Things Fall Apart, Chapter 16 quiz

Questions and answers

1. 1

   Question 1. How was Obierika able to speak to Nwoye in Umuofia?

   • He found Nwoye alone at the market and stopped him there
   • He sent Nwoye's friend Anene to bring the boy to his obi
   • He waited outside the church until Nwoye came out at night
   • Correct answer: After many difficulties, when the missionaries allowed it

   Obierika spoke to the boy only after many difficulties, when the missionaries finally allowed him to.

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2. 2

   Question 2. Which of these are true of the situation in Umuofia at the start of the chapter?

   • The missionaries have built a church in Umuofia.

     Happened

   • Most of Umuofia's titled men have joined the church.

     Didn't happen

   • Nwoye tells Obierika, "I am one of them."

     Happened

   • Chielo welcomes the new faith as a blessing to the clan.

     Didn't happen

   • Okonkwo tells Obierika the whole story of Nwoye.

     Didn't happen

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3. 3

   Question 3. Why had stories about the white men grown before the missionaries reached Mbanta?

   • A white man had cured a sick child in a nearby village
   • Correct answer: One had been killed in Abame and his iron horse tied to a tree
   • Traders had brought cloth and guns from the white men's land
   • An Oracle in the hills had warned of strangers from the sea

   The narrator says stories had grown since one white man was killed in Abame and his iron horse tied to the sacred silk-cotton tree.

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4. 4

   Question 4. What does 'heeded' mean as used in: 'None of his converts was a man whose word was heeded in the assembly of the people'?

   • Laughed at
   • Correct answer: Listened to
   • Written down
   • Kept secret

   Heeded means paid attention to; none of the converts had a voice that mattered in the assembly.

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5. 5

   Question 5. According to the white man, why is he the villagers' brother?

   • Correct answer: Because they are all sons of God
   • He has lived for years among the Ibo
   • His own mother came from a nearby clan
   • He has shared kola with their elders

   He says the white man is also their brother because they are all sons of God.

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6. 6

   Question 6. What does an old man in the crowd ask the white man?

   • Whether his god will send rain during the dry season
   • How many wives the white man's god allows each man
   • Correct answer: Which of the clan's gods is the god he speaks about
   • Why the white man has come without any gifts of wine

   The old man asks whether this god is the earth goddess, the god of the sky, Amadiora or some other.

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7. 7

   Question 7. How does the white man answer the fear that the clan's neglected gods will punish them?

   • He says his god will fight their gods on their behalf
   • Correct answer: He says their gods are not alive and can do no harm
   • He says they may keep their gods beside the new one
   • He says the ancestors have already accepted his god

   He replies that their gods are not alive and cannot harm them because they are pieces of wood and stone.

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8. 8

   Question 8. What does 'benevolently' mean as used in: 'They told the white man and he smiled benevolently'?

   • Coldly
   • Nervously
   • Slyly
   • Correct answer: Kindly

   Benevolently means in a kindly, well-meaning way; the white man is pleased by the question about his horse.

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9. 9

   Question 9. Which of these events happen at the gathering in Mbanta?

   • The interpreter says "my buttocks" instead of "myself."

     Happened

   • The villagers chase the missionaries out with machetes.

     Didn't happen

   • The white man promises to bring many iron horses.

     Happened

   • Okonkwo argues that a god with a son must have a wife.

     Happened

   • Nwoye understands the logic of the Holy Trinity.

     Didn't happen

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10. 10

    Question 10. What is the hymn the missionaries sing about?

    • A great warrior who defeats the false gods of his people
    • Correct answer: Brothers who live in darkness and fear, ignorant of God's love
    • A harvest feast a king gives to all the poor of his land
    • A river that carries a sinful village away in a flood

    The interpreter explains that the song tells of brothers in darkness and fear, and of one sheep away from the shepherd's care.

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11. 11

    Question 11. What does 'enthralled' mean as used in: 'The interpreter explained each verse to the audience, some of whom now stood enthralled'?

    • Bored and restless
    • Angry and insulted
    • Correct answer: Deeply captivated
    • Confused and uneasy

    Enthralled means held by fascination; the hymn wins over listeners who had been laughing or leaving.

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12. 12

    Question 12. Why does it matter that Nwoye's relief is compared to 'drops of frozen rain' on the dry earth?

    • It shows that the hymn makes him feel cold and afraid
    • It suggests the hymn will soon melt from his memory
    • Correct answer: It links his relief to rain after a long, harsh drought
    • It reveals that he first heard the hymn in a hailstorm

    The simile echoes the hail that ended the drought in Chapter 14, presenting Nwoye's soul as parched and the hymn as long-awaited relief.

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