God’s Bits of Wood

When Fa Keita is incarcerated under barbaric prison conditions, he suffers greatly due to his inability to pray properly. He attempts to do so when the prisoners are lined up in the yard. The sadistic Commandant hurls the old man into a barbed wire fence as punishment. What allusional imagery might the author be using in this scene?

As Bakayoko and the other marchers arrive in Dakar, an elderly woman, Grandmother Fatou Wade, waves her valuable waistcloth at the women and “spread it across the street in front of Mariame Sonko, who paused in astonishment” (213). What ancient ceremony was Fatou Wade imitating by doing this?

At the end of Chapter 20, Ad’jibid’ji tells her grandfather, Fa Keita, that she has determined the answer to her grandmother Niakoro’s question, “What is it that washes the water?” What answer does she give, and what is her rationale?

In Chapter 20, the workmen return to the railway station following negotiations with the union; however, they do not perform any actual work. What is the condition demanded by Lahbib that has not yet been fulfilled?

Consider railway manger Isnard’s statement in Chapter 14, when he says, “I don’t know what happened to me–I fired without knowing what I was doing” (165). What preceded Isnard firing his weapon, and what is the result of this?

Upon Bakayoko’s return home to reside with his traditional wife, Assitan, he directs her to avoid further physical work until she is not weakened by limited food intake, stating that she is “too weak for such work” (238). Assitan feels great gratification as a result of this direction. What change in Bakayoko’s worldview does this represent?

Upon Ramatoulaye’s arrest for having slaughtered the ram, the imam reproaches the women protesting in the police courtyard and then advises the police captain that he wants to “teach her a lesson” (125). How does the imam take advantage of Ramatoulaye’s inability to speak French, and what does he tell her she must do, prior to being released from custody?

Choose two of the main female characters in the story, (Ramatoulaye, Maimouna, Ad’jibid’ji, and Dieynaba) and trace the changes they experience as a result of the strike.