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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. When did Jacob lose his mother?

2. What does Lee research for many years?

3. Where does Mai say she works?

4. Who gets thrown into jail?

5. Who is Pepa?

Short Essay Questions

1. Who helps Naila and the boys carry out a secret mission?

2. Who falls out of a tree at the end of the chapter "Thandiwe"?

3. Who teaches Jacob to read?

4. Who is Salina?

5. Who are Pepa and Solo?

6. Who does Thandi meet on a flight?

7. What is "The Vulture"?

8. What does Agnes ask Joseph to help her find?

9. What does Thandi's husband spend the first few years of the new millenium doing?

10. Who comes to Matha's when Jacob was there?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Write an essay in which you examine the theme of money in the novel. What role does money play for families across generations? Choose one or two families or individuals in the novel and explore the function and significance of money in their lives. 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 racism and race relations in the novel, particularly as they pertain to the ongoing conflicts between native Zambians and white ex-pats throughout the novel. Use evidence from the text to explain your thoughts.

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 520 words (approx. 2 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample