View a FREE sample

This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. What does Camara's grandmother's hut look like?

2. Who embraces Camara when he arrives in Tindican?

3. Where does Camara stay while in Tindican?

4. What does Camara love to do when Lansana's twin shows up in Tindican?

5. Where are Camara's parents' huts located?

Short Essay Questions

1. Describe the character of Lansana.

2. One day, a woman comes to Camara's father's shop with gold. She wants the gold made into a trinket. What is special about having a trinket made?

3. While he was growing up, what were the rules during meals in Camara's parents' household?

4. One day, Camara finds a little black snake with a strikingly marked body. What is special about this snake?

5. After the snake encounter, Camara finds it amusing to yell to his mother, "There's a snake!" How does his mother react when he yells like this?

6. What does Camara's grandmother's hut look like?

7. Describe Camara's school clothes when he is a child. How does Camara feel about these clothes while in Tindican?

8. Why does Camara's father always do the gold work himself, never leaving it to the apprentices or other workers?

9. Describe the behavior of Camara's school teacher in the French school he attended as a child.

10. What is the result of years of abuse for the school children?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Camara's mother has special powers. How is this explored in chapter 5? What do people request from her? Why? How does the procedure go? How do these powers influence her character and her life? How do these powers relate to her physical protection? Provide supporting evidence about how Camara's mother differs from other people in regards to the Niger river.

Essay Topic 2

The walk to Tindikan is of importance to Camara. The author talks about two ways Camara does this walk. Compare/contrast the different implementations of this walk and relate them to their time frame. Why is this walk important to Camara? What does it bring him?

Essay Topic 3

After the gold work of Camara's father is finished, the praise-singer bursts into a douga. Describe in your own words, based on the context of the book, what a douga is. What is its influence on the people of Camara's community? Why is it sung? How do the characters react to it? What is its negative side effect? Why is it important in the African culture?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 1,165 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample