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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. Why do people hang ears of corn on ropes?

2. Where is the always present visitor located when Camara's father works with gold?

3. How did the special snake first appear to Camara's father?

4. Why doesn't Camara's family member want to get too far ahead of the rest of the reapers?

5. What does young Camara enjoy doing from the corner of the workshop?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why does Camara's father tell Camara the story about the special snake? What else does he suggest to Camara about the snake?

2. What do you know about Tindican? Where is it located, and how does Camara get there? What is special about the trip?

3. According to Camara, what do many people think about country people, and what is Camara's opinion about them?

4. How did Camara's father know about this specific task of gold work, and how did he prepare himself to execute the work?

5. What do the reapers do while they work on the fields, and how is their relationship?

6. Describe Camara's school clothes when he is a child. How does Camara feel about these clothes while in Tindican?

7. What does the praise-singer who acts as a middle man between the woman with the gold and Camara's father do in the workshop?

8. One day, Camara finds a little black snake with a strikingly marked body. What is special about this snake?

9. After the snake encounter, Camara finds it amusing to yell to his mother, "There's a snake!" How does his mother react when he yells like this?

10. How do Camara's mother's special powers manifest themselves as physical protection?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Chapter 2 of "The Dark Child" talks mainly about the gold work Camara's father performs. This gold work creates positive and negative reactions throughout the chapter. Compare/contrast the reactions of the chapter's characters in relation to the significance of the gold work. Use supporting evidence to discuss the different emotions towards the gold/gold work.

Essay Topic 2

Towards the last chapters of the book, the ocean plays an important role in Camara's life. What does the ocean symbolize? What happens at the ocean? How is love related to this theme? Why is the ocean special and different from what he knows? What does his love of the ocean foreshadow? How is the ocean important in the last chapter? Relate Camara's actions in chapter 12 to his aspirations in chapter 10.

Essay Topic 3

In chapter 9, Camara leaves home for Conakry. This is an important change in his life in relation to his environment, lifestyle and companions. Compare/contrast all these changes to his life before he turned fifteen.

(see the answer keys)

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