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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. Who are the peasant and his wife awaiting the arrival of in the opening of Ngaahika Ndeenda?
(a) Kĩoi and Jezebel.
(b) Gakaara and Watu.
(c) Obi and Jalaa.
(d) Mĩriĩ and Awli.

2. What does the word "vacillating" mean as used in Chapter 1, Part VI?
(a) De-escalating.
(b) Escalating.
(c) Fluctuating.
(d) Failing.

3. What is the name of the secret diary that Gakaara wa Wanjaũ kept while in political detention?
(a) Matigari ma Njiruungi.
(b) Caitaani mũtharaba-Inĩ.
(c) Ngaahika Ndeenda.
(d) Mwandĩki wa Mau Mau Ithaamĩrioinĩ.

4. How large was the work force of the Bata shoe factory at the time when Ngaahika Ndeenda was produced?
(a) 5,000.
(b) 3,000.
(c) 1,000.
(d) 2,000.

5. Where did Dr. Kimanĩ Gecaũ flee to in 1982?
(a) The Democratic Republic of Congo.
(b) Zimbabwe.
(c) Cameroon.
(d) Algeria.

Short Answer Questions

1. What does "Maitũ Njugĩra" translate to in English?

2. In Chapter 1, Part IV the author states that language as communication has three aspects. The first of these is the language of real life, which he attributes to having been coined by whom?

3. 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?

4. In the repeated chorus in the scene from Ngaahika Ndeenda that is presented in the text, the lyrics state that problems can be settled in what?

5. When was the Ituĩka ceremony banned in Kenya?

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 dramas was the author exposed to during his education?

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

4. What led the author to his choice of language in writing Ngaahika Ndeenda?

5. What are the main characters anticipating in the opening of Ngaahika Ndeenda?

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

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

8. What are the origins of drama, according to the author in Chapter 2, Part III?

9. What role did drama play in pre-colonial Kenyan life?

10. What does the author describe as the effects of one's written language being separated from one's environmental language?

(see the answer keys)

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