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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. Of Odili, Chief Nanga, and Elsie, who goes to bed first after dinner at Chief Nanga's house?

2. To what room in Chief Nanga's house are Elsie's bags taken?

3. Who heckles Maxwell during his speech in Chapter 12?

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

5. When does Odili plan to see Edna again after his embarrassing accident?

Short Essay Questions

1. What is the general tone of Mrs. Nanga in her first conversation with Odili's while in Anata, and why is that the tone?

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

3. What sort of reception does Odili's political campaign receive in Anata?

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

5. What sort of abuses of power does Chief Nanga exercise in his campaign?

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

7. Describe the situation with Chief Nanga and the editor of the Daily Matchet, including its significance.

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

9. Why is Couple's heckling of Maxwell effective?

10. How does Odili interpret Edna's letter?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

What start as separate, if related, threads in the story -- revenge, politics and love -- become entangled in Odili's life. Discuss the entanglement of these various threads and explain how an action toward any one goal ends up affecting the others.

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

In Chapter 9, Timothy, the Christian carpenter, says that "Josiah has taken away enough for the owner to notice." Examine the relevance of this statement to the story. How is it shown to be true in Anata? Is it true in the country as a whole? Why is it noticed differently in a small village than in the whole country? Does this imply anything about large-scale democracy, and if so, what?

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