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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. Why does the captain not want to take Jones aboard?
(a) Jones does not have an exit-visa.
(b) Brown will not vouch that he is a good man.
(c) Jones has unresolved debts in Philadelphia.
(d) Jones has no money to pay for his passage.

2. In Chapter 1 of Part 2, when Brown takes Mr. Smith to the post office, what happens?
(a) Mr. Smith get in an argument with a one-legged man.
(b) They are questioned about their errand by a Tonton Macoute.
(c) Mr. Smith is mobbed by five beggars.
(d) Mr. Smith exits by the wrong door and is lost.

3. As Brown and young Philipot converse near the hotel pool, what does Philipot reveal that he is obsessed with?
(a) The chance to avenge his uncle's death.
(b) The opportunity to shoot a Tonton Macoute.
(c) An important government job.
(d) A Bren gun and training.

4. Where is Jones forced to hide when Haitian police officers enter the ship?
(a) In the ship's hold.
(b) Under the kitchen table.
(c) In the bathroom.
(d) Under an empty bed.

5. Why did Jones not serve in the army in Burma like he claims?
(a) He has a weak heart.
(b) He has asthma.
(c) He was dishonorably discharged in his first week.
(d) He has flat feet.

Short Answer Questions

1. How does Brown act toward the end of the Voodoo ceremony?

2. Why do Jones and Brown go back to the Medea?

3. When Martha comes to visit Brown at his hotel, what alters their plans to go upstairs?

4. To leave the ship, Jones dresses up as a woman. What does he wear?

5. When Brown hears footsteps outside his hotel, what weapon does he grab?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why do the Smiths change their minds about opening a vegetarian center? How does the Secretary for Social Welfare misunderstand Mr. Smith?

2. What is the purpose of the Tonton Macoutes' visit to Brown at six o'clock in the morning? Do they expect to find anyone?

3. Though Brown does not want to board the Medea for a last drink with the purser, he feels attached to the ship and the memories there. What does this say about Brown's loneliness? Is he happy alone in his hotel?

4. From even their first meeting, Brown hesitates to address Jones as "Major Jones." How does this begin to explain Jones's character? How does it prepare the reader for the revelation that Jones has never even seen a man die?

5. According to Doctor Magiot in Part 2, Chapter 1, what role does Voodoo play in Haitian culture? What is its relation to Catholicism?

6. Brown feels that the happiest moment he spent with Martha was when they lay outside on the grass, talking. How does this compare to his initial feelings about the relationship? What does this moment portend about the future of their relationship?

7. When Brown attends the Voodoo ceremony with Joseph, several white-wrapped bodies are held close to the flame so that the skin burns. What is the effect of this scene? What is its possible antecedent?

8. When just before leaving Haiti, Mr. Smith scatters money in front of the post office, what does he show about himself? Has he changed since he first came to the country?

9. The second time Brown visits the casino, the place is drastically changed from the night he met Martha. How is it different? What does this signal about Haiti's economy?

10. As the two men wait out the night in the cemetery, Jones tells Brown the truth about his life. Is this a fitting time for his confession? Why would he confess to Brown instead of anyone else?

(see the answer keys)

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