Things Fall Apart, Chapter 8 quiz

Questions and answers

1. 1

   Question 1. What does Okonkwo ask Ekwefi to prepare for him on the third day?

   • A bowl of pounded yam with a pot of bitter-leaf soup
   • Roasted locusts eaten with solid palm-oil from her store
   • Correct answer: Roasted plantains with slices of oil-bean and fish
   • Foo-foo and soup, with a share from each of his wives

   Ekwefi roasts plantains the way he likes them, with oil-bean and fish, and Ezinma makes him eat.

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2. 2

   Question 2. Why does Okonkwo find it so hard to stop thinking about Ikemefuna?

   • Correct answer: It is the season of rest, and he has no farm work to occupy his mind
   • The elders keep calling him to meetings to discuss the boy's death
   • Nwoye speaks of Ikemefuna to him every evening in the obi
   • Messengers from the boy's own village arrive asking what became of him

   Okonkwo believes work would help him forget, but it is the season of rest and his walls are already covered.

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3. 3

   Question 3. What reason does Obierika give for not joining the men who killed Ikemefuna?

   • He doubted that the Oracle had truly spoken about the boy
   • He was away at a funeral in a village beyond Umuofia
   • He admits that he cannot bear the sight of blood
   • Correct answer: The Oracle did not ask him to carry out its decision

   Obierika does not question the Oracle, but he says it never asked him personally to do the killing.

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4. 4

   Question 4. According to Obierika, what kind of action is Okonkwo's part in the killing?

   • Correct answer: The kind for which the goddess wipes out whole families
   • The kind that will be rewarded by the ancestors
   • The kind that earns a man a new title in the clan
   • The kind of deed that the elders of the clan will soon forget

   Obierika warns that it will not please the Earth and is the kind of action for which the goddess wipes out whole families.

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5. 5

   Question 5. What makes Ofoedu's news about Ogbuefi Ndulue so strange?

   • He died in the middle of a wrestling match at a great age
   • Correct answer: His first wife called his name three times and then died herself
   • He named a much younger man to lead Umuofia's next war
   • His body vanished from his obi before it could be washed

   Ozoemena called Ndulue's name three times and was later found dead on her mat, so his funeral must wait.

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6. 6

   Question 6. Why may a titled man in Umuofia not tap his own tall palm trees?

   • Tapping palm trees is considered work for women and children
   • The tall trees are believed to belong to the Oracle of the Hills
   • Correct answer: The law of the land forbids a man of title to climb the tall tree
   • Titled men are thought too old to climb such trees safely

   Obierika explains that a titled man cannot climb the tall tree, though he may tap the short ones from the ground.

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7. 7

   Question 7. How do the two families bargain over Akueke's bride-price?

   • By haggling aloud as if buying a goat at the market
   • Correct answer: By passing a bundle of short broomsticks back and forth
   • By the suitor bringing cowries until he is told to stop
   • By asking the Oracle to name a fair amount for the bride

   Umuofia settles bride-price with sticks; the men describe haggling and endless cowries as the ways of other clans.

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8. 8

   Question 8. How does Okonkwo deal with the thought of his father's weakness when it troubles him?

   • He talks it over openly with Obierika and the other men
   • He offers a sacrifice to his ancestors to calm his troubled spirit
   • He works in his fields until he is too tired to think
   • Correct answer: He expels it by thinking about his own strength and success

   Okonkwo has long learned to lay that ghost by turning his mind to his own strength, here his latest show of manliness.

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9. 9

   Question 9. Which of these events actually occur before the bride-price gathering?

   • Ezinma brings Okonkwo a bowl of cool water from her mother's hut.

     Happened

   • Nwoye sits beside Okonkwo in the obi until his father falls asleep.

     Didn't happen

   • Okonkwo praises Maduka for his wrestling.

     Happened

   • Obierika admits to Okonkwo that he is afraid of blood.

     Didn't happen

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10. 10

    Question 10. Which of these events actually occur at the bride-price gathering?

    • Akueke removes her waist beads before helping near the fire.

      Happened

    • The bride-price is finally settled at thirty bags of cowries.

      Didn't happen

    • Ibe's father says Ibe once tapped three of his best palm trees to death.

      Happened

    • Obierika says he has seen a white man with his own eyes.

      Didn't happen

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11. 11

    Question 11. What does 'valour' mean as used in: 'known in all the nine villages for your valour in war'?

    • Wealth gained through farming
    • Skill at speaking in public
    • Correct answer: Great courage in the face of danger
    • Cruelty shown toward enemies

    Okonkwo reminds himself of his courage in battle, which makes his present grief feel shameful to him.

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12. 12

    Question 12. What does 'jest' mean as used in: 'I was only speaking in jest'?

    • In bitter anger
    • Correct answer: In a joking way
    • In strict secret
    • In deep sorrow

    Obierika backs away from his complaint about the ozo law, saying he did not mean it seriously.

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13. 13

    Question 13. What does 'haggle' mean as used in: 'They haggle and bargain as if they were buying a goat'?

    • Correct answer: Argue back and forth over a price
    • Refuse to make any offer at all
    • Pay whatever is asked without question
    • Ask a third person to settle it

    The men disapprove of clans that dispute bride-price like a market sale instead of using the broomsticks.

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