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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 long does Brown stay with Philipot?

2. Why is Brown not afraid to smuggle Philipot's body off his property?

3. Before Brown and Smith leave the jail, what does Jones want them to do?

4. How often to Brown and Martha talk or argue about Angel?

5. When Mr. Smith and Brown unexpectedly meet again in Santo Domingo, what does Mr. Smith offer?

Short Essay Questions

1. 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?

2. After visiting Martha and her husband at the embassy, what drives Brown to Mere Catherine's? Is he satisfied there?

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. Both the Secretary of State and Jones are confused by the idea that Jones would be charged with something. How is this indicative of Haitian politics? How does Brown's narration of the scene explain his view of it?

5. When Mr. Smith sees Philipot's body in the pool, he thinks he is a sleeping beggar. How does this thought reflect on Mr. Smith's character? What about the fact that he wants to take money to the man?

6. Brown observes, following his disastrous conversation with Angel, that the quality which attracts him in a woman is not beauty but goodness. How is this similar to Jones's pursuit of virtue? Why does he find goodness in Martha?

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

8. Doctor Magiot is willing to help Brown plan an escape for Jones as well as maintain a facade of caring for Jones in order to explain his absence from public life. Why are these two men willing to take such risk? What does it say about their character?

9. Petit Pierre is introduced at the beginning of Part 1, Chapter 2. What purpose does his character play? How is he similar to Brown?

10. 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?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Examine the use of light as a literary device. How many scenes occur in the dusk or dark? How much of Brown's life specifically occurs at these times? What does this say about him? Why might the author choose to place him in the darkness? How does this set the tone of the book?

Essay Topic 2

Brown often defines characters by their race, which seems also to determine their social standing. Is Brown trying to explain the world, or is he simply presenting the Haitian culture as it existed? What other pieces of the story present uniquely Haitian culture?

Essay Topic 3

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.

(see the answer keys)

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