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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 offensive question does the commissioner who has been sleeping in the interview ask Obi when he wakes up?

2. What is "God's Case no Appeal" that Obi comes across on the way home to await his interview results?

3. What reminds Obi of his first day at school when he shows up at work on his first day in the civil service?

4. What is Obi's response when he and Clara go walking and she suddenly announces they cannot marry?

5. What is Nigeria's real problem according to Obi in his remarks to Christopher?

Short Essay Questions

1. What are the main events involving Obi at the December meeting of the UPU attended by Joseph and Obi?

2. What makes Obi especially interested in a new arrival at the Pine Grove while he and Joseph are there?

3. What turn does the relationship between Obi and Clara take shortly after getting his new job?

4. What causes Obi to storm out of the December UPU meeting in a rage?

5. What two mistakes does Obi make when Obi attends reception held in Lagos by the Umuofian Progressive Union to welcome him home?

6. How welcoming is Mr. Green when Obi is introduced on his first day at work in the civil service?

7. How does Obi first disappoint the Umuofian progressive Union and the poor Umuofians who tax themselves heavily to send Obi to England to become a lawyer?

8. What warning does the Rev. Samuel Ikedi give to Obi On the occasion of the banquet that Obi's father Isaac hold for him before he goes to study in England,?

9. What happens at Obi's job interview with the Public Service Commission?

10. What story does Joseph recall about Obi's school days while he and Obi are at dinner at the Pine Grove?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

The disclosure at the beginning of the novel that Obi is on trial for accepting bribes necessitates extensive use of flashbacks to describe the evolution of events that bring him to this. Discuss the author's handling of flashbacks as a means of exposition in the novel.

Essay Topic 2

Referring to Obi's relationship with Christopher, Clara and his parents, discuss the role of conflict in the novel.

Essay Topic 3

How does the story of Obi suggest that his father erred in his decision to give him a name meaning, "the mind at last is at rest?"

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