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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 type of questions do Okenwa's parents often ask him when he visits?

2. How does Okenwa imagine his father would have reacted to outlandish stories 15 years earlier?

3. What was Okenwa's father's profession before retirement?

4. What did Okenwa love more than books and other things his parents were passionate about when he was young?

5. What do the narrator's parents believe their neighbor's unusual vomiting experience was proof of?

Short Essay Questions

1. What does Okenwa imagine would be different if he did have a family, as his parents hoped? Why?

2. What was Okenwa passionate about, which he did not share with his parents? Who does he meet who shared this passion?

3. What does Okenwa's mother say had happened during a visit in Okenwa? Who did they know who was involved?

4. What did Okenwa's parents do for work?

5. What has changed about Okenwa's parents since retirement?

6. How did Okenwa feel about reading compared to his parents?

7. Where did Okenwa's parents meet? How did their parents feel about their union?

8. Why does Okenwa's mother think he would not remember Raphael?

9. What were Okenwa's parent's evenings at home like when Okenwa was young?

10. How did Okenwa feel about going to the staff club to play badminton with his parents?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Write a brief essay analyzing Adichie’s choice to write about Okenwa and Raphael's relationship in past tense. Do you agree with this choice? How would the story be different if written in a different tense?

Essay Topic 2

Discuss the theme of isolation and discuss how Okenwa's feelings of isolation impact the plot.

Essay Topic 3

Write an essay examining the symbolic significance of Raphael's room in "Apollo." Even after Okenwa and Raphael begin to spend time together, Okenwa never enters Raphael's room until he is sick. Analyze the scenes Okenwa spends in Raphael's room. What is the context? How does the setting of this room develop the narrative and themes?

(see the answer keys)

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