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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. How old was Zikora when her father married a second wife?

2. What country did the narrator read has the highest maternal mortality rate?

3. At what event did Zikora first meet her baby's father?

4. What did Zikora's mother do after Zikora accepted food at Aunty Nwanneka's house when they went to visit her new baby?

5. In what ways does Zikora feel Kwame is unlike other successful Black men she knew?

Short Essay Questions

1. How does Zikora interact with Dr. K when he first appears in the story and she tells him something must be wrong?

2. What is the dynamic between mother and daughter at the beginning of "Zikora: A Short Story"?

3. What happened when Zikora was nine and went to see Aunty Nwanneka's new son, Ugonna?

4. Why does Kwame's reaction to Zikora's pregnancy surprise her?

5. What do the nurses continually tell Zikora at the beginning of the story, which she feels they are blaming Zikora for?

6. Where is the narrator at the start of "Zikora: A Short Story," why, and what relative is with her?

7. In what ways did Kwame seem different than most successful, Black men Zikora knew?

8. How is Zikora's cousin Mmiliaku's husband Emmanuel described?

9. Who does Zikora think of when she becomes so tired she feels like she could die right there, and what happened to this person?

10. What does Zikora feel toward the nurse after she raises her eyebrows when Zikora's mother refuses to help keep her still for the epidural?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Write an essay on Zikora's mother's belief in self dignity in "Zikora: A Short Story." What is her definition of dignity and how does this impact Zikora?

Essay Topic 2

Write an essay exploring moments of strength and weakness that Zikora experiences. In what ways is she strong? In what ways does she try to appear strong? When do her moments of weakness, either perceived or real, show through?

Essay Topic 3

Write an essay exploring the ways in which Kwame's absence dictates Zikora's experience giving birth and as a new mother.

(see the answer keys)

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