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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 the setting for the opening of "Noon"?

2. What is ironic about Sidi saying that Sadiku has a "honey tongue" (20)?

3. While Sadiku tickles and rubs his feet, what does Baroka do?

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

5. When Lakunle calls Sidi, "My Ruth, my Rachel, Esther, Bathsheba," (20), whom is he comparing Sidi to?

Short Essay Questions

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

2. Describe Baroka's bedroom.

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

4. 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?

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

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

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

8. 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?

9. What is Sidi's reasoning for turning down the proposal that Baroka sends to her through 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 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 2

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.

Essay Topic 3

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.

(see the answer keys)

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