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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. Where does Emenike meet Obinze in Chapter 29?

2. Where did Ifemelu meet Tendai?

3. Whose wedding has Ranyinudo just attended when she meets Ifemelu at the airport in Chapter 44?

4. How did Dike attempt suicide?

5. Where does Ranyinudo say guys buy houses after they've committed fraud in America and England in Chapter 44?

Short Essay Questions

1. What is foreshadowed through Obinze's and Ifemelu's correspondence in Chapter 42?

2. Why does the author employ flashbacks in Chapter 31? How do flashbacks enhance the reader's experience?

3. How is the motif of accents addressed by Ranyinudo in Part 7?

4. What is the root of Ifemelu's discomfort around Paula in the narrative?

5. What history do Obinze and Emenike have? What connects these characters?

6. How are the concepts of race and class in England and America compared in the narrative?

7. What connection does Ifemelu reach with Aisha in Chapter 41? What does this foreshadow?

8. Why does Ifemelu argue with the Haitian woman in Chapter 31?

9. How is Esther described in the narrative? What other characters in the novel does Esther resemble?

10. How does Emenike respond when Obinze requests to see him in London? Why?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Describe and analyze the character of Shan in the novel. How is Shan similar to and different from Ifemelu? What are Ifemelu’s first impressions of Shan? How does their relationship develop in the course of the novel?

Essay Topic 2

What propels Ifemelu’s decision to return to Nigeria? How do Americans in the narrative respond when they learn that Ifemelu is returning to her home country? Why? How does Ifemelu feel about her decision?

Essay Topic 3

Discuss the nonlinear nature of the narrative in Americanah. What storyline takes place in the present tense? How and why does the author employ flashbacks and flash-forwards in the telling of the story? How do you think the novel would differ if the events of the story were related in a linear timeline?

(see the answer keys)

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