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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. What do Mai Manyanga's sons discuss among themselves in Chapter 4?

2. What does Tambu notice about her new mattress in Chapter 4?

3. What kind of creature does Tambu imagine herself as in the mirror in Chapter 1?

4. Which patient at the mental health institution says terribly racist things to the nurses?

5. What does the woman who knocks on Tambu's window in Chapter 6 end up doing?

Short Essay Questions

1. What plan does Tambu hatch concerning Mai Manyanga's sons when she sees them visit the widow in Chapter 4?

2. What is Tambu's reaction to Mako's distress in Chapter 5?

3. What kind of animal does Tambu envision when she arrives in the mental health institution in Chapter 9?

4. What do Christine and Aunt Lucia come to help Nyasha with in Chapter 12, that Tambu also gets drafted into helping with?

5. What kind of creature does Tambu routinely find herself brushing off of herself in moments of tension or irritation?

6. Why is Mako so upset in Chapter 5?

7. Who does Tambu think she sees in the club in Chapter 7 and why does she react so belligerently to this idea?

8. What does Nyasha urge Tambu to do for her own good towards the end of Chapter 11?

9. What does the hostel matron, Mrs. May, try to help Tambu with in Chapter 1 and why?

10. What happens when the two men find Tambu passed out at the bus stop in Chapter 8?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Why does Tambu seem to idolize European fashion, people, and customs? Write an essay explaining your answer.

Essay Topic 2

Write an essay analyzing why you think Dangarembga chooses to narrate the novel in the second-person, and what effect this choice has on the reader's understanding of Tambu's character.

Essay Topic 3

Write an essay analyzing how Mai Taka's experiences with her husband, Silence, represent women's plight in Zimbabwe. When Silence takes Mai Taka's son away from her, why does she not feel as if she can fight to get him back?

(see the answer keys)

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