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This test consists of 5 multiple choice questions, 5 short answer questions, and 10 short essay questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. On page 3, what does the narrator note that Battersby finds strange about living in England?
(a) The prices.
(b) The traffic.
(c) The dialects.
(d) The weather.

2. When Poor realizes that Harry is feeling down because of Jean, what does Poor suggest?
(a) Harry should date Matilda to make Jean jealous.
(b) He will talk to Jean on Harry's behalf.
(c) Harry should be more straightforward with Jean.
(d) He can fix Harry up with an English woman.

3. Which of his friends warns Bat to not get married?
(a) Alfy.
(b) Fitz.
(c) Poor.
(d) Nobby.

4. What reason does Nobby give for thinking that Harry will not be able to make a success of his singing career?
(a) He is Black.
(b) He is easy to manipulate.
(c) He is not talented.
(d) He sings the wrong kind of music.

5. What is Battersby's sister irritated about when she comes downstairs to where Battersby's friends have gathered?
(a) They have made a mess.
(b) They are smoking marijuana.
(c) They are all hitting on Matilda.
(d) They did not include her in their plans.

Short Answer Questions

1. What does Battersby make himself for breakfast?

2. Why does Gallows go to the market one Saturday afternoon?

3. What do Harry and Jean agree that Bat and his friends all lack?

4. What time does Battersby usually wake up to get ready for work?

5. What word do the male characters often use to refer to a woman?

Short Essay Questions

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

2. When the novel opens, what is Battersby doing?

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

4. What number does Bat imagine giving his apartment, and why is this important to him?

5. How does the sentence "I mean, you think it have a lot of obeah and black magic in the West Indies, but if you listen to some of these Nordics" illustrate the unusual aspects of this book's narrative voice?

6. Describe Matilda's conflicting thoughts about Jean's being a sex worker.

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

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

9. Describe the woman that Gallows depended on for food and a place to live when he first came to London.

10. What is ironic about the conversation that Alfy, Nobby, and Syl have about Harry's banjo, and what does this conversation reveal about the men?

(see the answer keys)

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