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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. Once a particular character ordered that the Indians be locked in the storehouse, he called for what weapon to be brought to him?
(a) A sword.
(b) A knife.
(c) A garotte.
(d) A whip.

2. Under what type of tree did the Castilians pile the 15 dead Indians who were killed at the battle of the Río Oscuro?
(a) Olive.
(b) Cypress.
(c) Mango.
(d) Oak.

3. What crime did several men from the expedition commit once they had abducted young women from the mound?
(a) Theft.
(b) Murder.
(c) Rape.
(d) Assault.

4. With what ailment were the members of the expedition increasingly afflicted in Chapter 9: "The Story of Aute"?
(a) Rickets.
(b) Fever.
(c) Scurvy.
(d) Pneumonia.

5. What part of Mustafa's body did Señor Dorantes handle when he was deciding whether to purchase him as a slave?
(a) His arm.
(b) His ear.
(c) His ankle.
(d) His back.

Short Answer Questions

1. What sacrament were Mustafa and the other slaves given up upon their arrival in Seville?

2. What was the event that Mustafa names as having signaled the end of his family's happiness in Azemmur?

3. Mustafa recalls that "By the fifth day of the march to Aute," (122) how many men had to be transported by horse due to illness?

4. How many days did it take for the entire armada to disembark from their ships?

5. Mustafa begins his account by naming a particular year. For how many years had he been enslaved by this year's arrival?

Short Essay Questions

1. In what way does Lalami include the theme of invisibility in the Prologue of the novel?

2. In what way does the motif of water enter the story of Mustafa's birth, as related in Chapter 2: "The Story of My Birth"?

3. What major plot development involving "nearly thirty men" (127) occurs by the fifth day of the armada's march toward Aute?

4. What is the setting presented by Mustafa in Chapter 1: "The Story of La Florida"?

5. Mustafa's memory of being purchased by Señor Dorantes primarily involves which of the five senses? In what way?

6. How did Mustafa become a slave and how does Lalami go about revealing this information?

7. What are the reasons behind Mustafa's desire to record his own account of the expedition led by Senor Narvaez?

8. How old was Mustafa when his father first shared with him his plans for Mustafa's future career and what details did he share?

9. Name at least five "strange customs and unbearable rules" (114) required of slaves, according to Mustafa.

10. How did Mustafa react to his father's plans for Mustafa's future career?

(see the answer keys)

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