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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. Whom did Tilly contact about getting another dog for the Palmers?

2. What was the only common element in the different styles of traps built for leopards?

3. To what kind of fish did Elspeth compare the men lounging in the shade in the middle of the day?

4. What was Sammy's new wife's name?

5. What did Lettice say Hugh suffered from while she was away?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why did the Kikuyu distrust hyenas?

2. How did the Kikuyu and Masai differ in their approaches to hunting?

3. How did the Palmer's house differ from the Huxley's residence?

4. Why did Hereward express a willingness to die in a violent storm?

5. How did Ian justify the brutality of the Abyssinian leaders he encountered before coming to Africa?

6. How did Ian describe Ahmed's people (Somalis), whom he had lived among before coming to Africa?

7. What did Tilly think was the ultimate reason for the Europeans to be in Africa?

8. Why were the other adults so upset at Mr. Roos for trapping the leopard?

9. How did the Kikuyu deal with the suffering of animals?

10. Why did the District Commissioner find it difficult to keep locals out of the prison?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

After Njombo killed a man in a fight, he had to pay a blood price to the victim's family in the form of goats. Write an essay discussing this method of justice. How did this system help keep the peace for the locals? How did the natives maintain peace and order (they were also known not to steal from one another) if there was no threat of arrest or prison? Why was Hereward Palmer determined to introduce Western-style justice to Africa? How would a trial and prison have affected both Njombo and the tribe as a whole? Can there be different cultural approaches to justice? Or is justice black and white?

Essay Topic 2

Elspeth, despite her European heritage, sincerely believed that a charm would protect her duiker, Twinkle. In what ways did her belief illustrate how her upbringing was becoming essentially African? Why was she more open to the notion of protective charms than the adults around her? Was she doing a better job adapting to local traditions and belief-systems?

Essay Topic 3

Lettice Palmer appeared to change in personality following the death of Ian. Write an essay describing how his death affected her. Why did she tell Elspeth that Africa was a cruel place and that nobody cared? What did her future appear to be?

(see the answer keys)

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