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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. In “Ghosts,” what is the chief quality of the harmattan season?

2. In “Ghosts,” what does Professor Nwoye’s daughter Nkiru’s name mean?

3. In “A Private Experience,” what does the narrator refer to in saying the woman was having a private experience?

4. In “Cell One,” how does the narrator characterize the town of Enugu?

5. In “On Monday of Last Week,” what has Kamara been doing since last Monday?

Short Essay Questions

1. In “Ghosts,” whose ghost does Professor Nwoye also see?

2. In “Cell One,” what happened when the narrator’s parents confronted the second thief?

3. What is the setting for "A Private Experience"?

4. In “Imitation,” what distressing news does Nkem receive from her friend who has just come back to the States from Nigeria?

5. In “Ghosts,” what is the custom Professor Nwoye feels he should follow, when he sees his old colleague Ikenna Okoro, and what does he do?

6. What happens to turn Kamara around at the end of "On Monday of Last Week"?

7. In “Ghosts,” how does the narrator characterize Ikenna’s personality?

8. In “Cell One,” how did time in prison change Nnamabia?

9. In “On Monday of Last Week,” what gaffe did Kamara make, that she thought would prevent her from getting the job babysitting Josh?

10. In “On Monday of Last Week,” how does the narrator characterize Neil’s parenting?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

What is the role of religion in the lives of the characters in Adichie’s stories? What are the main religions represented in the stories, and what are the main differences between them? What do the different religions do for the people who subscribe to them? How do people characterize believers from other religions? How do religious observances change when people come to America?

Essay Topic 2

Evaluate the final story of The Thing Around Your Neck. Does it ring true to the other stories? Does it address the problems and tensions that preceded it? What are you left wishing for closure on, if anything?

Essay Topic 3

Which of Adichie’s stories are coming of age narratives, and what does coming of age entail, in these stories? What earlier state is left behind? What new state is assumed? What is lost and gained in the transition?

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