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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. As Luigi the Italian is gambling, why he is depressed?

2. When Jones appears at the hotel in the middle of the night, drenched and drunk, why is he afraid?

3. Why is Jones proud of his expansive liquor traveling case?

4. When Brown asks the ambassador to allow Jones to stay in his house, what is the ambassador's reaction?

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

Short Essay Questions

1. When Brown picks up Jones at the British embassy to smuggle him out of the city, how has Jones's attitude changed? What motivates this?

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

3. 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?

4. 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?

5. 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?

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

7. When Jones realizes that Captain Conasseur is curious about his actions, he comes to Brown's hotel in a panic. What does this tell us about Jones's plan to get rich? How prepared is he to deal with the Tonton Macoutes?

8. 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?

9. While lying in bed in the Hotel Trianon, Martha notes to brown that their relationship is no longer an adventure. What are the signs of this change? What are their choices for the future?

10. 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?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Are Mr. and Mrs. Smith realistic characters? That is, can the reader take them seriously? Find examples within the book of their naive opinions and of their realistic ones. Which kind of opinion occurs more frequently? How do they fit with Brown's opinion that life is a farce and its characters are comedians?

Essay Topic 2

Compare and contrast the times Brown is held at gunpoint by Captain Concasseur. What does he have to lose? Why does he react differently? How is the captain's attitude different? What are their roles in both scenes? For example, in the second incident, Brown notes that a person would not hesitate to shoot someone he sees as worthless.

Essay Topic 3

Examine Brown from a literary standpoint. As the narrator of the story, is he reliable? What advantages are there in telling the story from his standpoint? Is he able to provide an advantage which an omniscient narrator might not? How does his viewpoint color the entire story?

(see the answer keys)

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