mellon propose for thwarting the Mu’tafikah?

8. Describe the pendant that Hinkle Von Vampton wears around his neck.

9. What does Battraville say is the difference between VooDoo in America and VooDoo in Haiti?

10. Describe the scene of PaPaLaBas and Black Herman’s arrival at the party.

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

One of the epigrams to Mumbo Jumbo, from James Weldon Johnson, says that “the words of the Jes Grew songs “were unprintable, but the tune was irresistible, and belonged to nobody.” (p. 7). Who are the various different parties to whom the Jes Grew songs belong? Who embodies them, who participates them, and who renounces them? What makes the Jes Grew claim certain people and not others?

Essay Topic 2

What makes Mumbo Jumbo an American novel? How does Reed define America, and how is his definition of America sustained throughout the action of Mumbo Jumbo? How does Reed account for competing visions of what America is?

Essay Topic 3

Would you recommend Mumbo Jumbo? For what purposes would you recommend Mumbo Jumbo, and what kinds of readers would you recommend it for? What other book would you recommend that would cover the same material or tell the same story in a different way?

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This section contains 889 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample