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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. When does the author describe attending a historic meeting of African writers in Chapter 1, Part II?
(a) 1959.
(b) 1962.
(c) 1974.
(d) 1972.

2. What does the author describe as a constant theme in the stories that he grew up listening to?
(a) Marriage is a holy sacrament.
(b) Cooperation as the ultimate good in a community.
(c) Power lies in the hands of those who seize it.
(d) Children are the product of their parents' actions.

3. The author states in Chapter 1, Part V that economic and political control can never be complete or effective without what?
(a) Environmental control.
(b) Mental control.
(c) Agricultural control.
(d) Physical control.

4. 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 symbol of unity."
(c) "A carrier of culture."
(d) "A carrier of history."

5. 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.

Short Answer Questions

1. Where did the capitalist powers of Europe carve up the continent of Africa into different colonies in the late 1800s?

2. What was the first school that Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o attended?

3. Who wrote The Palm-wine Drunkard?

4. About how many children did Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o's father have?

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

(see the answer key)

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