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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 physical characteristic does Mustafa NOT attribute to Señor Narváez in his account?

2. Mustafa states in the Prologue that he "intends to correct details of the history that was compiled by" what number of his companions?

3. From what country do Mustafa's so-called "companions" (3) hail, whose accounts he says he "intends to correct" (3)?

4. What trope does Mustafa mention in relation to the Indian women's mournful voices decrying the rapes of their community members?

5. How many Castilians were killed in the Battle of the Río Oscuro depicted in Chapter 3: "The Story of the Illusion"?

Short Essay Questions

1. In what way did Mustafa again undergo a name change when he was purchased by Señor Dorantes? What significance does he now find in this change?

2. What major plot development involving "nearly thirty men" (127) occurs by the fifth day of the armada's march toward Aute?

3. What change occurred in the personality of Mustafa's father and what caused the change?

4. Provide evidence for the conclusion that Mustafa at times willfully accepted blame for acts over which he had no control.

5. How did Señor Ruíz come to lose an eye during the march toward Aute?

6. How did Mustafa become a slave and how does Lalami go about revealing this information?

7. In what way does Lalami depict the theme of family bonds within Chapter 5: "The Story of the March"?

8. What does the caftan symbolize within Chapter 4: "The Story of Aemmur"?

9. With what element of life did Mustafa become too entranced, causing him to eventually name it among the causes of his downfall?

10. How old was Mustafa when his father first shared with him his plans for Mustafa's future career and what details did he share?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Discuss Lalami’s use of the motif of sound within the novel The Moor's Account.

Essay Topic 2

Discuss the messages sent about the theme of appearance versus reality within The Moor's Account.

Essay Topic 3

Examine Lalami’s use of characterization methods to portray a number of real people within her novel The Moor's Account. What effects do these characterization methods have on the work's inherent themes and messages?

(see the answer keys)

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