View a FREE sample

This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. Why does Camara feel self-conscious in his school clothes while in Tindican?

2. What did Camara and his apprentice friend talk about?

3. What kind of food do the women bring the reapers at noon?

4. Why do all the apprentices and workers in the blacksmith shop turn their attention to the production of the trinket?

5. Why does Camara's father tell this story to his son?

Short Essay Questions

1. Describe the initial relationship between Camara and Fanta?

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

3. What is the result of years of abuse for the school children?

4. Describe the behavior of Camara's school teacher in the French school he attended as a child.

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

6. When Camara is a child, what are the sleeping arrangements for his family in Kouroussa?

7. Why does Camara's father always do the gold work himself, never leaving it to the apprentices or other workers?

8. Where are Camara's parents' huts located, and what are the consequences of living in that location?

9. When does young Camara find his friends in Tindican, and what do they do?

10. While he was growing up, what were the rules during meals in Camara's parents' household?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

How does Camara get treated by his grandmother when he visits her in Tindican? Describe her affection and routines towards Camara. How does Camara react to this treatment? What does his grandmother's behavior tell you about their relationship? Compare/contrast Camara's grandmother's behavior towards him throughout the book. Does it change? How does it evolve?

Essay Topic 2

In chapter 3 Camara's school clothes are a theme worth discussing. Why? How do they look? Why does this cause friction for Camara. Why is this difference with his friends so important for the plot? Are these clothes an issue in Kouroussa? Why? Why not? Explore this theme with supporting evidence provided in this chapter.

Essay Topic 3

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.

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 1,190 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample