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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. In what language did Fumo Liyongo write?

2. Who invented mathematical science?

3. What is the central backdrop of Caitaani mũtharaba-Inĩ?

4. In what language is Caitaani mũtharaba-Inĩ written?

5. By what number was Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o called in prison?

Short Essay Questions

1. What does the author remark about Faust in Chapter 3, Part VIII?

2. How does the author describe his prison cell in Chapter 3, Part I?

3. How was written language largely developed in Africa?

4. What were the three broad categories of literature available to African children described by the author in Chapter 4, Part III?

5. How were copies of Caitaani Mũtharabainĩ distributed in rural Africa?

6. How does the author describe the narrative form of A Grain of Wheat?

7. What is the basic demand in the statement presented by the author, Owuor Anyumba, and Taban Lo Liyong at the University of Nairobi?

8. What does the author remark about Franz Josef Strauss's official visit to the Independent Republic of Togo in Chapter 3, Part VII?

9. What works did the author assign to his students to read just before his arrest? Why?

10. What are the subject and themes in the author's book Homecoming?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

What is referred to by the term mental domination in the context of the book? How is language used in mental domination? Why is mental domination necessary in order to achieve economic and political domination over a people?

Essay Topic 2

Describe the origins and history of drama, ritual, and ceremony in Africa. Where does all drama originate, according to the author? What rituals were performed in pre-colonial Africa? What happened to African drama during colonization?

Essay Topic 3

Discuss the author's metaphor of the seven blind men and the elephant. What aspect of literature is demonstrated through this metaphor? What other examples does the author give to make his point? How does this story relate to the concepts of class and philosophical bases?

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