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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 Matha's mother?

2. Who gets sent to prison?

3. Who gets beaten in front of Matha?

4. Who marries Balaji?

5. Who is Godfrey?

Short Essay Questions

1. Who finds Jacob and his friends when their mothers worry that they are missing?

2. Where does Adrianna take Sibilla to live?

3. Who is Loveness?

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

5. Who is Percy M. Clark?

6. What is special about Sibilla's hair?

7. Who was Matha's schoolteacher?

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

9. Why does Edward Mukuka Nkoloso get sent to prison?

10. Who kidnaps Sylvia?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

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.

Essay Topic 2

Write an essay in which you examine Edward Mukuka Nkoloso's impact on Matha. In what ways does his presence in her life both hinder her and benefit her? How does his radical personal end up having a life-long effect on her? Use evidence from the text to explain your thoughts.

Essay Topic 3

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.

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This section contains 503 words (approx. 2 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample