Things Fall Apart, Chapter 25 quiz

Questions and answers

1. 1

   Question 1. What does Obierika first tell the Commissioner when asked where Okonkwo is?

   • That Okonkwo has fled to his mother's village
   • Correct answer: That he is not here, and then he repeats it firmly
   • That he has gone to the court to give himself up
   • That only the elders can say where he has gone

   Obierika answers that Okonkwo is not here, then repeats it when pressed, and the Commissioner grows angry and red in the face.

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2. 2

   Question 2. Why does the Commissioner fail to understand Obierika's words, "Perhaps your men will help us"?

   • Correct answer: He does not yet know Okonkwo is dead, and he scorns the clan's indirect speech
   • His interpreter translates the sentence into a different meaning altogether
   • Obierika speaks so quietly that the Commissioner cannot hear him
   • He assumes Obierika is asking his soldiers to help capture Okonkwo

   The Commissioner has no idea Okonkwo has hanged himself, and he dismisses the remark as the people's love of superfluous words.

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3. 3

   Question 3. How does the party reach the small bush behind Okonkwo's compound?

   • They crawl through the hole the fowls use in the wall
   • They cut a new path through the thick bush with machetes
   • Correct answer: They skirt round the compound, keeping close to the wall
   • They pass through Okonkwo's obi and out by the back door

   The fowl hole is too small for a man, so they walk round the outside of the compound, crushing dry leaves underfoot.

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4. 4

   Question 4. According to the clan's custom, who may touch the body of a man who has taken his own life?

   • His eldest son and the men of his family
   • Correct answer: Only strangers, because the body is evil
   • The priestess of Agbala and her helpers
   • Any clansman who has made a sacrifice first

   One of the men explains that the body is evil and only strangers may touch it, so the clan asks the Commissioner's men for help.

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5. 5

   Question 5. Which detail shows that the messenger who shouts "Shut up!" at Obierika is acting without need?

   • The Commissioner orders him to apologize to Obierika
   • The other men laugh at the messenger's outburst
   • Correct answer: The narrator says he shouts quite unnecessarily
   • Obierika keeps on speaking as if he had not heard

   Obierika's voice has already broken and he cannot say more, so the narrator's understatement marks the shout as needless.

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6. 6

   Question 6. What is most ironic about the title the Commissioner chooses for his book?

   • Correct answer: It calls a conquest carried out by trickery and force a pacification
   • It was suggested to him by Okonkwo's own clansmen
   • It is borrowed from an earlier book written by the missionary Mr. Smith
   • It praises the clan's courage even though he despises their customs

   The Pacification of the Primitive Tribes of the Lower Niger describes as peace-making a rule that readers have watched work through deceit, beatings and death.

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7. 7

   Question 7. Which of these events happen in Chapter 25?

   • The Commissioner threatens to lock up all the men if they do not produce Okonkwo.

     Happened

   • Obierika agrees to carry Okonkwo's body back to his obi.

     Didn't happen

   • One of the men explains that suicide is an offence against the Earth.

     Happened

   • The Commissioner personally helps cut the body down from the tree.

     Didn't happen

   • The clan offers to pay the Commissioner's men to bury Okonkwo.

     Happened

   • The Commissioner arrests Obierika for insulting him.

     Didn't happen

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8. 8

   Question 8. What does 'forthwith' mean as used in: 'unless they produced Okonkwo forthwith'?

   • Unharmed and in good health
   • Together with his weapons
   • Correct answer: Immediately, without delay
   • In front of the whole clan

   The Commissioner demands that the men hand Okonkwo over at once.

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9. 9

   Question 9. What does 'resolute' mean as used in: 'The resolute administrator in him gave way'?

   • Kind and gentle toward others
   • Correct answer: Firmly determined in purpose
   • Easily confused by new ideas
   • Secretly afraid of the crowd

   Resolute means firm and determined; the Commissioner's businesslike determination gives way to curiosity about the clan's customs.

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10. 10

    Question 10. What does 'toiled' mean as used in: 'he had toiled to bring civilization'?

    • Traveled from place to place
    • Pretended or made a show
    • Refused to take part
    • Correct answer: Worked long and hard

    The Commissioner believes he has worked hard for many years, a view the chapter treats with irony.

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