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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. In which of the following does Richard note having lived?

2. Which of the following kinds of tree grows in the square in Abba?

3. To which of the following is Odenigbo assigned?

4. Which of the following descriptions does Adebayo apply to Olanna?

5. By which of the following names does Ugwu’s sexual partner call hum during their assignations?

Short Essay Questions

1. Who are those named as enemies by the Revolutionary Council?

2. What differences does Uguw mark between himself and other houseboys?

3. Explain the meaning of “Better be late than THE late” (32).

4. What reasons does Olanna give for preferring train travel to plane travel?

5. What chores does Ugwu adopt early in his service to Odenigbo?

6. What reasons does Olanna have for not accompanying Odenigbo to his conference in Ibadan?

7. How does Richard disappoint the family of the slain customs officer he visits?

8. How does Ugwu’s aunt describe Odenigbo at the beginning of the novel?

9. Why does Olanna note thinking that her driver needs to believe in the Sardauna’s survival?

10. What is the first ethical question Odenigbo poses to Ugwu?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Throughout Half of A Yellow Sun, characters make reference to “a Big Man.” How does the text define the term? How do you know?

Essay Topic 2

Throughout Half of A Yellow Sun, there are glosses presented of sections of other books that are mentioned in the novel as being composed by characters within the novel. What effect do the presentations have, and how is that effect achieved?

Essay Topic 3

Consider Richard’s attitudes toward being a writer expressed at the beginning of Chapter 3. What anxieties do they betray? How do they betray them?

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