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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 is a tout?

2. What does Baba help Maisha load into a taxi?

3. What do the family members do when they eat the food that Maisha has brought home?

4. How old are Otieno and Atieno?

5. Who is outraged that he/she overslept on Christmas and lost the chance to beg from white tourists?

Short Essay Questions

1. What is the importance of "the bad night" when Fofo masturbates in front of the children?

2. What does the motorcycle symbolize in the story?

3. Who is Big Guy and what is he looking for at Fofo Kpee's house?

4. What is the premise of "Fattening for Gabon"?

5. Who are the members of Jigana's family?

6. How do Jigana and his siblings get money from people on the streets?

7. How does Fofo Kpee explain the delivery of the new motorcycle to the children?

8. Where are the parents of the children and why do they live with Fofo Kpee?

9. How does Maisha's physical appearance symbolize her stolen innocence derived from her beauty?

10. What role does Maisha play in the family and why do her parents resent her?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Loss seems to be almost an unnamed character in the book. How pervasive is the sense of loss? Why does it have such a prevalent place in the characters' lives? Explain how an inanimate object or characteristic can be a character.

Essay Topic 2

Create a character study of Fofo Kpee in "Fattening for Gabon (Benin)". What are his physical characteristics? What are his motivations? What are his fears? What are his dreams? What else can you say about Fofo Kpee?

Essay Topic 3

What is the overall setting for the stories in the book? Be sure to include geography, time period and any pertinent popular culture events. Why did Akpan choose to use these places in the stories?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 1,026 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample