View a FREE sample

This test consists of 5 multiple choice questions, 5 short answer questions, and 10 short essay questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What is the constant problem with the first chariots?
(a) The men cannot drive the horses.
(b) The horses are scared of them.
(c) The chariots are very heavy.
(d) The wheels fall off.

2. How does Taita escape from Arkoun?
(a) He bribes four guards to smuggle him out of the castle.
(b) He is swept away in the river when they are returning to the castle.
(c) He pretends to be the king's ambassador but does not return.
(d) He sneaks through the sewer passages of the castle.

3. What crude surgery does Taita perform to save the horses stricken with the gnu illness?
(a) Cuts out their tongues so they do not swallow them and choke.
(b) Slits their nostrils so they can breathe.
(c) Cuts a hole in their windpipes and inserts a straw.
(d) Cuts a slit in their sides so the pus does not reach their lungs.

4. When Tanus enters the temple of Osiris, what is the crowd's reaction?
(a) Rejection.
(b) Worship.
(c) Disbelief.
(d) Scorn.

5. What moment does Taita mark as the turning point in Egypt's history away from despair?
(a) When Tanus rallies his troops again.
(b) When Lostris and Memnon take power.
(c) When Tanus wins a battle again.
(d) When Pharaoh dies.

Short Answer Questions

1. After setting up the stone monument, why does the queen give Taita the Gold of Praise?

2. Why are Lord Nembet and most of his men killed by the Hyksos?

3. What gift does Taita leave on Tanus's coffin before the tomb is sealed?

4. How are the Shrike barons and Rasfer executed?

5. What happens when Memnon sees Masara again?

Short Essay Questions

1. How does Taita explain Lostris's second pregnancy? Why does the council believe him? What from Lostris's reputation prepares them to believe Taita's story?

2. What is the reaction of both Tanus and Pharaoh to the news of Lostris's pregnancy? What do their reactions say about their personal priorities?

3. Why does Queen Lostris demand an elaborate tomb for her husband? What does this say about her loyalty to Pharaoh and does it contradict her order that Egyptians would not make their home in the land of Cush?

4. The Egyptians are terrified at the approach of the Hyksos army. What are the reasons for their fear? Do these fears contradict or affirm their previous actions as warriors? Who understands the importance of this eastern enemy the best?

5. What does Taita call the worst day in Egypt's history? Why does he say this? How is he one of the central characters in the actions of this day, though it may not seem like it?

6. How does Pharaoh bring justice following the revelation of Lord Intef as Akh-Seth? How is his punishment for the Shrikes suitable? Additionally, how is it the harshest punishment an Egyptian can suffer?

7. Both Tanus and Taita are struck with longing for Ethiopians possessions: the blue sword and the horses, respectively. How do these passion signal deep trouble in the future? How do these desires change the men's thinking?

8. At age five, how does Memnon begin to assert himself? How does Smith draw out the contradictions between his age and his social position? What does Memnon's attitude predict for the future?

9. Why will so few people ride astride a horse? (Throughout the novel, only Hui, Taita, and Memnon dare this.) What reaction do they get when people see them astride the horses? Why do you think they get this reaction?

10. What happens when the Nile floods? How does this event bring together science and religious observation? How is it also an opportunity for vice, particularly greed?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 2,333 words (approx. 8 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample