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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 “Imitation,” what preparation has Nkem neglected to make, when Obiora comes home?

2. In “A Private Experience,” what does the woman invite Chika to sit on?

3. In “Ghosts,” what does Professor Nwoye’s wife do when she visits him?

4. In “A Private Experience,” who was Chika with in the market when riots broke out?

5. In “Ghosts,” where did Ikenna Okoro go after the last time Professor Nwoye saw him?

Short Essay Questions

1. In “A Private Experience,” what is the private experience referred to in the title?

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

3. 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?

4. In “Cell One,” how did Nnamabia’s time in prison change the narrator’s parents?

5. In “Jumping Monkey Hill,” what debate does Edward start with his statements about the Senegalese writer’s story?

6. In “On Monday of Last Week,” what happened on Monday of last week?

7. In “Cell One,” what is the difference between Nsukka and Enugu?

8. In “Jumping Monkey Hill,” how does Edward get on Ujunwa’s wrong side?

9. In “Imitation,” what is the importance of the Benin masks in Nkem’s house?

10. In “On Monday of Last Week,” what changed for Kamara after last Monday?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Evaluate your own reading of The Thing Around Your Neck—did you resist it, or were you compelled by the different stories? Which stories appealed to you strongest? Which ones left you cold? What does your reading tell you about yourself and your interests? Use specific examples from the book to describe yourself as a reader.

Essay Topic 2

In many stories, there are two different languages being spoken by different characters, and these languages mean different things to different people. Choose three stories and discuss the different vocabularies and sets of meanings that create gaps between people’s understanding. How do the various narrators characterize the differences between languages, whether they be male and female, English and Igbo, African and American?

Essay Topic 3

What are the hardest things about crossing between cultures, and living in more than one culture at a time? Which stories would be the most useful tools for helping someone live in this situation? What are the lessons these stories tell? What are the steps to adjusting to a multi-ethnic life, according to Adichie’s stories?

(see the answer keys)

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