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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. In Chapter 1 of Part 2, when Brown takes Mr. Smith to the post office, what happens?

2. What keeps Brown awake during the all-night voodoo ceremony?

3. Jones finally tells Brown how he got the traveling cocktail case. What is the truth?

4. What makes Jones sad about dressing as a woman?

5. Who shoots Captain Concasseur and rescues Brown and Jones from capture?

Short Essay Questions

1. What is the significance of saying Doctor Philipot's coffin is filled with bricks?

2. 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?

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. 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?

5. 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?

6. The night before he takes Jones out of Port-au-Prince, Brown wanders through his empty hotel. What does it reveal to the reader about Brown's personality? What is the effect of this scene?

7. When Mr. Smith, Brown, and the Secretary for Social Welfare survey Duvalierville with the purpose of building a vegetarian center, the only person they see is a justice of the peace. What is the irony of this man?

8. 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?

9. 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?

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

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

Examine the role of the girls at Mere Catherine's establishment. What part do they play in the story, particularly Tin Tin? How do the men treat the girls? From what the author tells the reader, what role do these girls play in Haitian society?

Essay Topic 3

What role does Angel play in the novel? Could it be said that he acts as Brown's conscience, or is he merely an annoying child? Why is Martha so attached to him and how does this attachment change her relationship with Brown?

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