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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. Who does Gũthera say she is hiding from when she enters the bar in Part I?

2. Why was Gũthera's father arrested after the war began?

3. What are some of the reasons the men who share Matigari's cell were arrested?

4. What does one of the children accuse Matigari of doing as he follows them?

5. What does Matigari do at the mugomo tree?

Short Essay Questions

1. What does the murderer warn the prisoners, resulting in a fight between him and another prisoner?

2. Describe the scrapyard that the man follows the boys to after watching them dig through garbage.

3. What do the other women think about Gũthera's refusal to take money from a cop? What does Gũthera say about money from a cop?

4. What does Matigari think as he watches two officers, the guard and the tractor driver divvying up the money from the children?

5. What does Mũriũki tell Matigari happened to his mother as they sit at the Mataha hotel?

6. What does Matigari hear the Voice of Truth announce about His Excellency Ole Excellence after he leaves the mugomo tree at the start of the novel?

7. Describe the cell Matigari is put in after being arrested at John Boy Junior's house.

8. How do the men on horseback know Settler Williams and John Boy? What do they think happened to the men?

9. What does Matigari tell Mũriũki he was doing in the woods and why?

10. What does Matigari think as he sees Black Africans driving cars at the start of the story?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Write an essay examining the belt of peace as a symbol in Matigari. In what scenes does the belt appear? What is the context? How does the belt of peace develop the narrative?

Essay Topic 2

Discuss elements of the narrative structure: Exposition, conflict, complication, climax, resolution and conclusion. Do all the elements make for a logical and linear story? How does the story's structure express the novel's themes?

Essay Topic 3

Pick a character from the novel and discuss their goals and motives. Do they achieve their motive? Do they share similar goals and motives with other characters? Do their goals clash with other characters? How do the characters' goals and motives affect their interaction with each other?

(see the answer keys)

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