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This test consists of 15 multiple choice questions and 5 short answer questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. Who wrote Betrayal in the City?
(a) Obi Wali.
(b) Francis Imbuga.
(c) Léopold Sédar Senghor.
(d) Alan Paton.

2. The author states in Chapter 1, Part IV, "Language as culture is the collective memory bank of a people's" what (15)?
(a) "Perceptions of outsiders."
(b) "Family and bloodline."
(c) "Experience in history."
(d) "Suffering and domination."

3. About how often was the Ituĩka ceremony held by the Agĩkũyũ?
(a) Every 10 years.
(b) Every 30 years.
(c) Every 25 years.
(d) Every 15 years.

4. On what date did the Kenya government ban any further performances of Ngaahika Ndeenda?
(a) October 2, 1977.
(b) March 30, 1977.
(c) November 16, 1977.
(d) September 12, 1976.

5. What does the Ituĩka ceremony mark?
(a) The marriage of an elder's son to a colonial daughter.
(b) The handing over of power from one generation to another.
(c) The onset of war.
(d) The birth of the first son in a family.

6. When did the production of Maitũ Njugĩra begin?
(a) September, 1976.
(b) March, 1977.
(c) November, 1981.
(d) July, 1982.

7. On what date did Ngaahika Ndeenda open to a paying audience?
(a) October 2, 1977.
(b) March 30, 1977.
(c) June 12, 1978.
(d) September 12, 1976.

8. The author states in his Introduction that he will look at the African realities as affected by the great struggle between two opposed forces in Africa today. These are an imperialist tradition and what?
(a) A resistance tradition.
(b) A socialist tradition.
(c) An arbitrarary tradition.
(d) A realist tradition.

9. What word from the text refers to something relating to the theory of knowledge, especially with regard to its methods, validity, and scope?
(a) Epistemological.
(b) Linguistical.
(c) Orinthogical.
(d) Pseudoliteral.

10. What language did Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o speak growing up?
(a) Ashanti.
(b) Hausa.
(c) Bantu.
(d) Gĩkũyũ.

11. What does the Gĩkũyũ word "ngurukuhĩ" translate to in English?
(a) Horse.
(b) Man.
(c) Missile.
(d) Child.

12. When was there a declaration of a state of emergency over Kenta that led to all schools being run by the colonial regime?
(a) 1959.
(b) 1949.
(c) 1952.
(d) 1965.

13. According to the author in Chapter 1, Part I, as an effect of colonization, Africa was defined in the languages of Europe. What three languages does he describe?
(a) English, French, and Portuguese.
(b) Dutch, French, and Portuguese.
(c) English, French, and Spanish.
(d) French, Spanish, and German.

14. What term from Chapter 1, Part VI refers to a person within a country who acts as an agent for foreign organizations engaged in investment, trade, or economic or political exploitation?
(a) Comprador.
(b) Compatriate.
(c) Conquistador.
(d) Matador.

15. What character in Ngaahika Ndeenda has a long dramatic monologue about the struggle between capital and labor which is described in Chapter 2, Part V?
(a) Maitũ Njugĩra.
(b) Kĩgũũnda.
(c) Kĩmaathi.
(d) Gĩcaamba.

Short Answer Questions

1. What does the word "Maitũ" translate to in English?

2. Where is the campus of Makerere University College located that the author attended a historic meeting of African writers as described in Chapter 1, Part II?

3. Where is the Wolof language primarily used?

4. What does "Caitaani mutharaba-Ini" translate to in English?

5. How many wives did Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o's father have?

(see the answer keys)

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