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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. How does the relationship between Obi and Marie Tomlinson develop after she witnesses Obi's distress about his finances?
(a) They have not recovered from the heated argument about Obi's unpaid debt.
(b) They have become distant and speak only about work.
(c) They have become intimate and share many activities.
(d) Obi and Marie Tomlinson are on a first-name basis and speak frankly about many things, including Mr. Green.

2. How does Clara embarrass Obi when he finally sees her in the hospital?
(a) Clara turns her face to the wall in front of all the women.
(b) In front of all the women, Clara says she will never marry Obi
(c) Clara orders Obi to leave in front of all the women.
(d) In front of all the women, Clara accuses Obi of forcing her to have an abortion.

3. What is Obi's financial situation like as he is on his way home?
(a) He has enough money because of his leave pay.
(b) He has no money and will not be able to pay John's school fees.
(c) He has less than he needs and owes money on John's school fees.
(d) He has only John's schoool fees and some small change.

4. How do the circumstances surrounding Clara's hospitalization contribute to Obi's eventual downfall?
(a) They lead to Clara's death, more expenses, and his loss of hope.
(b) They lead to his mother's death and Obi's decision to return to England.
(c) They cause him to leave Clara and become more careless about money, finally accepting a bribe.
(d) They lead to their break-up and the worsening of his financial situation.

5. What does Obi do in an effort to find solace for his distress about Clara's situation?
(a) He storms into the hospital at midnight demanding to see Clara.
(b) He is so agitated that he almost crashes his car.
(c) The author writes that Obi does not eat; he pulls down Houseman's volume but then reads no poems.
(d) He cannot eat, sleep or read poems that normally console him.

Short Answer Questions

1. How does Obi's distraction about the situation with his family affect his journey back to Lagos?

2. What cynical feeling does Obi have about seeing how insistent the Marks family is on doing whatever it takes for Elsie to get a scholarship?

3. Why does Obi tell Christopher a story about a catechist twenty years before who was in such a hurry to marry that she cut her education short and was bitter?

4. While Obi tries to concentrate on work despite bad news from home, what comment about a Nigerian student does Mr. Green make while dictating a letter to Marie Tomlinson?

5. What is Obi's response when Clara goes off with the doctor?

Short Essay Questions

1. When Obi reveals his suspicion that Clara is pregnant, how does Christopher react?

2. What mixed reactions does Obi display in response to his mother's death?

3. When Obi reaches home, how does the author use descriptions of the rooms of Obi's parents to portray their characters?

4. How does the second doctor that Clara and Obi visit differ from the first?

5. As Obi is caught with evidence of having accepted a bribe, how does the author indicate that outsiders have no idea how to account for what has happened to Obi?

6. What happens When Obi and Clara visit the first doctor about her pregnancy?

7. What incident involving Mr. Mark at Obi's office foreshadows Obi's eventual involvement with bribes over scholarships?

8. After Obi returns from his visit home, how does Christopher react to Obi's news about the response of his parents to his plan to marry Clara?

9. What makes Obi decide to apply for local leave and visit his home?

10. As Obi and Marie Tomlinson become more cordial to each other, how does the author use these two characters to vary the portrayal of Mr. Green?

(see the answer keys)

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