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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. Whom does Beatrice sometimes feel like while in bed with Chris?

2. What happens when Ikem goes to complain about the police constable's conduct?

3. What is the name of Chris's girlfriend?

4. At the end of Chapter 8, what does Chris say he won't do?

5. On what pretext does a police constable detain Ikem as he leaves the meeting at the end of Chapter 9?

Short Essay Questions

1. What does Ikem mean when he says it is a writer's job to give headaches and not prescriptions? Do you agree with this statement?

2. According to Chris, why does Ikem resent him so much?

3. What message about women is portrayed in the African folk tale about why the sky is far away from the earth?

4. What do the cab drivers think of Ikem?

5. What does Beatrice help Ikem to realize about women?

6. Explain the meaning of the poem "Africa" by David Diop, which appears at the beginning of Chapter 10.

7. Why does Ikem feel exhilarated after his meeting with the taxi drivers?

8. What is happening outside the Presidential Palace in Chapter 1?

9. How, according to Ikem, do working-class people expect their leaders to live?

10. Explain the purpose of Mad Medico's graffiti.

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Ikem says that "Writers don't give prescriptions, they give headaches."

1) Discuss what he means by this statement and tell whether you agree. Should writers provide solutions to the social problems they see, or is it their duty to simply bring these problems to light?

2) How does Ikem create "headaches" throughout the novel?

3) Do Ikem's headaches ever lead to solutions? If so, how?

Essay Topic 2

Discuss the idea of storytelling as a powerful tool.

1) Why, according to the Abazon elder, is the story of the battle more important than the battle itself?

2) Why, according to Ikem, are storytellers the enemies of tyrants?

3) How do Ikem's stories threaten the President? What change is he able to effect through them?

Essay Topic 3

Write an essay about lies and dishonesty in Anthills of the Savannah.

1) What lies are told to the Abazonians regarding the President's bid to become dictator-for-life, as told by the Abazon elder in Chapter 9?

2) What lies are told about Ikem and the circumstances surrounding his death?

3) What lies are told about the President's disappearance?

(see the answer keys)

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