Things Fall Apart, Chapter 20 quiz

Questions and answers

1. 1

   Question 1. During Okonkwo's exile, where else besides his motherland were his yams growing abundantly?

   • In Abame, on land that his uncle's family had cleared
   • Correct answer: In Umuofia, where his friend gave them to sharecroppers
   • In Aninta, where he had bought new farmland of his own
   • In Umuru, on fields close to the bank of the Great River

   The narrator says his yams grew not only in his motherland but also in Umuofia, where his friend gave them out year by year to sharecroppers.

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2. 2

   Question 2. How old is the youngest of the five sons Okonkwo calls to his obi?

   • Two years old
   • Seven years old
   • Correct answer: Four years old
   • Ten years old

   The text states that the youngest of the five sons was four years old, a sign of how harsh Okonkwo's warning is even to small children.

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3. 3

   Question 3. Why do the people of Umuofia hate the court messengers in particular?

   • Correct answer: They are foreigners who act arrogant and high-handed
   • They are former slaves whom the clan once drove away
   • They are converts who burned the shrines of the village gods
   • They are traders who cheat people at the village market

   The messengers, many from Umuru, are hated because they are foreigners and also arrogant and high-handed.

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4. 4

   Question 4. What offences had some of the men in the white man's prison committed?

   • Refusing to pay the new taxes on yam barns
   • Stealing goats from the District Commissioner
   • Speaking out against the white missionary in public
   • Correct answer: Throwing away twins or molesting the Christians

   Some prisoners had thrown away their twins and some had molested the Christians, offences against the white man's new law.

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5. 5

   Question 5. According to Obierika, how many white men are there in Umuofia?

   • Correct answer: Only two of them
   • About a dozen
   • Several hundred
   • Only one of them

   Obierika says driving out the white men would be easy because there are only two, but the clan's own converts would bring soldiers from Umuru.

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6. 6

   Question 6. Why does Obierika believe the white man cannot understand the clan's custom about land?

   • He refuses to visit the land under dispute
   • He listens only to the elders who are titled
   • Correct answer: He does not even speak the people's tongue
   • He has lived in Umuofia for just one season

   Obierika asks how the white man could understand when he does not even speak our tongue, yet he still calls the clan's customs bad.

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7. 7

   Question 7. Why does Okonkwo dismiss the fate of Abame as no lesson for Umuofia?

   • He thinks Abame broke a custom and angered the gods of the earth
   • Correct answer: He believes the people of Abame were weak and foolish for not fighting
   • He suspects the story of Abame was invented by the Christian converts
   • He trusts that the Oracle will protect Umuofia from the white soldiers

   Okonkwo says he has heard that the Abame people were weak and foolish and asks why they did not fight back, refusing to compare Umuofia with them.

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8. 8

   Question 8. Which of these events actually occur in Chapter 20?

   • Okonkwo tells his sons that Nwoye is no longer their brother.

     Happened

   • Ezinma accepts a marriage offer from a prosperous man of Mbanta.

     Didn't happen

   • Ogbuefi Ugonna casts away the anklet of his titles to join the Christians.

     Happened

   • Okonkwo leads the men of Umuofia in an attack on the white man's court.

     Didn't happen

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9. 9

   Question 9. Which of these details appear in Obierika's account of the changes in Umuofia?

   • Prisoners sing a song mocking the kotma as they cut grass.

     Happened

   • Obierika urges Okonkwo to gather guns and machetes and fight.

     Didn't happen

   • The white man's court gives the disputed land to Nnama's family.

     Happened

   • Aneto escapes the kotma and stays in hiding in Aninta.

     Didn't happen

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10. 10

    Question 10. What does 'resilient' mean as used in: 'But it was a resilient spirit'?

    • Bitter and slow to forgive
    • Correct answer: Quick to recover from hardship
    • Easily frightened by change
    • Proud and unwilling to bend

    Resilient means able to recover from difficulty; Okonkwo's spirit overcomes his sorrow over Nwoye.

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11. 11

    Question 11. What does 'wielded' mean as used in: 'Ezinma wielded a strong influence over her half-sister'?

    • Hid away from others
    • Shared out equally
    • Correct answer: Held and used power
    • Gave up completely

    To wield influence is to hold and use it; Ezinma persuades Obiageli to refuse marriage offers in Mbanta.

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12. 12

    Question 12. What does 'indignity' mean as used in: 'They were grieved by the indignity'?

    • Correct answer: Treatment that causes shame and loss of dignity
    • Anger at a neighbour who has broken a promise
    • A sickness caught from hard work in the sun
    • A long delay before a case is finally judged

    An indignity is humiliating treatment; titled men are grieved at being forced to do mean work in the prison.

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