View a FREE sample

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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. Who wrote the book African Language Literatures that is referred to in Chapter 1, Part VII?
(a) Martin Carter.
(b) Albert Gerard.
(c) Birago Diop.
(d) Amos Tutuola.

2. In the Kamĩrĩĩthũ rehearsal and production for Ngaahika Ndeenda, the author says perfection was shown to be what?
(a) A process.
(b) Expected.
(c) Inherent.
(d) Innate.

3. 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)?
(a) "European languages."
(b) "Western ideologies."
(c) "European culture."
(d) "Western philosophies."

4. What family is central in Ngaahika Ndeenda?
(a) The Kĩgũũnda family.
(b) The Kĩmaathi family.
(c) The Mĩriĩ family.
(d) The Achebe family.

5. When was Caitaani mutharaba-Ini published?
(a) 1980.
(b) 1975.
(c) 1989.
(d) 1978.

Short Answer Questions

1. What dance is despicted in the scene from Ngaahika Ndeenda that is presented in Chapter 2, Part V?

2. What does the author describe as the second aspect of language as culture in Chapter 1, Part IV?

3. When was there a declaration of a state of emergency over Kenta that led to all schools being run by the colonial regime?

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

5. In his Introduction, the author states that the theme of this book is taken from a poem by what Guyanese poet?

Short Essay Questions

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

2. In his Introduction, Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o states that the study of African realities has been too long seen in terms of tribes. What does he mean by this?

3. How does the author describe the peasant's relationship to language in Chapter 1, Part VII?

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

5. What does the author ask about writers who continue to write in foreign languages in Chapter 1, Part VIII?

6. What are the three aspects of language as means of communication?

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

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

9. What significant event in 1884 determined the fate of the future of Africa?

10. What were Léopold Sédar Senghor's views on language?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 845 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample