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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 does Taita see at the end of Pharaoh's horoscope?

2. Why does Taita conduct Pharaoh's tours of his treasuries?

3. Why does Tanus send Taita away before the second battle?

4. When Tanus disappeared, to whom did he hand over his squadron and Pharaoh's seal?

5. Why does Nembet, the Great Lion of Egypt, become angry with Tanus?

Short Essay Questions

1. After Taita is whipped because he dares to petition for Lostris and Tanus's marriage, Lostris cares for his wounds. How does she reveal that she is still a child? What hope does the reader have that her marriage to Tanus will occur?

2. In the days leading up to Lostris's wedding, Taita is not allowed to go near her. Even during the wedding ceremony, he stands at the back of the crowd and cannot see much. What is the literary significance of Taita's inability to see Lostris? How does this relate to Smith's silence about Tanus's reaction?

3. When Taita disguises himself as a priest so that he is not recognized in his native city Thebes, how is he treated? What does this say about the Egyptian people's attitude toward their religion? What does this say about the priests' ethics?

4. What is the song that Tanus and his men sing during the thick of battle? What effect would this song have on the enemy?

5. How does Taita describe the hippo hunt? How does he see the animal in relation to divinity? What is the effect of the hippo hunt on Taita?

6. What scheme does Taita dream up to help Tanus engage the Shrikes in battle for the first time? How is this scheme something that perhaps only Taita would think of?

7. What is the immediate effect as Tanus begins to rout the Shrikes? How does this change affect people's loyalty to Pharaoh? What do you think might be the long-term effects of this new loyalty?

8. What are Taita's emotions during and after the battle with the Shrikes? How do these emotions explain several facets of his personality? What does this say for Smith's ability to create a complex character?

9. What does Taita learn from his friend Tiamat about the Shrikes? How does this explain the destitution of Egypt and the weakness of Pharaoh?

10. Describe the murder of Tod onstage during the festival pageant. What does Taita reveal about humanity, as he perceives it, during this scene?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

What significance is there in the fact that Memnon's first wife is from another culture? Does it counteract Lostris's desire that Egypt remain a wandering nation in Cush rather than settling down? How does this expand the range of Egypt's power even before Memnon becomes king?

Essay Topic 2

What surgical skills does Taita display, apart from any potions? What explorations and innovations have benefited his people? How does this set Taita apart from any other doctors? How does his medical knowledge pervade and affect many pieces of the story?

Essay Topic 3

Twice Taita wishes that he could retract the evil he had spoken: Lostris's marriage and the coming of the Hyksos. How effective is this as a literary technique? Does it build suspense for the reader or diminish it? How does it change the reader's expectations for what happens next in the novel?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 2,138 words (approx. 8 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample