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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. How many of the Umlimo's followers are sitting outside her hospital room?

2. In Lusaka, who does Tungata refer to as "Baba"?

3. When the Umlimo first sees Tungata in her hospital room, by what name does she call Tungata?

4. When Louise and Zouga finally return to King's Lynn, who do they find hiding in the poultry?

5. When Samson is awakened in the middle of the night by bright lights and voices insisting they come out of the house, who is on the front lawn?

Short Essay Questions

1. When Roland's navigator inquires after the health of Janine, what does Roland realize for the very first time?

2. When Juba and Tungata do not keep up with the other children, what does Tungata offer to do for Juba?

3. Why does Tungata ask for Janine's flight information for her return trip from Victoria Falls?

4. Why does Jonathon love to haggle?

5. According to rumors that Vicky and Douglas told Craig, what had happened to Roland's body?

6. When Gideon suggests that Samson come back to the mission to teach, Samson declines dejectedly and tells Gideon that he has only learned two things he could teach the children. What are those two things?

7. Why are the terrorists able to attack farmhouses without fearing that the security forces will arrive to arrest them?

8. When Tungata and his soldiers reach the lands of the white farmers, what do the soldiers do?

9. When the two men insist that Samson must join them, why does Samson agree even though he abhors violence and war?

10. As his navigator is trying to create a safe path through the minefield, why does Roland insist on telling the navigator the gruesome details about the attack on Janine?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Compare and contrast Craig Mellow and Samson Kumalo.

a. How are the two characters similar? How are they different?

b. Compare the role that justice plays in each of their lives. How is each character affected by the concept of justice - both positively and negatively?

Essay Topic 2

There is no doubt that Ralph is greatly affected by the murder of his wife and infant daughter. In addition, Ralph's son is missing. Discuss how Cathy's murder affects not only Ralph's worldview, but his determination to find and punish Cathy's murderers. How does Cathy's murder affect Ralph's mental state, his ability to reason, his ability to trust, and his ability to hope? How does Cathy's murder affect Ralph in his role as father once he finds Jonathon?

Essay Topic 3

Throughout the story, there are several attempts characters that either die or are killed.

a. Identify three characters that do not survive until the end of the novel. Describe each character and the circumstances surrounding their deaths.

b. Compare and contrast the characters that do not survive. What does the author have to gain by killing these characters off? What, if anything, does the author lose?

c. How would the story have changed if one or more of your identified characters had survived?

(see the answer keys)

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