Things Fall Apart, Chapter 13 quiz

Questions and answers

1. 1

   Question 1. How does a man behave when he arrives at the place of Ezeudu's death?

   • He fires his gun into the air and then leaves to warn other villages
   • He wails with the women through the night until the burial begins
   • He sits apart in silence and refuses to eat until the burial is over
   • Correct answer: He raises his voice once or twice in manly sorrow, then sits with the men

   A full-chested lamentation rises whenever a man arrives, but he grieves briefly and then sits listening to the women's endless wailing.

   Read the passage
2. 2

   Question 2. What does the violent egwugwu with the machete sing in his terrifying voice?

   • Correct answer: That Ekwensu, or Evil Spirit, had entered his eye
   • That Ezeudu had been killed by a jealous neighbour
   • That the clan must offer him a cow before the burial
   • That no woman may look upon the dead warrior's face

   He sings that Ekwensu has entered his eye, which helps explain why two men must hold him back with a rope.

   Read the passage
3. 3

   Question 3. According to the clan's memory, what happened to the egwugwu who once stood his ground before the one-handed spirit?

   • He was driven back to the underworld and never appeared again
   • He lost the use of one hand and had to carry a basket of water
   • Correct answer: He was held fixed to the spot, unable to move, for two days
   • He was banished by the elders for showing disrespect to the dead

   The story shows how dreaded the one-handed spirit is: even the greatest medicine men take shelter when he is near.

   Read the passage
4. 4

   Question 4. Why does the one-handed spirit ask Ezeudu only to come again the way he came before?

   • Because a man with titles may not ask the ancestors for anything
   • Correct answer: Because Ezeudu was rich, fearless and long-lived, and lacked nothing
   • Because the elders had told him to keep the funeral prayers brief
   • Because Ezeudu's sons had already asked that he return as a warrior

   He would have asked for riches, courage or long life, but Ezeudu already had all three, so the spirit wishes him the same life again.

   Read the passage
5. 5

   Question 5. What does the old and infirm egwugwu do at the funeral?

   • He leads the warriors in the funeral dance before the burial
   • He breaks a kola nut over Ezeudu's body and prays for all of his sons
   • He calls out the names of every title Ezeudu took in his life
   • Correct answer: He gazes at the corpse a while and then goes back to the underworld

   Not every spirit is fearsome; this one leans heavily on a stick, walks unsteadily to the corpse, looks and leaves.

   Read the passage
6. 6

   Question 6. How does the narrator describe the confusion after the boy's death?

   • Correct answer: As without parallel in Umuofia's tradition, though violent deaths were frequent
   • As a familiar scene, since guns often misfired at the funerals of great warriors
   • As short-lived, because the elders quickly restored order and calm
   • As a sign that the earth goddess had planned the death in advance

   Violent deaths were frequent in Umuofia, but nothing like a clansman killed this way at a funeral had ever happened.

   Read the passage
7. 7

   Question 7. When do Okonkwo and his family leave Umuofia?

   • At noon the next day, after Ezeudu's burial is completed
   • On the following market day, once the elders have met to decide
   • Correct answer: That same night, with his valuables in head-loads, before the cock crowed
   • Seven days later, at the end of the funeral rites for Ezeudu

   He gathers his valuables into head-loads that night, and the family is fleeing to Mbanta before cock-crow.

   Read the passage
8. 8

   Question 8. How do Okonkwo's wives and children react as he prepares to flee?

   • The wives argue that the family should stay and plead with the elders
   • Correct answer: The wives weep bitterly, and the children weep without knowing why
   • The children help carry yams while the wives stay calm and silent
   • The wives refuse to leave and ask to return to their own fathers

   The family's grief is immediate and shared, even by children too young to understand what has happened.

   Read the passage
9. 9

   Question 9. Which of these events actually happen in Chapter 13?

   • The ekwe names the clan and the village before naming Ezeudu.

     Happened

   • Okonkwo is accused of killing Ezeudu's son on purpose and is put on trial.

     Didn't happen

   • Ezeudu is buried after dark because he had taken titles.

     Happened

   • Obierika refuses to join the men who destroy Okonkwo's compound.

     Didn't happen

   • Men from Ezeudu's quarter kill Okonkwo's animals and destroy his barn.

     Happened

   • Okonkwo is exiled from the clan for twelve years.

     Didn't happen

   Read the passage
10. 10

    Question 10. What does 'esoteric' mean as used in: "listening to the endless wailing of the women and the esoteric language of the ekwe"?

    • Loud and impossible to ignore
    • Correct answer: Understood only by those trained in it
    • Simple enough for any small child to follow
    • Spoken only during wartime

    Esoteric means understood by a select few; every man must learn the ekwe's language to read its messages.

    Read the passage
11. 11

    Question 11. What does 'tremulous' mean as used in: "speaking in a tremulous, unearthly voice and completely covered in raffia"?

    • Booming and commanding
    • Calm and soothing
    • Whispered and secret
    • Correct answer: Shaking and quivering

    Tremulous means trembling; the egwugwu's quivering voice adds to the sense that it comes from beyond the living world.

    Read the passage
12. 12

    Question 12. What does 'guttural' mean as used in: "he called in his guttural voice"?

    • Correct answer: Harsh and throaty
    • High and piercing
    • Soft and gentle
    • Clear and musical

    Guttural means produced deep in the throat; the one-handed spirit's rough voice matches his dreaded presence.

    Read the passage