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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. Where does Chielo bring Ezinma?

2. Ezinma tells her mother, Ekwefi, that her upper eyelid is twitching. What does Ekwefi tell Ezinma the significance of the twitch is?

3. Ezinma offers to bring Okonkwo's chair to the wrestling match for him. Why did he refuse his daughter's offer?

4. When Okonkwo is angry and cannot speak because of his stutter, how does he get his point across?

5. Under what circumstances will the people of Umuofia consult Agbala, the Oracle of the Hills and the Caves?

Short Essay Questions

1. Analyze Okonkwo's feelings for Enzinma and Ekwefi, and how they relate to his fear of weakness.

2. Okonkwo's father dies in debt, with no titles to his name. Relate why Okonkwo does not have to worry that his father's reputation will be held against him.

3. Summarize the role of the women during the New Yam Festival.

4. Do you think Okonkwo is justified in reaction when he thinks his second wife, Ekwefi, killed a banana tree during the New Yam Festival? Explain.

5. Explain why sharecropping is a very difficult way to get ahead for Okonkwo, and how it impacts his parents and sisters.

6. Evaluate Okonkwo's reputation in the nine villages of Umuofia.

7. Relate how Okonkwo is able to plant his first yam-seeds when his father gives him nothing.

8. Do you agree with the old man who said that Okonkwo's palm-kernels had been cracked for him by a benevolent spirit? Justify your answer.

9. How would you justify Okonkwo's harsh treatment of his family and his uncontrollable temper?

10. Do you think Okonkwo is justified in being ashamed of his father? Explain why.

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Compare and contrast the role of women in the novel with the role of women in today's American society. Cite specific examples from the novel, detailing women's jobs and responsibilities.

Essay Topic 2

1) Analyze Nwoye's struggles with coming of age.

2) Would you say that his fears and emotions were a blessing or a curse?

3) Do you defend or criticize his conversion to the white man's religion? Why do you feel this way?

Essay Topic 3

1) Summarize the economic system of the Igbo people before the white man's appearance.

2) How was wealth determined?

3) Describe how a man could attain wealth if nothing was left to him by his father.

(see the answer keys)

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