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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. Though the author grants that boys and girls are different biologically, she claims that what practice "exaggerates the differences" (33)?

2. The author states that in what kind of way, men rule the world?

3. What action is NOT included in the author's list of things American women believe they cannot do if they want to be liked?

4. The author states that "it is one thing to know something intellectually, and quite another to feel it" (20) in what way?

5. The author states that society teaches a woman at a certain age who is still what, to see it as "a deep personal failure" (29)?

Short Essay Questions

1. What is Adichie's purpose in including the scene of her own interrogation by the guard at the Nigerian hotel?

2. What difference does Adichie point out about girls are taught to view marriage versus how boys are taught to view marriage?

3. In what way does Adichie describe the difference between prescription and description as they relate to gender?

4. What evidence does Adichie provide for her claim that "men and women are different" (16)?

5. How is the appeal of ethos present within Adichie's claim that she cannot go alone into bars and clubs in Nigeria?

6. What is Adichie's stated reason for wanting to tip the young man who had watched her car in her absence?

7. How does Adichie employ irony within her story of the woman who pretended to like housework?

8. What effects does tAdichie list when discussing how society teaches girls to feel ashamed?

9. What does tAdichie present as the reason that women do not just "say no to all of this" (28) in relation to gender expectations?

10. What example does Adichie provide for her statement that "sometimes it is the little things that sting the most" (21)?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Examine how Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s essay invites readers to learn particular lessons from her own experiences and to apply those lessons to their own lives. How does she accomplish this goal and how does this goal relate to the overarching themes of the text?

Essay Topic 2

How does the author's use of the first and second person point of view serve her purposes over the course of the essay? Discuss how Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s choice of point of view helps to advance her treatment of at least three particular themes within the text.

Essay Topic 3

How does Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie utilize irony within the text? Discuss at least three uses of irony within the essay and explore each instance's connection to larger themes contained within the piece.

(see the answer keys)

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