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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 "natural disaster" has killed millions of people?

2. When the drinkard becomes a judge, what is his first case about?

3. Who puts the drinkard and his wife in the huge bag?

4. When Heaven and Land go hunting, what animal do they kill?

5. How do the townspeople react to what "Invisible-Pawn" does when the drinkard offers him yams and corn as a thank you?

Short Essay Questions

1. After fighting fantastical monsters for ten years, what new hardship does the drinkard come home to? Could this be considered a real life monster? Why?

2. Describe the feud between Heaven and Land.

3. How do the townspeople treat the drinkard when comes home and shares his powerful egg?

4. What themes do we find in "The Invisible-Pawn" chapter that we have seen in earlier chapters?

5. Describe the hungry-creature.

6. Does the drinkard give a satisfactory reason for fighting and then killing the bag creatures?

7. What does "Faithful-Mother" give the drinkard and his wife when they depart?

8. In no more than three sentences, comment on the treatment of magic versus realism in this story. Are the two distinguishable within the world of this novel?

9. How does the drinkard escape from the hungry-creature's stomach? Is this realistic?

10. Does the wife's prophecy about the "Invisible-Pawn"--"wonderful hard worker, but he would be a wonderful robber in future"--come true ?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Symbolism is employed throughout The Palm-wine Drinkard. Discuss the use of and meaning of three symbols. (The teacher could specify three symbols as well: juju, gun, egg, seed, half-bodied baby, etc.).

Essay Topic 2

Comment on how the story ends. Be sure to address the following questions:

(1) What type of ending is this? Why?

(2) Is there closure? How so or how is there not?

(3) Why might the author have ended the story this way? What is significant or symbolic about this type of ending?

Essay Topic 3

There is a didactic nature to many of the episodes in The Palm-wine Drinkard. Choose three examples and explain why they can be considered didactic.

(see the answer keys)

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