Chapters 1-2

Reading Check

1. Because, contrary to their previous beliefs, Europeans “were, with minor differences, exactly like them” (Chapter 1)

2. “[A]n uncircumcised infidel for a wife” (Chapter 1)

3. His birth certificate, Sudanese passport, and British passport (Chapter 1)

4. The opportunity to go to school (Chapter 2)

5. As “a European woman just like Mrs. Robinson, its arms embracing me, its perfume and the odour of its body filling my nostrils.” (Chapter 2)

6. A lecturer in Economics at London University (Chapter 2)

Short Answer

1. Mustafa is a recent transplant to the village from the city of Khartoum. The narrator notices him as someone who does not say much and is well-respected in the village. (Chapter 1)

2. During an evening of drinking, Mahjoub invites Mustafa to join them. Although he initially refuses to drink, the alcohol relaxes him, and he recites a poem in perfect English. The narrator is shocked and immediately confronts him at the party and the next day. The next day, Mustafa insists that the narrator did not take his words seriously. (

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