GENERAL KNOWLEDGE-READING HOMEWORK
THE AUTHOR
V.S. NAIPAUL
What other name did Bogart go by?
Patience
What was Popo always making?
The thing without a name
Provide an example of Man vs Man conflict in this story.
Man-Man vs the cafe owner (The cafe owner ran Man-Man for barking and growling at customers; Man Man got revenge by leaving breaking in and leaving feces on the stools)
THE INSIDERS
HAT, BOYEE AND ERROL
Bogart made a pretence of living by_______________
Tailoring
Name two ways Man Man was able to profit from the people on Miguel Street.
1. Using his dog to leave droppings on people's clothes that were put out to be soaked overnight
2. Pretending to be the messiah
THE SETTING (TIME AND PLACE)
TRINIDAD; 1940s
What had impressed Hat about Bogart?
He had started playing cards as soon as he settled in on Miguel Street.
State ONE reason (unmentioned, if applicable) Popo was not accepted among the men on Miguel Street.
He was a "man-woman-not a proper man"; He was conceited in the eyes of Hat.
Where did Man Man go to be stoned?
Blue Basin
What point of view was the story told from and whose POV?
First person POV; the boy on the street
Where did Bogart claim to go and what activities did he say he was involved in?
British Guiana; he got a job on a ship there
OR
Cowboy on the Rupununi
OR Brazil to Georgetown where he ran the best brothel
What was the calypso song mentioned in the story about?
Popo going to Arima to beat up the gardener for Emelda, his wife.
How was the illusion that he was the messiah broken?
He started cursing the people for stoning him and requested that they untie him.
THE TWO PRINCIPAL CHARACTERS ON THE STREET?
HAT AND THE BOY NARRATOR WHO ARE EVER PRESENT
For what did Bogart get arrested? Provide details of what he did, based on this charge.
Bigamy; He left his first wife who couldn't have children then got a girl pregnant in Caroni and had to marry her.
For how long did Popo go to jail? How would you describe the people's attitude toward him on his return?
1. Nine months
2. He became the street hero/they accepted him
How did the people on Miguel Street demonstrate that they had bought into the illusion of Man Man being the messiah?
Men dressed in black, women in white and were singing hymns. They participated in the stoning of Man-Man.