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This test consists of 5 multiple choice questions, 5 short answer questions, and 10 short essay questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

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

2. What was the approximate population of Kamĩrĩĩthũ in 1975?
(a) 20,000.
(b) 5,000.
(c) 15,000.
(d) 10,000.

3. Who wrote The Palm-wine Drunkard?
(a) Martin Carter.
(b) Birago Diop.
(c) Amos Tutuola.
(d) Gabriel Okara.

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

5. What dance is despicted in the scene from Ngaahika Ndeenda that is presented in Chapter 2, Part V?
(a) The Aduma dance.
(b) The Kpanlogo dance.
(c) The Moribayasa dance.
(d) The Mwomboko dance.

Short Answer Questions

1. On what days of the week did the woman from Kamĩrĩĩthũ visit the author, according to his narrative in Chapter 2, Part I?

2. What is the name of the secret diary that Gakaara wa Wanjaũ kept while in political detention?

3. What does the author refer to as being the basis of a people's identity in Chapter 1, Part IV?

4. Who are the peasant and his wife awaiting the arrival of in the opening of Ngaahika Ndeenda?

5. When did Professor Micere Mũgo give a speech in Nairobi entitled "Written Literature and Black Images"?

Short Essay Questions

1. What does the author ask about writers who continue to write in foreign languages in Chapter 1, Part VIII?

2. What are the mutually opposed forces in African realities today, according to the author in his Introduction?

3. Describe the Ituĩka ceremony. What was its purpose and how often did it take place?

4. What literary convention does the author describe in Chapter 1, Part II? Who attended?

5. What significant event in 1884 determined the fate of the future of Africa?

6. How did the literature of Africa change during the upheaval between imperialism and liberty?

7. In his Introduction, Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o states that the study of African realities has been too long seen in terms of tribes. What does he mean by this?

8. What role did song and dance have in the original production of Ngaahika Ndeenda?

9. When did Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o cease writing in English? What were his first works in Gĩkũyũ?

10. Who is David Diop and what was his perspective on language?

(see the answer keys)

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