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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. As Doctor Magiot and Brown are talking, Petit Pierre arrives. Why does he come?
(a) He wants news of Jones.
(b) He is suspicious of Doctor Magiot.
(c) To warn Brown.
(d) To spy on Brown.

2. Before Brown and Smith leave the jail, what does Jones want them to do?
(a) Arrange for better food to be brought to him.
(b) Promise to smuggle a knife in so he can escape.
(c) Say a prayer with him.
(d) Give $20 and a note to the sergeant at the door.

3. Why is Brown not afraid to smuggle Philipot's body off his property?
(a) He had put the body in the trunk of the car.
(b) It was the hour when only Tonton Macoutes and zombies moved about.
(c) He knew he could bribe any Tonton Macoute he met.
(d) Philipot looked drunk rather than dead.

4. How does Doctor Magiot know Philipot?
(a) They frequented the casino together in Port au Prince.
(b) They took an anatomy class together in Paris.
(c) They worked at the same hospital in Paris.
(d) They both belonged to the resistance movement.

5. What does Jones name the ambassador's new dog?
(a) Mosquito.
(b) T-bone.
(c) Midge.
(d) Don Juan.

Short Answer Questions

1. When Brown walks up the stairs to say hello to Angel, what does the boy show him?

2. Sitting by the pool on his first night home, what does Brown remember?

3. What does Mr. Smith carry around for his wife?

4. When the countess rang the bell for Marcel to come to her room, what was he wearing?

5. As the hearse is stranded in the road, what does Madame Philipot promise to buy for her son?

Short Essay Questions

1. Throughout Part 1, Chapter 4, the reader sees an interplay of men in power. How does this affect the story? In this situation, does power have meaning?

2. At the end of the book, Jones is given a military funeral with the rest of the guerrilla fighters who were killed. Is this honorable or simply ironic? How does it fit Jones's life?

3. Doctor Magiot's funeral oration for Philipot consists mostly of the consolation that he died a natural death, which is to say he was not murdered. Considering the political environment, is this a compliment? What about the dead man's sense of mathematics?

4. Brown is aware of the ridiculous nature of three men with common names: Jones, Smith, and Brown. What does this tell the reader about Brown's view of the story?

5. Brown's first notice from his mother comes in the form of two sentences written on a postcard. How is this indicative of his relationship with her? What does this postcard tell the reader about her pride?

6. From a literary aspect, what is the effect of portraying Jones as an actor who has not learned his lines well? Why does the author use this characterization throughout the book?

7. Brown does not give a definition of the Tonton Macoutes until Part 3, Chapter 4. How does this reinforce to the reader what the characters experienced?

8. From the conversation with his mother, what does Brown learn about his father? How is this knowledge in keeping with the family dynamic?

9. In Part 1, Chapter 5, the small funeral entourage that drives to Petionville to bury Doctor Philipot is in a great hurry. Why is this? How does this tie in with the doctor's death?

10. When Brown reaches the hotel, Joseph answers his call timidly, and with a bowed head tells him the story of Doctor Philipot. What does this tell the reader about Joseph's character?

(see the answer keys)

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