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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. Who is Loveness?

2. Who disapproves of Isa's behavior?

3. What kind of shop does Sylvia open?

4. Who is Carolyn?

5. Where is the narrator from?

Short Essay Questions

1. Who cries a lot?

2. Who does Isabella marry?

3. Who is Adrianna, and what does she do?

4. Why is Ronald gone from Africa for five years while Agnes is there?

5. Why does Agnes stop playing tennis for a while?

6. What does Isabella fight with her husband about after their marriage?

7. Why does Isabella reluctant to have more children after the first one?

8. Where does Adrianna take Sibilla to live?

9. What is special about Sibilla's hair?

10. Who is Grace?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Write an essay in which you examine the various discourse surrounding politics in the novel. Various political beliefs, ideologies, and groups are discussed, some at length, throughout the novel. Choose one topic of political discussion (capitalism, Marxism, communism, neoliberalism, democracy, etc.) and examine how it is discussed, challenged, interrogated, or supported within the novel. Use evidence from the text to explain your thoughts.

Essay Topic 2

Write an essay in which you examine the concept of land/land ownership in the novel, particularly as it pertains to settler colonialism in Africa throughout the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. In what ways does this issue present itself in the novel, and how does the novel's characters interact with or interrogate this concept? Use evidence from the text to explain your thoughts.

Essay Topic 3

Write an essay in which you examine the significance of hair in the novel. Why is hair important for several characters, and across several generations? What function does hair serve in the novel, narratively and figuratively? Use evidence from the text to explain your thoughts.

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 518 words (approx. 2 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample