Things Fall Apart, Chapter 17 quiz

Questions and answers

1. 1

   Question 1. Once the rulers of Mbanta finally receive the missionaries, what do the missionaries ask them for?

   • Permission to preach each morning in the open marketplace
   • Correct answer: A plot of land on which to build their church
   • A meeting with the king who rules over the clan
   • Young men to carry their goods back to Umuofia

   After persevering through the difficulty of gathering the elders, the missionaries ask for a plot of land to build their church.

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2. 2

   Question 2. After the white man goes back to Umuofia, who is left in charge of the young congregation at Mbanta?

   • Uchendu, who first suggested the Evil Forest
   • Amikwu, the cousin who passes by the church
   • Correct answer: Mr. Kiaga, who served as the interpreter
   • Amadi, the prosperous farmer of the village

   Mr. Kiaga, the interpreter, takes charge of the congregation while the white man builds his headquarters in Umuofia and visits regularly.

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3. 3

   Question 3. Why do one or two converts suspend their allegiance to the new faith as the seventh market week approaches?

   • Correct answer: The villagers are so sure of the missionaries' coming doom that the converts grow afraid
   • Mr. Kiaga tells them they must leave their families before they may worship with him
   • The elders threaten to drive them out of Mbanta if they keep visiting the church
   • They are disappointed that the white man has left Mbanta for good

   The gods were believed to allow defiance for at most twenty-eight days, and the village was so certain of the missionaries' doom that a few converts thought it wise to step back.

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4. 4

   Question 4. How do Amadi and his family react when Nneka flees to join the Christians?

   • They send men to the church to bring her back to the compound
   • They ask Mr. Kiaga to return the bride-price they had paid
   • They complain to the elders that the missionaries stole a wife
   • Correct answer: They are not unduly troubled and consider it a good riddance

   Her husband's family had become critical of a woman who kept bearing twins, so they were not unduly perturbed by her flight; the narrator calls it a good riddance.

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5. 5

   Question 5. As he leaves for Umuofia, what does Nwoye hope to do later?

   • Come back to challenge his father before the elders of the clan
   • Correct answer: Return to his mother, brothers and sisters and convert them
   • Become an interpreter so he can preach in other villages
   • Learn to read so he can write letters home to his mother

   Nwoye is happy to leave his father and plans to return later to his mother and his brothers and sisters to convert them to the new faith.

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6. 6

   Question 6. That night, what keeps Okonkwo from taking his machete to the church?

   • Uchendu warns him that harming the strangers would anger the clan
   • He fears the white man's glasses let him see and talk to spirits
   • Correct answer: On further thought he tells himself Nwoye is not worth fighting for
   • He remembers that he is a guest in his mother's land and must obey

   A sudden fury makes him want to wipe out the Christians, but on further thought he decides Nwoye is not worth fighting for.

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7. 7

   Question 7. What does Okonkwo do with the thought that Nwoye resembles his grandfather, Unoka?

   • Correct answer: He pushes the thought out of his mind
   • He decides Nwoye was never truly his son
   • He resolves to bring Nwoye home by force
   • He blames Nwoye's mother for spoiling him

   Okonkwo first suspects his wife of playing him false, but the resemblance to Unoka disturbs him and he pushes the thought away rather than face it.

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8. 8

   Question 8. Which of these events happen in Chapter 17?

   • The missionaries burst into song when offered part of the Evil Forest.

     Happened

   • Two of the missionaries fall sick and die soon after clearing the forest.

     Didn't happen

   • The white man wins his first three converts.

     Happened

   • The elders take back the land when the Christians refuse to leave.

     Didn't happen

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9. 9

   Question 9. Which of these events involving Nwoye happen in Chapter 17?

   • Nwoye walks past the church on a Sunday without going in.

     Happened

   • Nwoye tells his father openly that he has become a Christian.

     Didn't happen

   • Okonkwo strikes Nwoye with a heavy stick.

     Happened

   • Nwoye's mother follows him to the church that same evening.

     Didn't happen

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10. 10

    Question 10. What does 'impudent' mean as used in: 'the impudent missionaries built their church in the Evil Forest'?

    • Timid and easily frightened by danger
    • Poor and lacking the proper tools or any food
    • Correct answer: Boldly disrespectful of others' authority
    • Patient and willing to wait for results

    Impudent means boldly disrespectful; to the villagers, building in the Evil Forest openly defies their gods.

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11. 11

    Question 11. What does 'perturbed' mean as used in: 'were not unduly perturbed when they found she had fled'?

    • Correct answer: Troubled or upset
    • Quietly pleased
    • Openly angry and loud
    • Confused about the facts

    Perturbed means troubled or upset; Amadi's family is not much bothered that Nneka has left.

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12. 12

    Question 12. What does 'enormity' mean as used in: 'his son's crime stood out in its stark enormity'?

    • Its small, forgivable size
    • Its strange, puzzling and private nature
    • Correct answer: Its great seriousness or wickedness
    • Its sudden and unexpected timing

    Enormity means the great seriousness or wickedness of a wrong; to Okonkwo, abandoning the ancestors is the worst of crimes.

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