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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. Where does Brown get his information about the curfew in Haiti?

2. When Mr. and Mrs. Smith arrive at the hotel, what room do they stay in?

3. Why does Angel want to meet Brown?

4. During the ship's night of entertainment, what does Mr. Baxter recite?

5. What is the one meal Jones eats in jail?

Short Essay Questions

1. Throughout Chapter 1 of Part 1, the captain advises people to stay in touch with their respective consulates. Why is this, and how does it set the tone of the book?

2. 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?

3. 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?

4. When Angel has the mumps, Brown visits him at Martha's insistence, and this is the only time the two people interact for any length of time. What is the effect of this meeting? How is Angel portrayed?

5. In Part 1, Chapter 2, how is Brown and Martha's relationship portrayed? What is the irony of their situation?

6. 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?

7. Martha and Brown rendezvous for the first time in her car by the Columbus statue. What is the nature of this meeting and how does it set the tone for their relationship?

8. 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?

9. When Captain Concasseur returns to Haiti, his single goal is to catch Jones. How is this fitting to Jones's character? What about to the character of Haitian politics?

10. 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?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

At the end of Part Two, Chapter Two, Mrs. Smith apologizes for being comic figures, and Brown corrects her, saying they are heroic. Which of these is true: are the Smiths comic or heroic? What actions or characteristics fit each role? Give examples from the text to support your answer.

Essay Topic 2

Jones claims that there is no place for him outside Haiti. How is this statement also true of Brown? What characteristics does Brown possess that enable him to maneuver the intricacies of Haitian politics? It may be helpful to contrast him to Mr. Smith, who has no understanding of the workings of Haitian government and life.

Essay Topic 3

Of his relationship with Martha, Brown says, "Like some wines, our love could neither mature nor travel." Find examples in the text which illustrate this. How was their love bound to the moment? How were they bound to Haiti? What clues tell the reader that their love will not last?

(see the answer keys)

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