2. When Matilda asks Jean about marrying Harry, what is Jean's first objection to Harry?
(a) His intellect.
(b) His looks.
(c) His poverty.
(d) His race.

3. What does Fitz claim he did when a former girlfriend suggested they get married?
(a) He hit her in the head.
(b) He told her he was already married.
(c) He broke up with her.
(d) He asked out her best friend.

4. What word do the characters use that hints at the French colonial history of Trinidad?
(a) Ouf.
(b) Oui.
(c) Mince.
(d) Merci.

5. What does Bat plan to do about the money missing from the house-buying fund?
(a) Tell everyone he was robbed.
(b) Borrow the money from Jean.
(c) Try to make it back by gambling.
(d) Work extra shifts to make it back.

Short Answer Questions

1. When Nobby says that his motto is not to interfere in another man's business, what question is he responding to?

2. When Jean is talking with Harry about her job, what job does she compare it to?

3. What does Battersby make himself for breakfast?

4. Which of Bat's friends is the narrator describing when he says "As if, by himself, he can't exist, life too big for him to tackle" (36)?

5. Which of his friends warns Bat to not get married?

Short Essay Questions

1. Describe Battersby's apartment.

2. What does the narrator say to his audience about his decision not to offer more details about Poor's appearance and origins?

3. What does Battersby mean when he tells Alfonso that the weather forecaster is talking about "depression and high pressure" and that these are "things the boys know about" (4)?

4. When Jean and Harry go out into the hallway to fix the fuse, what do they discuss?

5. Other than the money, what do the things that Battersby imagines the genie bringing him all have in common with one another, and what does this demonstrate about Battersby himself?

6. Describe the talent of Battersby's that the narrator talks about on pages 6 and 7.

7. What is ironic about the way Syl's West Indian origins were exposed to his landlord?

8. What observations does the narrator make about hidden ambition before telling the story of how Gallows came to England?

9. What is ironic about the story of Fitz's marriage?

10. How does Harry end up holding onto Poor's pack of cigarettes for him?

(see the answer keys)

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