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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. From what country did the slave traders hail who sold Mustafa to Señor Dorantes?

2. Under what type of tree did the Castilians pile the 15 dead Indians who were killed at the battle of the Río Oscuro?

3. According to Mustafa's Uncle Omar, the Portuguese army that occupied Azemmur in Mustafa's youth and then took the city in the Battle of Azemmur numbered how many thousand men?

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

5. Many members of the expedition realized that they were hopelessly lost when they followed which natural feature "all the way to the ocean," but find "only a wide and shallow bay" (68)?

Short Essay Questions

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

2. Provide evidence for the conclusion that Mustafa at times willfully accepted blame for acts over which he had no control.

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

4. With what element of life did Mustafa become too entranced, causing him to eventually name it among the causes of his downfall?

5. How did Señor Ruíz come to lose an eye during the march toward Aute?

6. Who were the main leaders of the expedition to La Florida? Name one fact about each leader.

7. What element of the marriage between Dorotea and Bernardo Rodriguez does Mustafa name as the secret to its success?

8. Who is Estabanico and how does the narrator feel about the name?

9. 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"?

10. Which member of Mustafa's family died shortly before Mustafa sold himself into slavery to feed his family?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Examine the roles of Mustafa’s parents within The Moor's Account. How does Lalami use Mustafa’s discussion of his own parents’ roles to highlight themes included within the overall narrative?

Essay Topic 2

Discuss how and why Lalami instills three different humanist messages into the narrative of The Moor's Account.

Essay Topic 3

Choose an object from The Moor's Account, such as the tattoo, the standard, the scroll, or some other symbolic object and discuss its overall meaning and its connection to themes within the text.

(see the answer keys)

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