TFA Test

Things Fall Apart is set in the African nation colony of Nigeria at ?

the turn of the 20th century

By contrast, the novel was published in the late 1950s, just as

many African countries that had been European colonies were fighting for—and gaining—independence.

The policy of extending a country’s influence and power by going into that country and essentially taking it over is

all of the above

In the village of Umuofia, among the Ibo people, manhood is defined in all of the following ways except

by the accomplishments of his father, and his father’s father before him

In Part 1 of Things Fall Apart, Okonkwo is characterized as a man who

All of the above

Why does Achebe go into such detail about Unoka, Okonkwo’s father, even though he is not an active character in the novel?

Trying to overcome his father’s reputation is Okonkwo’s prime motivating force; it would be impossible to understand his character without understanding Unoka’s.

Okonkwo’s struggle and perseverance during his first difficult year farming yams

A and B only

The primary incident described in Chapter 4—in which Okonkwo breaks the Week of Peace by beating his youngest wife (and then pays for it)—is important because it

all of the above

Chapters 5 and 6 continue the characterization of Okonkwo as short-tempered and ruthless in his anger. Which of the following incidents from these two chapters LEAST indicates these traits in Okonkwo?

While eating dinner, Okonkwo rebuffs his daughter Ezinma’s offer to bring a chair for him to the wrestling match, telling her, “That’s a boy’s job.”

In fact, Okonkwo continuously disobeys or breaks tribal rules throughout Part 1. Why is this disobedience significant in the novel?

All of the above

The fact that the Ibo Feast of the New Yam is celebrated with the sport of wrestling, in particular, indicates that this is a culture

that values physical strength and conquest.

In Chapter 7, Okonkwo participates in Ikemefuna’s death because

he was afraid of being thought weak by his peers in the clan.

How is the death of Ikemefuna significant to the novel as a whole?

All of the above

Which of the following elements presented in Part 1 of the novel does NOT show the Ibo as a civilized society?

access to fresh water and a surplus of food

In light of the whole novel, Obierika’s judgment of Okonkwo, “If I were you I would have stayed at home. What you have done will not please the Earth. It is the kind of action for which the goddess wipes out whole families” serves as

foreshadowing

Early in the novel (Ch.8), when Obierika chides his friend Okonkwo for killing Ikemerluna and points out how ridiculous it is that men with the ozo title cannot tap tall palm trees, Obierika reveals himself as a character who

dares to question (at least inwardly) some of the traditions and rituals of the tribe.

In Part 1, we see both Nwoye and Obierika questioning some tribal practices. What do both men’s internal conflicts suggest about the lbo culture?

All of the above

The existence and actions of the egwugwu, the group we meet in Chapter 10, demonstrates that

All of the above

The episode in Chapter 11, in which Ezinma is effectively kidnapped by the priestess Chielo, serves to

all of the above

In Chapters 12 and 13, we see the episode with the escaped cow, preparations for Obierika’s daughter’s uri, and the funeral of Ezeudu. Taken together, these tribal customs suggest that

the lbo are a sophisticated culture who have highly ritualized ways of dealing with both everyday and significant occurrences in the life of the tribe.

At the end of Part 1, when Okonkwo’s gun accidentally fires and kills the son of a deceased friend, he and his family are punished

All of the above

The beginning of Part 2 of the novel finds Okonkwo

A and B only

When Obierika visits his friend the first time, he shares with him news of the destruction of the village of Abame. This episode in the novel is important because it

All of the above

Why does it make sense that Okonkwo’s son Nwoye is one of the first to convert to Christianity?

B and C only

Midway through Part 2, Achebe has Nwoye leave the troubled life with his father’s family and merge with the lifestyle of the new missionaries. What was most likely Achebe’s primary purpose in doing this?

to portray the missionaries’ way of life as a viable alternative for tribesmen who felt uncomfortable with the standards of tribal life

In response to their request, villagers in Mbanta give the missionaries a section of the Evil Forest in which to build their church

willingly, but skeptically, believing that the missionaries will be dead after a matter of days or weeks.

Which of the following does NOT happen after the episode in Chapter 17 when Okonkwo furiously chokes Nwoye for being seen among the Christians?

Nwoye--for the first time--plans revenge against his father for years of physical and emotional abuse.

Okonkwo is furious about Nwoye’s conversion to Christianity because of

A and B only

Early in Chapter 18, Achebe writes, “But stories were already gaining ground that the white man had not only brought a religion but also a government.” This observation of the villagers stresses the connection between the advent of Christianity and

colonial domination

The young church in Mbanta stirs up controversy among the villagers by

A and B only

At the end of his seven-year exile, Okonkwo

thanks his mother’s family with a great feast, using it as an opportunity to not only show off his prosperity, but also denounce the dangers of Christianity.

What earned Mr. Brown respect among the Ibo in Umuofia?

A and B only

Okonkwo’s high hopes for a triumphant return to Umuofia do not quite materialize as he had envisioned. At the end of Chapter 21, Achebe writes, “Okonkwo was deeply grieved. And it was not just a personal grief. He ? for the clan, which he saw breaking up and falling apart, and he ? for the warlike men of Umuofia, who had so unaccountably become soft like women.”

mourned / cried

In what fundamental way is Rev. Smith different from his predecessor Mr. Brown?

Reverend Smith is more fundamentalist in his beliefs with an “us vs. them” mentality, as opposed to Mr. Brown’s mindset of compromise and inclusiveness.

Which of the following events from Part 3 is NOT an indication that the tribe in Umuofia is unraveling—that “things are falling apart”?

Nwoye’s return to his home and his previous lifestyle

The building conflict between the European missionaries and the native tribesmen comes to a head in Chapter 22 when

the egwugwu burn down the missionaries' church in retribution for the Christian Enoch's unmasking of an ancestral spirit.

The incident in Chapter 23 in which six of the leaders of Umuofia are ambushed and arrested is significant because it

all of the above

After Okonkwo’s imprisonment in chapter 23, how does he prepare for the village meeting in chapter 24?

He dons his war dress and headgear to call for battle.

Read the following passage from the end of Chapter 24… Okonkwo’s attitude at this point in the narrative can best be described as

disgusted & defeated

Okonkwo’s suicide at the end of the novel

all of the above

The title of the book the District Commissioner intends to write, and the paragraph he plans to include about Okonkwo

all of the above

In the opening scene, in and then in front of the obi, the mood of Obierika and the others is best characterized as all of the following EXCEPT

nonchalant

In the paragraph that begins “Obierika with five or six of the others,” the phrase “monkey tricks” primarily reveals the

Commissioner’s condescending attitude

In the context of the paragraph that begins “The District Commissioner changed,” the word “resolute” is best defined as

firm

The tone of the Commissioner’s question “Why can’t you take him down yourselves?” is best understood as

curious

The words and actions of the messenger serve to illustrate the

extent to which some natives are willing tools of colonial rule

In the course of the passage Okonkwo is

reduced in stature

In the passage as a whole the Commissioner is most notable for his

lack of understanding

From the information given in this passage, the reader can conclude that the District Commissioner

All of the above

Read these sentences from the beginning of the passage… These sentences do all of the following EXCEPT

indicate that Obierika is mumbling, or has some type of speech impediment.