So Long a Letter

Reading Check and Short Answer Questions on key points are designed for guided reading assignments, in-class review, formative assessment, quizzes, and more.

CHAPTERS 1-12

Reading Check

1. What is “the moment dreaded by every Senegalese woman”?

2. What is the purpose of recording the money that people give at the funeral?

3. According to Rama’s mother, what is “the sign of the primacy of sensuality in the individual”?

4. What is the profession of Aissatou’s father?

5. Rama notes that “[i]t was the privilege of our generation to be the link between two periods in our history” (Chapter 10). What are these two periods?

6. What does Aunty Nabou teach Nabou “the first quality in a woman” is?

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. Describe the beginning of Rama’s letter. To whom is she writing? What significant event has just happened in Rama’s life?

2. What does Rama learn about her husband regarding his finances?

3. How does Rama describe her earliest interactions with her soon-to-be husband? What is the perception of their relationship by family members?

4. Summarize Rama’s account of Aissatou’s marriage. Why were many members of the community against the union?

5. Summarize Rama’s description of her early marital years.