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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. How do the soldiers respond when Tanus orders them to put on the dresses of slave girls?

2. Who is Kratas?

3. What is Pharaoh's primary concern for the future of his kingdom?

4. Pharaoh's palace is in the southernmost part of Egypt. What reason do some people give for this?

5. Tanus is nicknamed Akh-Horus. What does this name mean?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why is Taita angered when he sees Lord Intef in Thebes? What does this reveal to the reader about Taita's character?

2. Explain Tanus's bow Lanata. How does this story about the weapon reveal Tanus's character?

3. When Taita disguises himself as a priest so that he is not recognized in his native city Thebes, how is he treated? What does this say about the Egyptian people's attitude toward their religion? What does this say about the priests' ethics?

4. What does Taita learn from his friend Tiamat about the Shrikes? How does this explain the destitution of Egypt and the weakness of Pharaoh?

5. When the people cry out to Pharaoh to give Tanus mercy from the death sentence, what does Pharaoh do? What leads to this decision? Does it show Pharaoh's mercy or his weakness?

6. What is the significance in the fact that Tanus is nicknamed Akh-Horus? Is it important that Hui, a boy who defected from the Shrikes in exchange for his life, gives him this name?

7. What will be the crowning moment of Pharaoh's life? What is Taita's reaction to this moment and how does the reaction seem contrary to Egyptian thought?

8. What condition is Tanus in when Taita finally finds him? How is this condition similar to Lostris's desire for death on her wedding night? How is Taita able to save Tanus in much the same way he saved Lostris?

9. In the days leading up to Lostris's wedding, Taita is not allowed to go near her. Even during the wedding ceremony, he stands at the back of the crowd and cannot see much. What is the literary significance of Taita's inability to see Lostris? How does this relate to Smith's silence about Tanus's reaction?

10. What account does Taita give of the girl he loved when he was sixteen? How does his telling of it, half his lifetime later, show the changes he has gone through? Is he more cynical or more understanding of what happened?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

What role does Rasfer play in the novel? To what extent is he the obvious incarnation of Lord Intef's evil thoughts? What is Rasfer's role in Taita's life? Does Taita, in the end, forgive him?

Essay Topic 2

Is there justice in the fact that Tanus and Pharaoh are buried in each other's tombs? Is it fitting that Tanus's body was honored like a king? How is it fitting that Taita organizes and carries out this scheme? Is his loyalty true or misplaced?

Essay Topic 3

What value of the story comes in its historical background? Does the story become any richer or more plausible because of the history? How might you read the novel if you knew it was completely fictional?

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