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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. Why is Agnes's husband gone from her for several years?

2. What does Matha steal from her father?

3. Who kills his own brother with a hunting knife?

4. Who marries Isa?

5. Where does Agnes move to?

Short Essay Questions

1. Who is Grace?

2. Who was Matha's schoolteacher?

3. What does Godfrey want to do with his life?

4. Who is Loveness?

5. What does Matha realize after she gives birth?

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

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

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

9. Who does Godfrey get pregnant?

10. What is special about Sibilla's hair?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Write an essay in which you examine the motif of mosquitoes. What function does the presence of mosquitoes serve in the novel, either narratively, figuratively, or both? What is the significance of mosquitoes in this story? Use evidence from the text to explain your thoughts.

Essay Topic 2

Write an essay in which you examine the occurrence of power cuts in Zambia toward the end of the novel, which takes place in the present day. What is the greater significance of these power cuts? Why are they happening, and who is having to suffer for them? Use evidence from the text to explain your thoughts.

Essay Topic 3

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.

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 517 words (approx. 2 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample