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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 is the second course of the meal described in Part 2?

2. What does Sissie ask the doctor from Göttingen?

3. How often does Marija visit Sissie?

4. Which of the following is NOT a project undertaken by Sissie's missionary group?

5. What does Sissie think that Sammy's voice sounds like?

Short Essay Questions

1. What is the name of the African whom Sissie meets in Europe?

2. How does Sissie describe the color of the individuals in Germany?

3. What is the capital of Ghana?

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

5. Where does Marija think Ghana is located?

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

7. What fruit had Sissie never seen before coming to Germany?

8. What does the narrator claim that power decides?

9. What race Marija first assume Sissie to be?

10. How does the woman in the train station in Frankfurt refer to her Sissie when speaking to her daughter?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Write an essay in which you argue the relative merits of African students returning to Africa and remaining in Europe. In your essay, use evidence from the text (particularly Part 4: A Love Letter), and choose either the point of view of Sissie or of the African doctor quoted in her letter. Be sure to consider the opposite point of view, and use evidence from the text to support your answer.

Essay Topic 2

The story is told from Sissie's perspective. Write an essay in which you evaluate the author's decision on relating the story from Sissie's perspective, and whether another character's perspective would have been equally compelling.

Essay Topic 3

Write an essay in which you analyze the role of gender in the novel. How is gender addressed in the novel, and what associations are made with each gender? Is one gender portrayed more favorably? Are genders treated differently across cultures? You may address one or several of these questions in your essay, but, as always, please use textual evidence to support your answer.

(see the answer keys)

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