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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 John worry will happen if the people of his village find out his secret?

2. How does John respond when Wamuhu's mother asks him to sit and wait for Wamuhu?

3. What word does John "notice with bitterness" (61) he did not use when speaking to Wamuhu's mother?

4. What does Wamuhu's mother tell John Wamuhu will do when she gets back to the hut if he waits?

5. What is Wamuhu's mother "preoccupied" (62) with when her husband asks her why she thinks John came?

Short Essay Questions

1. Describe John's interaction with the old woman carrying a large load of Kuni he meets on his walk through the village?

2. In what ways is John said to be different than other educated boys who return to the village?

3. What does John do as he prepares to leave his hut without telling his parents?

4. How does John feel about the men and women he passes in the village as he walks alone to Wamuhu's hut?

5. What is Stanley's position on his son spending time with other girls?

6. How does John feel about his village as he walks alone just after leaving his parent's hut?

7. What does John's mother tell John when he returns to the hut after returning from the tea shop and why does this worry John?

8. What happens at the tea shop John goes to during his walk alone in the village and why?

9. Where is Wamuhu when John arrives at her hut? How does his mother behave toward John?

10. What does Wamuhu's father say after John leaves and his wife seems hopeful that John likes their daughter?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Discuss elements of the narrative structure; Exposition, conflict, complication, climax, resolution and conclusion. Do all the elements make for a logical and linear story? How does the story's structure express the story's themes?

Essay Topic 2

Pick a character from the story and discuss their goals and motives. Do they achieve their motive? Do they share similar goals and motives with other characters? Do their goals clash with other characters? How do the characters' goals and motives affect their interaction with each other?

Essay Topic 3

Write an essay analyzing Thiong'o's commentary on religion in "Meeting in the Dark." How is religion important to the story? How does it affect the narrative? Use textual evidence to explain your analysis.

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