Seven Daughters and Seven Sons

Seven Daughters and Seven Sons Name: _______________________



Reading Comprehension Questions – ANSWER KEY

Part One, Pages 39-79
1. Who is Gindar the Rayyis?
Gindar the Rayyis, also known as Gindar the Strict/Gindar the chief/Gindar the African, is the leader of the camel caravan across the desert.
2. What name does Buran take when she begins her life as a boy?
Buran takes the name “Nasir” when she begins her life as a boy.
3. Who is Jihha?
Jihha is the merchant who takes Buran/Nasir on as a servant in order for her to join the camel caravan. He is quite cruel to Buran throughout the journey.
4. What animal does Nasir find while hungry and crying the first night out of Baghdad? What does Nasir do with this animal?
Nasir finds a baby camel while she is hungry and crying the first night out of Baghdad. The baby camel approaches her looking for food. Nasir takes the baby camel to Gindar, thinking it must belong to him. While the baby camel does not belong to him, he takes the baby camel and ties it up to keep it from wandering the desert and being eaten by an animal.
5. How does Buran’s relationship with Jihha change throughout the course of the caravan?
At first, Jihha is extremely mean to Buran/Nasir. Jihha curses Nasir and beats Nasir. Jihha refuses to give Nasir any food because Jihha paid for Nasir’s place in the caravan, which was very expensive. As the journey goes on, Jihha realizes that Nasir is a very intelligent “boy” who learns things very quickly. Jihha begins to teach Nasir about being a merchant. While during the times they are traveling, Jihha continues to behave cruelly to Nasir, in the evenings when they stop, he begins to have many conversations with Nasir about being a merchant and how to be successful.
6. Why do you think Jihha agrees to teach Nasir?
Jihha agrees to teach Nasir “the ropes” of being a merchant because Nasir expresses an interest in learning what Jihha knows. Also, Nasir has a very good idea. Nasir wants to find something like rosewater to sell and make a lot of money. Nasir’s idea to find something that everyone must have, they just don’t know it yet leads Jihha to believe he can make a lot of money by financially backing Nasir in his endeavor. Making a lot of money with Nasir will make Selim the One-Eared very jealous which is appealing to Jihha.
7. At the end of the caravan Jihha agrees to back Nasir in a future business. What reason does he give for this?
Jihha agrees to back Nasir in a future business so that he can share in the profits and make Selim the One-Eared very jealous. Jihha knows that one cannot make a “decent living” without taking a few risks and Jihha is willing to take a risk on Nasir.
8. Who discovers the truth about Buran’s identity?
Gindar, apparently, has known about Buran’s identity/gender since the first moment she asked to join the camel caravan. However, Buran does not discover this until the end of the caravan when Gindar says that Buran has now become a man, “insofar as that’s possible”.
9. Why does he agree to keep this secret?
Gindar agrees to keep Buran’s identity/gender a secret because his mother is a black slave, stolen from a tribe south of the Sahara. Gindar’s father is an Arab trader whose name, his mother forgot and he never knew. Gindar had to make his own way in the world. Gindar believes that Buran is running away from some kind of slavery (cruel father, distasteful marriage, or cruel master). Gindar did not want to send Buran back to a slave’s existence.
10. At the end of Part One, in what city does Nasir begin his new life?
Nasir begins his new life in the coastal city of Tyre on the Mediterranean Sea.