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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. What organization was formed soon after Ghana gained its independence?

2. Which one of Ngũgĩ ‘s family members was arrested just before Christmas?

3. What is the name of the first full length play Ngũgĩ attended at Alliance?

4. What did Ngũgĩ say “had come to symbolize continuity despite the many changes in my life” (117)?

5. What was the name of the English teacher who took Ngũgĩ’s class on a tour of a real Englishmen’s house?

Short Essay Questions

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

2. What did they learn of E.K. that gravely disappoints and ultimately disbands the cabal?

3. What performance did Ngũgĩ help put on in Limuru and what were the two parts?

4. What did Ngũgĩ see at the event for Lord Baden Powell that he found most moving?

5. After Harold MacMillan replaced Anthony Eden as British Prime Minister, several countries gained their independence. Please list which countries gained their independence and from whom.

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

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

8. What events began which Ngũgĩ describes as his spiritual upheaval?

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

10. What are the big changes Ngũgĩ describes at the beginning of Chapter 32?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Ngũgĩ’s English class was given a tour of a real “Englishmen’s house” (20). Describe the house and compare it to Ngũgĩ’s home. Why do you think this was one of the first things the teacher does with new students?

Essay Topic 2

The Mugumo tree is a recurring symbol throughout the book. Consider its meaning and particularly what Ngũgĩ’s mother says of the tree on page 99. Write an essay on its significance.

Essay Topic 3

Write a short essay on the use of imagery in In the House of the Interpreter. Consider words like bloodhounds, pear tree, fortress, sanctuary. What do they mean in the context of the story? What feelings do these words evoke? Is it effective? Why or Why Not?

(see the answer keys)

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