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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. What is apparently the main reason the President refuses to visit Abazon?

2. What natural disaster has occurred in Abazon province?

3. At the beginning of Chapter 6, who invites Beatrice to a private dinner?

4. Who does the Attorney-General say may not be one hundred percent behind the President?

5. What does Chris say the President is becoming?

Short Essay Questions

1. How, according to Ikem, do working-class people expect their leaders to live?

2. Why, according to Chris, is it so difficult to resolve the conflicts between Ikem and himself?

3. According to Chris, why does Ikem resent him so much?

4. What does Ikem urge the students to do?

5. What does Ikem mean when he says it is a writer's job to give headaches and not prescriptions? Do you agree with this statement?

6. Why, according to the Attorney-General, might Christopher Oriko pose a threat? Does the Attorney-General seem trustworthy?

7. Explain the story of the leopard and the tortoise. Why does the Abazon elder tell this story?

8. Interpret Chris's dying words, "the last green."

9. Why does Agatha refuse to serve Elewa? What does the incident suggest about class differences in their society?

10. Who are the cab drivers who come to see Ikem, and why have they come?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Write an essay about the use of West African Pidgin dialect in the dialogue.

1) Who uses the dialect? Why do some characters use it all the time while others switch back and forth?

2) What attitude is shown toward the dialect by various characters? For instance, consider how Ikem talks "deliberately over the head" of Elewa, and how Emmanuel speaks Pidgin to Adamma on the bus.

Essay Topic 2

Anthills of the Savannah has something in common with a traditional tragedy, in which pride brings about the downfall of a tragic hero. Write an essay examining Ikem, Sam, and Chris as tragic heroes who bring about their own downfall.

1) What does each man do that shows he is prideful or obstinate?

2) At what point could any of the three men have acted differently or made better choices to avoid their ultimate downfall?

3) Reflect on the inscription "Ife onye metalu" or ("What a man commits...") which is painted on the bus Chris escapes on. What significance does Chris see in this quote?

4) Consider Chris's choice of nominating Okong, a man he knew to be unscrupulous, as a minister in Sam's government. To what extent does this implicate Chris in the injustice of Sam's rule?

Essay Topic 3

The President, Sam, is not presented as a one-dimensional tyrant. Rather, he is a complex character with many positive and negative qualities. Write an essay exploring the development of this complex character.

1) What picture do we get of the President in Chapter 1? What are the negative traits of the President? What does Chris admit is a positive trait?

2) What insight do we gain about the President from his point of view in Chapter 2?

3) What is Sam like as a younger man, according to Mad Medico?

4) How, according to Ikem, does Sam change after coming to power? In what sense is he like an actor playing a part?

(see the answer keys)

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