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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. When Brown visits Jones the afternoon after the Smiths leave town, what do the two men drink?

2. How do the policemen retaliate for the attack on the police station?

3. Mrs. Smith is proud of the American ballot that shows her husband's name as a presidential candidate. What is Brown's perception of voting in Haiti?

4. What does the priest do with the bodies which the dancers bring to him?

5. While listening to Mr. Smith describe the vegetarian center, what does the Secretary for Social Welfare doodle on his paper?

Short Essay Questions

1. 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?

2. When Jones and Brown board the Medea so Jones can ask for asylum, Brown describes the ship's captain like a judge. What is the effect of this appearance? Is this the first time a judge figure has appeared in the book? How does this contrast to Haitian culture?

3. Young Philipot, who visits Brown while he is swimming one early afternoon, is consumed with the idea of owning a Bren gun and fighting Papa Doc's army with it. In his idealism, what other character does he resemble and why?

4. 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?

5. 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?

6. Why do Mr. and Mrs. Smith refer several times to their experience in Nashville? Brown wonders this himself, when Mrs. Smith references that incident in order to win an argument with her husband.

7. At the end of Part 2, Chapter 1, Brown comes to a realization about himself. What is this realization? How does it change the reader's understanding of him? How does it fit with his wandering to the casino and then to the Medea, talking with the purser?

8. When Brown's car breaks down on the road, he and Jones take refuge in a cemetery until the morning. How does this fit their time in Haiti? How does it portend what is to come?

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. In order to leave the Medea to travel to the British embassy, Jones dresses as a woman. What is the effect of this costume? How does it reflect on Jones?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

The Smiths are devoted to the idea of the vegetarian center, even when Haitian reality tells them that it will never happen. They are clinging to the dream in the face of truth. Where else does this happen in the novel? Who is clinging to dream that can never become reality?

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

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.

(see the answer keys)

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