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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. Near the end of "Noon," why does Baroka start talking about winning a log-tossing match and hunting leopards?

2. In the opening of "Noon," what is Sidi doing while Sadiku tries to talk to her?

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

4. What additional request does Sadiku make of Sidi, after Sidi turns down Baroka's proposal?

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

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. Describe Baroka's bedroom.

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

4. 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?

5. 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?

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

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

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

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

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Choose two symbolic objects from the play that have opposed meanings; write an essay that explains their significance and uses textual support to demonstrate why their meanings stand in contrast to one another.

Essay Topic 2

Research the role of music and dance in Western theater. Then write a comparison and contrast essay in which you show how Soyinka's use of music and dance have both commonalities and differences with the tradition of music and dance in Western plays. Be sure to offer textual support for your ideas and cite your sources in MLA format.

Essay Topic 3

Write an essay in which you analyze the scene in The Lion and the Jewel in which Lakunle tells the story of how the railroad was diverted from the village. What happens in this scene, what symbolic elements does it have, and how does it function in the larger work? Be sure to offer textual support for your claims.

(see the answer keys)

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