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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 kind of life did the grandfather live?

2. What did this influential man do to Mustafa?

3. How many years after Mustafa's death did the narrator go to work at the Department of Education in Khartoum?

4. What does the narrator invite Mustafa to after their introduction?

5. What was presumed about Mustafa by the group of people the narrator talks to?

Short Essay Questions

1. How was Mustafa treated during his time in Cairo?

2. What do you know about Mustafa's family and how did that affect him?

3. What did the narrator do after Mustafa told him his story?

4. What does Mustafa have to do with the topic of mixed marriages?

5. What is being said about Western women during a conversation at the grandfather's house?

6. What did you learn about Mustafa's trial in the pages 19-44?

7. What did Mustafa's school career look like?

8. How does the narrator's knowledge of Mustafa conflict with that of his acquaintances from the University of Khartoum?

9. What did Mustafa do after he was released from prison?

10. What do you know about the narrator's grandfather as a person?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

In pages 45-60, an important event is talked about. Describe the event. What do you learn about the river? What's its name? How frequent does an event like this happen? Why is it called legendary? Why is the event important for the plot of the book? How do you relate this event to the character of Mustafa? How do you relate it to the character of the narrator? What do you think happened to Mustafa? Why?

Essay Topic 2

An important meeting takes place in the beginning of the book. During the narrator's absence in the village, a stranger by the name of Mustafa has arrived and settled. Describe how the narrator and Mustafa first meet. How do they get to know each other? How does their relationship evolve? Why is this evolving relationship important for the plot of the book?

Essay Topic 3

On pages 105-115, the narrator and his driver make a car trip back to Khartoum. Describe this trip. Through the trip, what do you learn about the Sudan? What decisions does the narrator make on this trip? Are the events important for the plot of the book? Why or why not? Why do you think the author wrote this chapter in the book?

(see the answer keys)

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