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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 the meaning of NTBB?

2. What does Beatrice criticize about Ikem's philosophy?

3. What, according to Ikem, is the enemy of art?

4. What is Chris's job when Beatrice first meets him?

5. Where will the dinner Beatrice attends in Chapter 6 be held?

Short Essay Questions

1. Who are the demonstrators outside the Palace, and what do they want?

2. What is meant by the "Desdemona complex," and how does it apply to the President's behavior at the party?

3. What meaning does Chris find in the inscription "What a man commits," which is painted on the back of the bus?

4. Compare Beatrice's religious attitudes with those of her maid, Agatha.

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

6. Describe the confrontation between Ikem and the taxi driver in Chapter 3. What does it reveal about Ikem's character?

7. Describe the male chauvinism in Beatrice's childhood home.

8. Why do most well-off city dwellers from Bassa never travel to the north of the country by bus?

9. Chris urges Ikem to "lie low." If you were Ikem, what would you do?

10. Explain the meaning of the poem "Africa" by David Diop, which appears at the beginning of Chapter 10.

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Ikem says at one point that the President is well meaning and will do the right thing if he is told what the right thing is. To what extent is this true?

1) The people around the President fear him and tell him what they think he wants to hear. Does this make them equally guilty for making him into a tyrant? Would he be less of a tyrant if people would stand up to him?

2) Chris says that Ikem's editorials accomplish nothing but aggravating people. Is he right? When, if ever, has the President taken action based on Ikem's urgings?

Essay Topic 2

Discuss the critique of male chauvinism in Anthills of the Savannah.

1) How are the female characters presented--are they equals to men?

2) Which characters display sexist or chauvinist attitudes?

3) How does Beatrice experience male chauvinism in her life, as recounted in Chapter 7, and how does she confront Ikem about his sexist attitudes?

4) How are females presented in traditional African folk tales about the Sky and Idemili?

5) What, if any, significance is there in the fact that Chris dies while defending a young woman from being raped?

Essay Topic 3

Write an essay exploring the relationship between the classes as portrayed in Anthills of the Savannah. In your essay, analyze the interactions of the "elite" educated characters with the lower-class, uneducated ones.

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