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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. Who is supposed to make an important appearance later in the evening?

2. Which of the following actions is NOT being performed at the beginning of the play?

3. Elesin's love and appreciation for life is ________________ for his community.

4. What drives the action in the Yoruban world?

5. Where does Pilkings instruct Amusa to lock Elesin up in Act 1, Scene 2?

Short Essay Questions

1. How is foreshadowing present in the opening scene of the play?

2. Explain the differences in the actual incident in Nigeria and the story that Soyinka sets, in "Death and the King's Horseman".

3. What does Olunde tell Pilkings about stopping the death of his father, Elesin?

4. How does Olunde react when he sees Jane in the ancestral mask?

5. What are the fears that rule Amusa's character? Which of the two is greater?

6. Who is Amusa and what is his role?

7. Why does Pilkings believe that Elesin is upset while he is locked in the cellar in Act 1, Scene 5?

8. Explain the scene of the "Not-I" dance.

9. How does Elesin react to Olunde's death?

10. What does Elesin confess when Pilkings leaves his cell in Act 1, Scene 5? To whom does he confess this?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

How might the meaning of the story change, had the author only stated that the British involvement was crucial to the plot?

Essay Topic 2

How does Elesin explain his failure to complete his transition? How do God and intervention relate to one another in this respect?

Essay Topic 3

How does self-sacrifice relate to this story? What can be inferred about the views on self-sacrifice between the two cultures?

(see the answer keys)

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