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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. Where does Sissie see plums for the first time?

2. What does Sissie say about power?

3. What is Sammy?

4. What color is Marija's lipstick?

5. What does the novel say about God's own babies?

Short Essay Questions

1. What function does the castle in Bavaria now serve?

2. How does the poetic cycle in Part 2: "The Plums" claim that rulers gather their wealth?

3. To what does the narrator liken the experience of arguing with an academic-pseudo-intellectual black person?

4. What is the profession of the Indian man whom Sissie meets?

5. To what does Sissie liken aeroplanes in Part 2: "The Plums?"

6. What does Sissie claim to expect at age 30?

7. Where does Big Adolph work?

8. In what city in Germany does Sissie's plane first arrive?

9. What do Sissie and her fellow campers do for work?

10. Where does Marija think Ghana is located?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Write an essay about the heart transplant described by Kunle in Part 3: From Our Sister Killjoy. What are the details of this operation as it is presented in the text, and what are the various characters' reactions? In particular, how does Kunle's perspective differ from Sissie's? You may also discuss your own perspective on the operation, but, as always, please use evidence from the text to support your response.

Essay Topic 2

Write an essay in which you evaluate the poetic interludes in the novel. What purpose do the poems serve? What is the effect on the reader when the poems break up the text? In your essay, you may conduct a close reading on any number of these poems as examples, and consider whether there are any common themes among these several poems, as well as what effect(s) they have on the reader.

Essay Topic 3

Write an essay in which you analyze Sissie's relationship with Marija. How do the two meet? What is the nature of their relationship? What seems to attract them to one another? Why does the relationship end? Use evidence from the text to support your analysis.

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