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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 “The American Embassy,” what does the embassy interviewer want from the woman asking for asylum?

2. In “The American Embassy,” how did the woman escape from the government men who killed her son?

3. In “The American Embassy,” what do the people in line say about the woman’s husband?

4. In “The Shivering,” how does Ukamaka say Udenna always imposed himself on her?

5. In “The Headstrong Historian,” what made Nwamgba look forward to death?

Short Essay Questions

1. In "Tomorrow is Too Far," what had the narrator told her mother to explain how Nonso had died?

2. In "Tomorrow is Too Far," how does the narrator characterize the relationship between herself and Dozie?

3. Who is the You in the story "The Thing Around Your Neck"?

4. What is the thing around the character’s neck in the story "The Thing Around Your Neck"?

5. In "Tomorrow is Too Far," what caused Nonso to receive preferential treatment among the three children in the story?

6. In “The Headstrong Historian,” how did Afamefuna validate Nwamgba’s values in the end of her life?

7. When and where is "The Headstrong Historian" set?

8. In “The American Embassy,” what injury keeps the woman in line from moving with any agility?

9. In “The American Embassy,” why has the woman come to wait in line at the American Embassy?

10. In “The Arrangers of Marriage,” how does the narrator characterize the apartment she arrives in with her husband?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

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?

Essay Topic 2

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 3

Discuss the difference between the authorial personality and the narrates in Adichie’s stories. How are they similar, how are they different? Where does the author reveal herself in her choices? How are the narrates, like the unnamed narrator of Cell One, different from the authorial persona? How do they represent a consistent personality?

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