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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 Ifemelu take Dike for his birthday in Chapter 43?

2. Where does Dike tell Ifemelu she should go in the end of Chapter 43?

3. What beverage does Ranyinudo offer to Ifelemu when she first comes over to her apartment in Chapter 44?

4. Who comes to meet Obinze in Lagos when he is deported from England?

5. Where does Boubacar work as a professor?

Short Essay Questions

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

2. How are Obinze's emotions revealed through his actions in Chapter 42?

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

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

5. What does the bookstore symbolize in Chapter 27?

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

7. What are Ifemelu's present circumstances like in Chapter 43? Where is she staying?

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

9. What ideas are addressed regarding African immigration at Emenike's dinner party?

10. What foreshadowing can be seen in Ifemelu's relationship with Blaine in Chapter 36?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Discuss gender roles and expectations in Nigeria and America. How do perceptions of women and men differ in America from in Nigeria? How are these perceptions illustrated through Ifemelu’s experiences in each country? Discuss examples of relationships between men and women in the novel and how these relationships are shaped by the culture and history where they develop.

Essay Topic 2

Discuss hair as a metaphor and symbol in Americanah. What does Ifemelu’s hair mean to her? How is the protagonist’s hair reflective of the changes that she undergoes in the narrative? Where does this symbol originate for Ifemelu? How does she emerge as an individual through her discussions of African hair?

Essay Topic 3

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?

(see the answer keys)

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