Things Fall Apart, Chapter 1 quiz

Questions and answers

1. 1

   Question 1. To what earlier legendary contest do the old men compare Okonkwo's fight with Amalinze the Cat?

   • A war fought between Umuofia and Mbaino in their grandfathers' time
   • Correct answer: The fight between the town's founder and a spirit of the wild
   • A wrestling match between two great chiefs held at harvest
   • Unoka's own victory as a young wrestler, before his debts

   The old men agree it was one of the fiercest fights since the founder of their town engaged a spirit of the wild for seven days and seven nights.

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2. 2

   Question 2. Which detail best explains Okonkwo's lack of patience with his father?

   • Unoka refused to watch Okonkwo's first wrestling match
   • Unoka openly mocked Okonkwo's victories before the elders
   • Unoka gave away the family's yams to a rival village
   • Correct answer: Unoka was lazy and died with no title and deep in debt

   Okonkwo has no patience with unsuccessful men, and Unoka died having taken no title and heavily in debt, which is why Okonkwo is ashamed of him.

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3. 3

   Question 3. What is the real purpose of Okoye's visit to Unoka?

   • Correct answer: To collect the two hundred cowries Unoka owes him
   • To invite Unoka's band to play at the coming ancestral feast
   • To warn Unoka that the war with Mbaino is about to begin
   • To ask Unoka to speak for him at the title ceremony

   Okoye is gathering resources for the expensive Idemili title, so he has come to ask for the two hundred cowries Unoka borrowed more than two years before.

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4. 4

   Question 4. How does Okoye bring up the subject of the debt?

   • He demands the cowries the moment he sits down to eat
   • He sends a younger relative to ask on his behalf instead
   • Correct answer: He speaks in proverbs for a long time before reaching it
   • He threatens to take the matter before the village elders

   After speaking plainly at first, Okoye talks in proverbs, skirting round the subject before finally hitting it, as good conversation among the Ibo requires.

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5. 5

   Question 5. What does Unoka's response to Okoye reveal about his character?

   • He is ashamed of his debts and promises to farm to repay them
   • Correct answer: He treats his debts as a joke and has no intention of paying soon
   • He resents Okoye's success and refuses to speak with him again
   • He is secretly wealthy but prefers to appear poor to neighbours

   Unoka laughs, shows off the chalk marks recording his debts, and says he will pay his big debts first, then takes snuff as if that settled them. Okoye leaves unpaid.

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6. 6

   Question 6. According to the narrator, why can Okonkwo rise despite his father's failure?

   • His mother's family was wealthy and paid Unoka's debts
   • The elders pitied him and granted him titles out of charity
   • He inherited his grandfather's barns after Unoka died
   • Correct answer: His people judge a man by his own worth, not his father's

   The narrator says that among these people a man was judged according to his worth and not according to the worth of his father.

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7. 7

   Question 7. What contrast does the narrator hear in Unoka's flute music?

   • Its loud rhythm drowns out the drums of the other players
   • Correct answer: Its brisk, gay surface hides notes of sorrow and grief
   • Its tune is borrowed from songs that welcome the kites
   • Its sound grows more cheerful whenever Unoka is in debt

   The total effect of the music is gay and brisk, but the flute on its own, rising and breaking into short snatches, reveals sorrow and grief.

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8. 8

   Question 8. Why is Okonkwo the man who comes to look after Ikemefuna?

   • He is a close relative of the boy's family in another village
   • He wins the right to the boy in a wrestling contest at harvest
   • Correct answer: His achievements have made him one of the great men of his time
   • He volunteers because he has no children of his own to raise

   Because Okonkwo had washed his hands, in the proverb's sense, he ate with kings and elders, and that standing is how he came to look after the boy.

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9. 9

   Question 9. What does 'improvident' mean as used in: 'In his day he was lazy and improvident'?

   • Correct answer: Careless about providing for the future
   • Unwilling to share food with his neighbours
   • Quick to anger when others criticize him
   • Too shy to speak at gatherings of elders

   Improvident means failing to plan for the future, which fits Unoka, who spent any money he got on palm-wine and feasting.

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10. 10

    Question 10. What does 'plaintive' mean as used in: 'a colourful and plaintive tune'?

    • Fast and very difficult to play
    • Simple and easy to remember
    • Correct answer: Sad and mournful in sound, like a lament
    • Loud enough to carry far away

    Plaintive means sounding sad and mournful, matching the sorrow and grief the narrator hears in Unoka's flute.

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11. 11

    Question 11. What does 'prowess' mean as used in: 'had shown incredible prowess in two inter-tribal wars'?

    • A reluctance to take part in fighting
    • Correct answer: Exceptional skill and courage in combat
    • A talent for making peace between clans
    • Wealth gained by seizing enemy land

    Prowess means great skill or courage, especially in battle; Okonkwo's prowess in war is one of the achievements that set him among the great men.

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12. 12

    Question 12. Which of these events happen in Chapter 1?

    • Okonkwo throws Amalinze the Cat when he is eighteen.

      Happened

    • Unoka repays part of his debt to Okoye with yams.

      Didn't happen

    • Okoye paints his big toe with white chalk.

      Happened

    • Unoka and Okoye politely argue over who should break the kola.

      Happened

    • Okoye threatens to take Unoka before the village elders.

      Didn't happen

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13. 13

    Question 13. Which of these statements about Okonkwo are true in Chapter 1?

    • He has a slight stammer.

      Happened

    • He has just married his second wife.

      Didn't happen

    • He has taken two titles.

      Happened

    • He is a gifted flute player like his father.

      Didn't happen

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