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This test consists of 15 multiple choice questions and 5 short answer questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What special category did Bessie see her writing in?
(a) Blazing a new trail into the future.
(b) Black woman with her own style.
(c) South African telling a South African story.
(d) Sufferer exposing the truth.

2. What did the British bring to South Africa, which aided women as food producers?
(a) Sheep.
(b) Chickens.
(c) Shovels.
(d) Iron hand-plough.

3. What writer does Bessie quote in "Social and political pressures . . ."?
(a) Ernest Hemmingway.
(b) Gabriel Garcia Marquez.
(c) Mark Twain.
(d) Harriet Beecher Stowe.

4. What did Bessie feel defeated her in South Africa as a writer?
(a) Religion.
(b) Mental illness.
(c) The environment.
(d) Anger.

5. Bessie describes Botswana men as what?
(a) Not nice.
(b) Immature.
(c) Unattractive.
(d) Unmotivated.

6. In "Despite broken bondage . . .," in the old days a woman was only regarded as sacred if she what?
(a) Owned cattle.
(b) Knew her place.
(c) Was a virgin.
(d) Was an elder.

7. Bessie views the author, Pasternak, as the liberator of what?
(a) Russia.
(b) Emotions.
(c) Children.
(d) Passion.

8. In Chapter2, how does Bessie describe her third novel, "A Question of Power"?
(a) Intensely personal and private.
(b) The most satisfying.
(c) Difficult to write.
(d) A work of excruciating detail.

9. What does Bessie state was totally absent in her?
(a) Empathy.
(b) Political fervor.
(c) Sense of history.
(d) Sense of belonging.

10. Bessie says that people in Botswana lead very what lives?
(a) Secure.
(b) Rebellious.
(c) Unassuming.
(d) Quiet.

11. In "Notes on novels," Bessie states that wealth and privilege are dependent on what?
(a) Current economic conditions.
(b) Determination and lack of compassion for others.
(c) Poverty and distress of others.
(d) Governing powers.

12. In Chapter 2, Bessie states that Botswana has survived by what?
(a) The grace of God.
(b) Lack of violence.
(c) Sheer luck.
(d) Having few whites.

13. In "African religions," Bessie states that African religion doesn't receive value because they don't have what?
(a) Money for recruiting followers.
(b) Deity figurines to worship.
(c) Ornate houses of worship.
(d) Large congregations.

14. In Chapter 2, what did the British go to Rhodesia to find?
(a) Work.
(b) Schooling.
(c) Relaxation.
(d) Gold.

15. What year was the old British Bechuanaland Protectorate established in Botswana?
(a) 1860.
(b) 1885.
(c) 1890.
(d) 1901.

Short Answer Questions

1. In old African custom, what were women forbidden to handle?

2. In 1968, where was Bessie told that South African literature wasn't very popular?

3. In Chapter 2, Bessie states that the South African blacks have been stripped bare of what?

4. How did the British refer to Botswana in the early 1800's?

5. In Chapter 2, what does Bessie state is responsible for the elimination of polygamy in Botswana?

(see the answer keys)

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