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This test consists of 5 multiple choice questions, 5 short answer questions, and 10 short essay questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. The author states in Chapter 1, Part IV, "Language as culture is the collective memory bank of a people's" what (15)?
(a) "Suffering and domination."
(b) "Perceptions of outsiders."
(c) "Family and bloodline."
(d) "Experience in history."

2. How far is Kamĩrĩĩthũ from Nairobi?
(a) 20 km.
(b) 50 km.
(c) 10 km.
(d) 30 km.

3. When was the Ituĩka ceremony banned in Kenya?
(a) 1925.
(b) 1942.
(c) 1919.
(d) 1944.

4. What does the word "vacillating" mean as used in Chapter 1, Part VI?
(a) Failing.
(b) Escalating.
(c) De-escalating.
(d) Fluctuating.

5. Who are the peasant and his wife awaiting the arrival of in the opening of Ngaahika Ndeenda?
(a) Mĩriĩ and Awli.
(b) Kĩoi and Jezebel.
(c) Obi and Jalaa.
(d) Gakaara and Watu.

Short Answer Questions

1. How many years of involvement had Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o spent writing literature in Englis when the author began writing in Gĩkũyũ?

2. The author poses the question in Chapter 1, Part VIII, "What is the difference between a politician who says Africa cannot do without imperialism and the writer who says Africa cannot do without" what (26)?

3. On what days of the week did the woman from Kamĩrĩĩthũ visit the author, according to his narrative in Chapter 2, Part I?

4. The chorus in Ngaahika Ndeenda asks where the grave is for whom?

5. In the Kamĩrĩĩthũ rehearsal and production for Ngaahika Ndeenda, the author says perfection was shown to be what?

Short Essay Questions

1. Who were the Mau Mau?

2. What are the origins of drama, according to the author in Chapter 2, Part III?

3. What role did drama play in pre-colonial Kenyan life?

4. What are the main characters anticipating in the opening of Ngaahika Ndeenda?

5. What does the author mean when he refers to the domination of the mental universe of the colonized?

6. How are language and communication products of each other?

7. What dramas was the author exposed to during his education?

8. What does the author describe as the effects of one's written language being separated from one's environmental language?

9. Describe the Ituĩka ceremony. What was its purpose and how often did it take place?

10. What are the three aspects of language as culture?

(see the answer keys)

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