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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. How are the times described at the beginning of Chapter 53?

2. Why does PaPaLaBas say that Osiris had to record his dance?

3. What advice does Black Herman give PaPaLaBas?

4. WhenPaPaLaBas and T Malice encounter the bum outside the Mumbo Jumbo Kathedral, what does the bum say made him so ragged?

5. What happened when The Hunter approached Moses?

Short Essay Questions

1. How is Moses’ concert received?

2. What is PaPaLaBas’ explanation of Earline’s seduction of the trolley car driver?

3. What caused 50,000 Templars to be murdered in 1307?

4. What does Battraville reveal to PaPaLaBas?

5. What does PaPaLaBas say is the future of the Jes Grew?

6. What does Battraville say haunts White culture?

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

8. What happens when the box with the Book is brought into the party?

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

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Make an argument for which character is the most important character in Mumbo Jumbo. Who is most important to the novel? Is it Berbelang, and the Mu’tafikah? Is it Hinkle Von Vampton? PaPaLaBas?Benoit Battraville? Earline? Using examples from the text, propose one as more important than the others. Say why the others are not as important as the one you have nominated.

Essay Topic 2

In the beginning of Mumbo Jumbo, Reed quotes Louis Armstrong as saying that “the spirit hits them and they follow.” (p. 7). What is the spirit, and where does it lead people in Mumbo Jumbo?

Essay Topic 3

What does the experience of the Mu’tafikah tell you about making art? Why should art be kept close to the people who create it? Why is art out of context dangerous, or lifeless? What does that mean for Mumbo Jumbo the novel? What is the proper home for this book?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 957 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample