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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 “Cell One,” how does the narrator characterize Nnamabia’s response to imprisonment?

2. In “Imitation,” what is Nkem’s housegirl’s response when Nkem tells her about Obiora’s girlfriend?

3. In “Jumping Monkey Hill,” which writer do Ujunwa and Edward pick up at the airport?

4. In “Imitation,” what dividing line does Nkem say has blurred in America?

5. In “Ghosts,” what has Professor Nwoye come to the university to inquire about?

Short Essay Questions

1. In “Ghosts,” what is the business Professor Nwoye has come to the university to see about?

2. What happens to turn Kamara around at the end of "On Monday of Last Week"?

3. In “On Monday of Last Week,” how does the narrator characterize Neil’s parenting?

4. In “Jumping Monkey Hill,” who is Chioma and what is her role?

5. In “A Private Experience,” what does the narrator tell the reader about the fate of Nnedi?

6. In “Ghosts,” what is the custom Professor Nwoye feels he should follow, when he sees his old colleague Ikenna Okoro, and what does he do?

7. In “Cell One,” what is the difference between Nsukka and Enugu?

8. In “Jumping Monkey Hill,” how does Edward’s wife Isabel get on Ujunwa’s wrong side?

9. In “Ghosts,” whose ghost does Professor Nwoye also see?

10. In “Imitation,” what signs are there that the story supports Nkem’s position at the end of the story?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Discuss the difference between the authorial personality and the narrates in Adichie’s stories. How are they similar, how are they different? Where does the author reveal herself in her choices? How are the narrates, like the unnamed narrator of Cell One, different from the authorial persona? How do they represent a consistent personality?

Essay Topic 2

What role does the Nigerian Civil War play in Adichie’s short stories? What are the underlying social tensions that sparked the war, and how are they presented? How does Adichie represent the consequences and aftermath of the conflict?

Essay Topic 3

How does Adichie represent white people in The Thing Around Your Neck? Are they painted with the same brush, or are they each individuals, with their own lives and characteristics? What generalizations do Adichie’s stories support? What generalizations do they undermine? Cite examples from the stories.

(see the answer keys)

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