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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. The author asserts in his conclusion in Chapter 4, Part IX that what this book on the politics of language in African literature is really about is what?

2. The development of the treatise on the teaching of African literature in Kenyan schools stated that the teaching of non-African literature in schools should aim to introduce the student to what?

3. What is the competition set to choose at the feast of thieves and robbers in Caitaani mũtharaba-Inĩ?

4. Who is the protagonist in Cry, the Beloved Country?

5. When was Caitaani Mutharabaini published?

Short Essay Questions

1. When did the great Nairobi Literature Debate begin? How did it begin?

2. Who attended the conference "The Teaching of African Literature in Kenyan Schools"?

3. What does the author say about critical reception of literature in Chapter 3, Part IX?

4. What two factors have adversely affected the African novel and its development?

5. What are the subject and themes in the author's book Homecoming?

6. What questions did the author face regarding linear versus nonlinear plot development when writing Caitaani mũtharaba-Inĩ?

7. How does the author describe the the fairly simple structure of Caitaani Mũtharabainĩ in Chapter 3, Part VI?

8. What reasons does the author give for Africans studying Caribbean and Afro-American literature?

9. Why does the author find fault in the orthography of Gĩkũyũ?

10. How were copies of Caitaani Mũtharabainĩ distributed in rural Africa?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Discuss the author's decision to begin writing his works solely in Gĩkũyũ or Swahili. When did he make this decision? What led him to make this decision? What works has he written in his native tongues?

Essay Topic 2

Discuss the author's metaphor of the seven blind men and the elephant. What aspect of literature is demonstrated through this metaphor? What other examples does the author give to make his point? How does this story relate to the concepts of class and philosophical bases?

Essay Topic 3

Who were Léopold Sédar Senghor and Chinua Achebe? In what languages did they each write? What works did they publish? What criticisms does the author observe of these authors?

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