Things Fall Apart, Chapter 10 quiz

Questions and answers

1. 1

   Question 1. Why does everyone know that a ceremony announced for 'after the midday meal' will start much later?

   • The elders must first finish settling the day's disputes in the market
   • The egwugwu may only appear after the evening drums have been sounded
   • Correct answer: Communal ceremonies there wait until the heat of the sun has softened
   • The crowd must wait for the titled men to come back from their farms

   The narrator explains that most communal ceremonies begin when the edge has worn off the sun's heat, long after the midday meal.

   Read the passage
2. 2

   Question 2. Which village of Umuofia does Evil Forest represent?

   • The village where the egwugwu house stands at the forest's edge
   • Correct answer: Umueru, the village of the children of Eru, the eldest son
   • The village of the youngest of the first father's nine sons
   • The village whose elders called the gathering on the ilo

   Each egwugwu stands for one village, and Evil Forest represents Umueru, descended from Eru, the eldest of the nine sons.

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3. 3

   Question 3. How does Uzowulu show submission when Evil Forest first greets him?

   • Correct answer: He bends down and touches the earth with his right hand
   • He kneels and offers the spirit a kola nut from his bag
   • He covers his eyes so that he will not look upon the spirit
   • He pours a little palm-wine on the ground at the spirit's feet

   Uzowulu touches the earth with his right hand and says his hand has touched the ground, a sign of submission.

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4. 4

   Question 4. What does Odukwe admit is true in Uzowulu's account?

   • That Mgbafo once left Uzowulu for another man in a nearby village
   • That the bride-price was never fully paid to Mgbafo's family
   • That the two children should live with their father from now on
   • Correct answer: That the brothers beat Uzowulu and took Mgbafo and the children

   Odukwe concedes the beating and the refusal to return the bride-price, then explains that Mgbafo fled to save her life.

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5. 5

   Question 5. Why do Mgbafo's brothers keep her two children with her?

   • They claim the children were born before Mgbafo ever married Uzowulu
   • Correct answer: They say the children are Uzowulu's but too young to leave their mother
   • They say the egwugwu had already granted the children to her family
   • They fear that Uzowulu would sell the children to pay his debts

   Odukwe says the children belong to Uzowulu and the brothers do not dispute it, but they are too young to leave their mother.

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6. 6

   Question 6. What does Evil Forest do just before the egwugwu withdraw to consult?

   • He orders the crowd to leave the ilo until the judgment is ready
   • He calls Mgbafo forward so that she can speak for herself at last
   • Correct answer: He runs a few steps toward the women, who flee and then return
   • He strikes Uzowulu lightly with his staff to silence his shouting

   After thrusting his staff into the earth, Evil Forest runs toward the women; they flee in terror and return almost immediately.

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7. 7

   Question 7. What does the spirits' habit of addressing humans as 'bodies' emphasize?

   • Correct answer: The gap between the ancestral spirits and the living people they judge
   • The low rank of the two families compared with the titled elders
   • The spirits' anger at the violence that was done to Mgbafo's body
   • The clan's belief that only men have spirits that survive death

   By calling Uzowulu and Odukwe 'bodies,' the egwugwu speak as ancestors beyond human knowledge, which gives their judgment its authority.

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8. 8

   Question 8. What does 'guttural' mean as used in: 'Then came the voices of the egwugwu, guttural and awesome'?

   • High, thin and trembling
   • Soft and almost whispered
   • Correct answer: Harsh and deep in the throat
   • Sweet and pleasant to hear

   Guttural describes harsh, deep sounds made in the throat, which make the spirits' voices frightening.

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9. 9

   Question 9. What does 'esoteric' mean as used in: 'greeted themselves in their esoteric language'?

   • Spoken loudly to an entire crowd
   • Correct answer: Understood only by a select few
   • Borrowed from a neighbouring clan
   • Used only to curse one's enemies

   Esoteric means known only to a small group, fitting the secret language of the ancestral spirits.

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10. 10

    Question 10. What does 'trifle' mean as used in: 'I don't know why such a trifle should come before the egwugwu'?

    • Correct answer: A matter of very little importance
    • A crime deserving harsh punishment
    • A quarrel between two old friends
    • A case that has no possible answer

    A trifle is something unimportant; the elder thinks a marriage quarrel is too small a matter for the spirits.

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11. 11

    Question 11. Which of these events from the trial of Uzowulu actually happen in Chapter 10?

    • Two of Uzowulu's neighbours agree about the beating.

      Happened

    • Mgbafo speaks before the egwugwu to tell her own story.

      Didn't happen

    • The crowd roars with laughter at the brothers' threat.

      Happened

    • Evil Forest orders Mgbafo's brothers to return the bride-price.

      Didn't happen

    • Uzowulu interrupts Odukwe to call his account a lie.

      Happened

    Read the passage
12. 12

    Question 12. Which of these details about the egwugwu ceremony appear in Chapter 10?

    • Specially chosen women paint the outside walls of the egwugwu house.

      Happened

    • The egwugwu house faces the crowd so that everyone can see its door.

      Didn't happen

    • Mgbafo runs when the egwugwu appear and is held back by her brothers.

      Happened

    • Okonkwo sits among the titled men behind the row of egwugwu.

      Didn't happen

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