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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 ironic about Sidi saying that Sadiku has a "honey tongue" (20)?

2. To what part of a lion does Sidi compare Baroka when she speaks with Sadiku?

3. Why does Sidi not want to spend any time alone with Baroka?

4. In "Noon," what example of Baroka's corruption does Lakunle give?

5. What is the second setting in the "Noon" section of the play?

Short Essay Questions

1. When the scene in "Noon" shifts to Baroka's bedroom, what is his favorite wife doing, and how does she use this task to communicate her feelings?

2. What argument does Sadiku present to Sidi for marrying Baroka?

3. Describe Baroka's bedroom.

4. When Lakunle tells the story of Baroka's corruption, what conflicting emotions does he display?

5. When, in the beginning of "Noon," Lakunle compares Sidi to women in the Bible, what message is he trying to send, and what is Sidi's response?

6. What is Sidi's reasoning for turning down the proposal that Baroka sends to her through Sadiku?

7. Explain how Baroka diverted the railroad, and why.

8. When Sadiku conveys Sidi's refusal to Baroka, what is his first reaction, and what changes his feelings?

9. What evidence is there in "Noon" that there might be genuine affection between Baroka and Sadiku?

10. When Sidi says, "The stranger took my beauty/and placed it in my hands" (20), what claim is she making for the power of the photographs?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Write an analysis of Sadiku's character. How does the viewer's understanding of her change from "Noon" to "Night"? Is she a good person in a difficult situation or just a terrible human being? Be sure to support your claims with evidence from the text.

Essay Topic 2

Write an essay explaining how Soyinka uses both language and action to create comic effects in The Lion and the Jewel. Be sure to offer textual support for your claims.

Essay Topic 3

To what extent is The Lion and the Jewel a play about the consequences of colonialism? Write an essay in which you trace the impacts of colonialism on the characters and events in this play and come to a conclusion about the significance of colonialism to the play's overall meaning. Be sure to offer textual support for your ideas--and if you use outside sources, cite them in MLA format.

(see the answer keys)

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