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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 does Matigari do at the mugomo tree?

2. What does one of the children accuse Matigari of doing as he follows them?

3. Who did Gũthera consult with before telling the officer whether or not she would do what he suggested she do in order to save her father's life?

4. What are some of the reasons the men who share Matigari's cell were arrested?

5. What are children chasing after near the factory in Part I when Matigari first arrives?

Short Essay Questions

1. What story of her past does Gũthera share with Matigari after he saves her?

2. What happens to Matigari when he does not heed the boy's warning not to enter the scrapyard?

3. What does Matigari do at the mugumo tree at the start of the novel?

4. Why were the other prisoners Matigari shares a cell with arrested?

5. What do the other women think about Gũthera's refusal to take money from a cop? What does Gũthera say about money from a cop?

6. What does Matigari think as he watches two officers, the guard and the tractor driver divvying up the money from the children?

7. What does Matigari tell Mũriũki happened the day he told Settler Williams he could not longer reap the rewards of Matigari's labor?

8. Describe the scrapyard that the man follows the boys to after watching them dig through garbage.

9. Who is at the house which Matigari says is his when Gũthera leads him to the plantation? What does Matigari do there which surprises Gũthera and Mũriũki?

10. What does Matigari think as he sees Black Africans driving cars at the start of the story?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Pick a character from the novel and discuss their goals and motives. Do they achieve their motive? Do they share similar goals and motives with other characters? Do their goals clash with other characters? How do the characters' goals and motives affect their interaction with each other?

Essay Topic 2

Write an essay about the author of Matigari. Who is he? What else has he written? How is Matigari similar or different from his previous works?

Essay Topic 3

Discuss elements of the narrative structure: Exposition, conflict, complication, climax, resolution and conclusion. Do all the elements make for a logical and linear story? How does the story's structure express the novel's themes?

(see the answer keys)

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