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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. What does Odo call Odili's new car?

2. How do the people treat Josiah after the incident at the bar?

3. After the political turmoil begins, with how much money does Odili return to Anata?

4. Why has the crowd gathered in Anata when Odili returns from Bori?

5. Why does Odili not want to launch the local campaign at his father's house?

Short Essay Questions

1. How does Odili initially interpret Chief Nanga's order to move Elsie's bags into his absent wife's room?

2. What worries Odili about owning a car and having a position of some prestige?

3. What is the confusion about why Couple is put in jail?

4. How does Odili react to discovering that Elsie is sleeping with Chief Nanga?

5. Describe the first impression given of Odo, Edna's father.

6. Why do Boniface and the other bodyguards want 25 pounds, and why does Odili object?

7. What is the significance of the poem Maxwell wrote seven years ago?

8. What characterizes Odili's arrival at his friend Maxwell's apartment?

9. What seems to be the likely reason that Edna becomes angry with Odili in Chapter 12?

10. What is Odili's concern about the founding of the new political party?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

The CPC announces that it must avoid being branded communist. Why does it want to avoid such? What ideals does it nonetheless hold? What names are mentioned in members' conversations? Do such ideals seem a practical resolution to the problems facing Nigeria? Why or why not?

Essay Topic 2

At the end of Chapter 3, Odili briefly reflects on the selfishness of the new government in hoarding the leftover riches and treasures of the British government. Some critics, he states, think that because these individuals have so quickly risen to affluence, they would be more willing to give it up quickly. Why is this critical statement entirely untrue? What is it about human nature that makes people less willing to give up that which they have just received? How is this demonstrated through actions in the story?

Essay Topic 3

As the chief protagonist and narrator of the story, Odili undergoes dramatic changes throughout the narrative, but as he is the one describing them, he does not explicitly state them. Trace the outline of Odili's character development and changes, being sure to answer the following questions:

1) In what regard does Odili primarily change?

2) In what ways does Odili seem to change, but ONLY seem?

3) What other characters and events have the biggest influence on Odili's changes?

(see the answer keys)

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