Exam questions jeffrey archer short stories

1. What sort of person was Ignatius Agarbi? What project did he undertake?

Ignatius Agarbi was Nigeria’s Minister of Finance, the seventeenth person to hold the position in seventeen years. Ignatius' personality was shown from several angles in the story.

His decisiveness could be seen in his swift and immediate "clean-up" within the state financial system. He was resolute in his opposition to corruption and graft. Besides, he was undoubtedly ambitious. An ordinary man would hardly be able to hold the post of finance minister. However, Ignatius later reveals himself as a negative character, all the while only hiding his cunning and meanness under a mask of virtue. Moreover, he was ready to do anything—even put a gun to the head banker of a Swiss bank, just to make sure that the bank was reliable.

the country is losing millions through bribes to foreign governments. Ignatius sets off for Switzerland because he thinks a large amount of money is in personal accounts in Swiss banks. He comes to find out the names of private clients from Nigeria, but despite peaceful attempts and then threats of sanctions, the bankers do not agree to tell them the names. Then Ignatius threatens them with a gun and after another refusal asks how he can open an account with this bank. Ignatius, who was actually extremely corrupt, was only checking to find out if the Swiss Banks would actually reveal the name of an account holder. Delighted with their secrecy, Ignatius invested nearly $5 million in cash which he had skimmed during his period as Financial Minister.

2. What dilemma did Mark Hapgood face, and how did he solve it?

All of Mark's friends were working at the factory and receiving good money, so Mark wanted to do the same after his graduation. The opportunity to work as a schoolmaster after university didn't sound pretty to him. That was the first dilemma that Mark Hapgood faced: either going to university and then becoming a teacher with a low salary or working at the factory with his friends, besides getting a lot of money. However, his father was against this decision and sent him to a hotel to work there for a year, and if he made it through, he would be able to work at the factory. So, Mark accepted this bet. Then, in that hotel, Mark found out that he was extremely skilled at cooking, and the chef of the restaurant wanted to be his mentor as he saw great potential in Mark. But now that the year was over, Mark could go home and start working at the factory. And there was the second dilemma: Mark could stay with a very experienced, highly qualified chef who could teach Mark everything he knew, help Mark develop into a brilliant cook, or he could return home to work with his friends. Both options were fairly good in comparison to one another, but Mark fell in love with cooking, he liked his mentor, and, moreover, he could get two or even three times more money in a restaurant than at the factory. Besides, his future would be filled with great perspectives and, maybe, even fame. He came to understand that he genuinely loved it and that his father would be proud of his decision.