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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. Why does Nnu Ego feel inadequate around Nnaife's new wife he inherited from his brother?

2. What does Adaku tell Nnu Ego she is going to do to make money after she moves out?

3. What does Oshia tell his mother on a visit from school when she is pregnant for the 7th time?

4. How does Adim manage to stop his father from hurting anyone else at the butcher's house?

5. What does Mama Abby help Nnu Ego do with the money Nnaife sends her?

Short Essay Questions

1. What condition is Nnu Ego's father in when she arrives at Ibuza?

2. Where does Nnaife move his family to when Lagos becomes too expensive? In what ways is this place different than their life in Lagos?

3. In what ways has life for Adaku changed while Nnu Ego was in Ibuza?

4. What does the first letter Nnaife sends home from the army say?

5. What are the contents of the package Nnu Ego receives at the barracks in Chapter 15?

6. What happens when Nnaife arrives at the Yoruba family home with a cutlass?

7. How does Nnaife react when Oshia tells him he has received a scholarship to study in the United States?

8. What do Ubani and Oshia discuss regarding the changes in Nigeria when they come to celebrate Oshia's education accomplishments?

9. What do Ubani and Nwakusor decide regarding Nnu Ego's encounter with Adaku's cousin? What do they think of both Adaku and Nnu Ego's behavior? What is the punishment?

10. How long is Nnaife told he will be in the army? How is his family informed? How much money do the officers say they will send his family?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

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?

Essay Topic 2

Discuss the elements of narrative structure in The Joys of Motherhood: 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 of motherhood, womanhood, education and/ or poverty?

Essay Topic 3

Write an analysis of the ways in which the author uses character and dialogue to drive the narrative.

(see the answer keys)

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