5. Which is most important in a great fight, according to the Abazon elder: the sounding of the battle drum, the fierce waging of the war itself, or the telling of the story afterwards?

Short Essay Questions

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

2. What does their stay at Braimoh's house teach Chris and Beatrice about the way the poor live?

3. Compare Beatrice's religious attitudes with those of her maid, Agatha.

4. Interpret Chris's dying words, "the last green."

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

6. Why is Elewa angry with Ikem? Do you think she has a right to be angry?

7. 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?

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

9. Why is the President so angry with Ikem?

10. Why do most well-off city dwellers from Bassa never travel to the north of the country by bus?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

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?

Essay Topic 2

Write an essay about the use of West African Pidgin dialect in the dialogue.

1) Who uses the dialect? Why do some characters use it all the time while others switch back and forth?

2) What attitude is shown toward the dialect by various characters? For instance, consider how Ikem talks "deliberately over the head" of Elewa, and how Emmanuel speaks Pidgin to Adamma on the bus.