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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 happened to the narrator while he looked around in the triangular room?

2. What did the narrator tell his friend Mahjoub about in Khartoum?

3. What did the narrator decide to do when he gets caught in something?

4. What did the narrator do with the door of the triangular room when leaving?

5. What did the narrator do with his thoughts of Mustafa and Hosna when he leaves the triangular room?

Short Essay Questions

1. How does the narrator relate Jean Morris to Hosna?

2. Who met the narrator when he arrives by steamer, not too long after he had left, and what do they talk about?

3. What did the narrator do when he approaches the triangular room?

4. What were all the things that are tangled up, according to the narrator?

5. What did the narrator tell Hosna about marriage and how did she react to this?

6. Mahjoub and the narrator have a short conversation about Khartoum. What did they talk about? What did the narrator not talk about?

7. How does the narrator learn what happened to Hosna and Wad?

8. How did the busy day of driving end for the narrator and his driver?

9. What do you know about the character Mahjoub?

10. Who are Mustafa's children and what is the narrator's relationship with them?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

In pages 45-60, an important event is talked about. Describe the event. What do you learn about the river? What's its name? How frequent does an event like this happen? Why is it called legendary? Why is the event important for the plot of the book? How do you relate this event to the character of Mustafa? How do you relate it to the character of the narrator? What do you think happened to Mustafa? Why?

Essay Topic 2

Mustafa's widow Hosna and Wad Reyyes become a part of each other's lives. Describe their history together and how this influences other people. How do they become involved? Why? What does Wad want? What does Hosna want? What happens to the two people? What is their dramatic end a result from? How do the villagers react to the events? How does the narrator feel about the events? How does Mahjoub feel about the event? How does this event change the relationship between the narrator and his friend Mahjoub? Why does the narrator feel he indirectly killed Hosna?

Essay Topic 3

Foreshadowing is used when the narrator visits Mustafa's widow and they talk. What is being said that will influence Hosna's future? Where is the foreshadowing being used? What does foreshadowing mean? Explain this principle with the example about Hosna in the book. Are there other cases of foreshadowing used by the author? If so, give a few more examples.

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 1,111 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample