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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 annual performance did Ngũgĩ land the role of foot soldier?

2. With whom does Ngũgĩ share the top of the class after exams?

3. What was the name of the music festival Ngũgĩ attended that was started by Alliance alum Henry Kuria?

4. With what white student was Ngũgĩ’s first social exchange?

5. In Chapter 45, Ngũgĩ recounted an important soccer game in which Alliance won against what team?

Short Essay Questions

1. Describe Ngũgĩ’s feelings about volunteering at Sunday School and the words or phrases he uses to express these feelings?

2. What are some of the things that make the new village feel like the old village when Ngũgĩ returns home for Christmas?

3. Why was Ngũgĩ so happy to return home after first term exams?

4. Who were the Acrossians and why were they called that?

5. What metaphor does Ngũgĩ use to describe the struggle in Kenya?

6. In what ways does Ngũgĩ say Alliance used schools of the American South as a model when it first opened?

7. What does Ngũgĩ say he learned about the power of the pawn through Chess?

8. What was the root of the fear that “haunted” the first semester of Ngũgĩ’s second year at Alliance?

9. Why and when did the Saturday Evening paper begin and what did Ngũgĩ like about it?

10. How does Ngũgĩ describe the homes of the loyal vs. those of the disloyal in Chapter 13?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Define memoir and discuss why it is used for this type of story.

Essay Topic 2

What is Ngũgĩ ‘s tone when describing villagization? Use examples of word choice to support your thesis.

Essay Topic 3

When discussing his seeing Tell Freedom in his teacher, Allan Ogot’s, hands, Ngũgĩ says: “This would become a pattern in my intellectual growth: passing comments and fleeting images, often outside the formal classroom, would leave a lasting, sometimes pivotal mark on my life” (27). What are some of these moments in the text?

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