View a FREE sample

This quiz consists of 5 multiple choice and 5 short answer questions through Chapter 1 (Parts IV-V): "The Language of African Literature" .

Multiple Choice Questions

1. Who wrote King Solomon's Mines?
(a) Sir H. Rider Haggard.
(b) Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel.
(c) Gabriel Okara.
(d) Martin Carter.

2. In Chapter 1, Part IV, the author states that "Language, any language, has a dual character: it is both a means of communication and" what (13)?
(a) "A product of necessity."
(b) "A carrier of history."
(c) "A symbol of unity."
(d) "A carrier of culture."

3. What does the word "axiomatic" mean, as used in Chapter 1, Part I?
(a) Self-evident.
(b) Arbitrary.
(c) Mean-spirited.
(d) Subjugating.

4. What does the author say the real aim of colonialism was in Chapter 1, Part V?
(a) To control the people's community.
(b) To control the people's history.
(c) To control the people's wealth.
(d) To control the people's beliefs.

5. What was the elitist institution for Africans in colonial Kenya where Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o attended high school?
(a) The Alliance High School.
(b) The Ndebele High School.
(c) The Oxford High School.
(d) The Niflheim High School.

Short Answer Questions

1. Since when does the author state imperialism has affected the lives of even the peasants in the remotest corners of our countries in his Introduction?

2. When did the author submit The River Between to a writing competition by the East African Literature Bureau?

3. Who wrote Contes d'Amadou Koumba?

4. What does the author refer to as the result of the broken harmony between the three aspects of language as communication for the colonial child?

5. What were largely featured as the main characters in the stories that Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o grew up listening to as a child?

(see the answer key)

This section contains 260 words (approx. 1 page at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample