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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. What was the rumor about Lettice's marriage to an older man at 18?

2. What was the only common element in the different styles of traps built for leopards?

3. To what kind of fish did Elspeth compare the men lounging in the shade in the middle of the day?

4. What creatures emerged after the rains?

5. What did Mr. Roos offer to show Elspeth?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why did Robin agree with the Italian priests in their refusal to baptize or help Njombo?

2. What did Tilly think was the ultimate reason for the Europeans to be in Africa?

3. Why did Lettice elope with Hereward?

4. Describe how Elspeth viewed the dead leopard.

5. How did the Kikuyu deal with the suffering of animals?

6. How did Elspeth use the imagery of the kitchen beaters to convey the sense that Europeans and Africans were living in parallel worlds?

7. How did Lettice Palmer view Hereward's desperate attempts to impose discipline on his workers?

8. Why did the District Commissioner find it difficult to keep locals out of the prison?

9. How did Elspeth view the planned hunt versus the actual hunt?

10. How did the Kikuyu and Masai differ in their approaches to hunting?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

While riding to Londiani, Dirk told Elspeth a detailed story about the arduous trek taken by his Boer family to their new home. Write an essay describing how these experiences influenced Dirk's behavior as an adult. Was his upbringing in a self-sufficient environment a factor in his willing abandonment of Elspeth? Was he bitter toward the English? Did he seem to have any regard for the natives? How did Dirk compare to the other Dutchman encountered in the book, Mr. Roos?

Essay Topic 2

After Njombo killed a man in a fight, he had to pay a blood price to the victim's family in the form of goats. Write an essay discussing this method of justice. How did this system help keep the peace for the locals? How did the natives maintain peace and order (they were also known not to steal from one another) if there was no threat of arrest or prison? Why was Hereward Palmer determined to introduce Western-style justice to Africa? How would a trial and prison have affected both Njombo and the tribe as a whole? Can there be different cultural approaches to justice? Or is justice black and white?

Essay Topic 3

The Huxleys encountered two "foreign" concepts in marriage during their stay in Africa--the notion of a "bride-price" paid to the prospective bride's family, and polygamy. Discuss how these two practices could have impacted the society in Thika. What would have been accomplished by Njombo paying a family for a bride? Why was he not allowed to marry her without sufficient goats to give? Did the woman appear to have any say in the matter? How did the multiple wives live? What were the European attitudes toward these practices?

(see the answer keys)

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