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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. Who tried to prevent the tragedy at Wad's house?

2. To which school did the narrator and his friend Mahjoub go together?

3. How did the narrator feel about Hosna?

4. What did the narrator think about another fire in the village?

5. How were Hosna and Wad buried?

Short Essay Questions

1. What did the narrator find in the triangular room and what did he do while in there?

2. Give your opinion about the book and its two main characters.

3. What did the narrator do when he approaches the triangular room?

4. Describe how the narrator left the village again after his conversations with Hosna and Mahjoub.

5. What did the narrator tell Hosna about marriage and how did she react to this?

6. What did the narrator do with the triangular room, after he's finished there?

7. Who met the narrator when he arrives by steamer, not too long after he had left, and what do they talk about?

8. How does the narrator learn what happened to Hosna and Wad?

9. Mahjoub and the narrator have a short conversation about Khartoum. What did they talk about? What did the narrator not talk about?

10. In pages 134-165, the narrator wonders what has happened to his world. Explain this feeling.

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

The triangular room is mentioned throughout the book. What is this room? Why is it important? Whose room is it? What does the narrator have to do with this room? What happens to the room? What are the contents in this room? What does the narrator do in this room? What does he see and what is his reaction? What does he relate the pictures of the women to? How is Jean Morris' death related to Hosna's death? How does the narrator leave the room? Why is his being in the room important to the conclusion of the book?

Essay Topic 2

The narrator's grandfather plays an important role in the narrator's life. Explain their relationship and use examples from the different chapters. What do you know about the grandfather? Where does he live? How does his house look like? What kind of a person is he? What do he and the narrator talk about? How do you know he is important to the narrator? Relate this importance to the narrator's memories and his experiences when visiting his village.

Essay Topic 3

Foreshadowing is used when the narrator visits Mustafa's widow and they talk. What is being said that will influence Hosna's future? Where is the foreshadowing being used? What does foreshadowing mean? Explain this principle with the example about Hosna in the book. Are there other cases of foreshadowing used by the author? If so, give a few more examples.

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