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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. While Lakunle is telling his story about Baroka's corruption, what does Sidi do?

2. What is happening onstage while Lakunle tells the story of Baroka's corruption?

3. To whom does Sadiku pray on Sidi's behalf?

4. Besides her own beauty, what does Sidi point out to Sadiku about the photographs?

5. Whom does Baroka call "the queen of them all" (31)?

Short Essay Questions

1. Describe Baroka's bedroom.

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

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

4. 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?

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

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

7. 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?

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

9. 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?

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

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 2

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 3

Choose a time in the history of your own country in which the forces of modernization struggled with the forces of tradition over a specific social or technological change. Write about this change, explain the arguments on both sides, and explain how the struggle was similar to and different from the struggle in The Lion and the Jewel. Be sure to cite your sources in MLA format.

(see the answer keys)

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