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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. After many years of silence, Brown received a message from his mother. What did the message say?

2. Angel is introduced in Part 1, Chapter 2. Who is he?

3. Why does Jones hurry Brown and Smith out of his cell?

4. What was striking about the countess's hair?

5. When Mr. Smith and Brown unexpectedly meet again in Santo Domingo, what does Mr. Smith offer?

Short Essay Questions

1. In Chapter 1 of Part 1, Brown and Jones meet as Jones is attempting to bribe the steward to switch their rooms. How is this first scene indicative of Jones's character?

2. After visiting Martha and her husband at the embassy, what drives Brown to Mere Catherine's? Is he satisfied there?

3. From the conversation with his mother, what does Brown learn about his father? How is this knowledge in keeping with the family dynamic?

4. In Part 1, Chapter 5, Brown notes that he cannot remember Martha's voice, though he can picture her handwriting. What clue does this give the reader about their relationship?

5. After Philipot's body is removed from the pool, Joseph cleans the pool so Mr. Smith can swim. Mr. Smith passes very close to where the body had crouched, and Brown cringes to think of the two scenarios. How is this, in a succinct fashion, an indication of the story?

6. Doctor Magiot is willing to help Brown plan an escape for Jones as well as maintain a facade of caring for Jones in order to explain his absence from public life. Why are these two men willing to take such risk? What does it say about their character?

7. Brown does not give a definition of the Tonton Macoutes until Part 3, Chapter 4. How does this reinforce to the reader what the characters experienced?

8. Brown worries that Martha enjoys Jones's company, especially when she says it is because he makes the family laugh. Why is Brown so concerned? Does he feel that his relationship with Martha is threatened because of Jones?

9. In his mother's desk, Brown finds a disk which Doctor Magiot recognizes as a medal of the resistance. What does this reveal about his mother?

10. When Brown first mentions his hotel to the passengers aboard the Medea, he shows them bright postcards of bikini-clad girls and jazz drummers. Does this present Brown as an optimist or a pessimist? What do the postcards tell the reader about his character?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

The new Secretary for Social Welfare is the only government official who has any real part in the novel. Examine his character traits as presented by Brown in his conversation and actions. How does his character reflect the whole government? How is he a representative of Papa Doc? Is his official title hopeful or ironic?

Essay Topic 2

Examine the use of light as a literary device. How many scenes occur in the dusk or dark? How much of Brown's life specifically occurs at these times? What does this say about him? Why might the author choose to place him in the darkness? How does this set the tone of the book?

Essay Topic 3

Compare and contrast the times Brown is held at gunpoint by Captain Concasseur. What does he have to lose? Why does he react differently? How is the captain's attitude different? What are their roles in both scenes? For example, in the second incident, Brown notes that a person would not hesitate to shoot someone he sees as worthless.

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