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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 does "Gikuyu Karinga" mean?

2. What do many Gikuyu people see as a sign of a good teacher?

3. Who does Muthoni most wish to see while she is ill?

4. Which of these is not a reason people came to the meeting at the school?

5. Where was Nyambura supposed to meet Waiyaki at the beginning of Chapter Sixteen?

Short Essay Questions

1. How does Waiyaki feel about his mother?

2. Describe the scene Waiyaki walks into in Chapter Fifteen.

3. What is it that people most admire in Joshua?

4. How does Joshua react to the news of his daughter's death?

5. What images come to Waiyaki while he is trying to sleep?

6. What arguments does Kabonyi use against Waiyaki at the meeting?

7. What is Waiyaki's reaction to Nyambura's not coming to visit?

8. How does Waiyaki wait for the "surgeon" at the beginning of Chapter Ten?

9. Describe the new school.

10. What is the subject of the songs sung by the children?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Discuss the role that Honia river plays in Ngugi's novel. How is it described, in what scenes does it appear?

Essay Topic 2

Much is said in "The River Between" about what a religion needs to be and should be. Explain what Ngugi's idea of how a religion can work for and with the culture it is part of. Please be specific.

Essay Topic 3

How important is Waiyaki's "yearning for something more" in the development of his character? Explain.

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