View a FREE sample

This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. Which word could reasonably be used to describe Lakunle's way of talking?

2. What "modern" custom does Lakunle try to force on Sidi?

3. How do the villagers feel about Lakunle?

4. What kind of shoes is Lakune wearing with his suit?

5. Sidi has already changed the way she dresses for Lakunle. What does she say is the consequence of this change?

Short Essay Questions

1. What happens with Lakunle when Baroka interrupts the dance?

2. How does Sidi feel about Lakunle's modern ideas?

3. Describe the setting in which the play opens.

4. What does Lakunle think of Baroka?

5. What is the "dance of the lost Traveller," and who plays the Traveller?

6. What are the qualities that Lakunle thinks of as "civilized"?

7. What is the contradiction in Lakunle's view of women?

8. How did the "lost Traveller" come to be in the village?

9. When the play opens, what is the understanding between Sidi and Lakunle regarding marriage?

10. What response does Baroka have to the magazine featuring pictures of the village?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Write an essay in which you examine what The Lion and the Jewel is saying about the responsibilities of those in positions of authority. Who shows responsibility, and who fails to take responsibility seriously enough? What are the consequences? Be sure to offer textual support for your claims.

Essay Topic 2

Write an essay in which you make a claim about what The Lion and the Jewel is saying about hypocrisy. When do characters say one thing and do another, or violate their own morals? Does this have consequences? Use textual support to provide evidence for your claims.

Essay Topic 3

Wole Soyinka won the 1986 Nobel Prize in literature. Read the Swedish Academy's press release upon the occasion of Soyinka's receiving the award (available online) and read Soyinka's banquet speech given December 10, 1986 upon receiving the award (available online). Write an essay in which you consider what characteristics are considered to have made Soyinka an important writer and then compare how his speech and the play The Lion and the Jewel reflect these characteristics. Use textual support from all three sources in support of your claims, and be sure to cite your sources in MLA format.

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 944 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample