Be sure to choose each answer carefully. You get only one try to answer each question correctly!
This space contains reference material beginning next to
Question 26.
Use the following poem by Yeats, from which Achebe got
the title for his novel, to answer questions 26-28.
“The Second Coming” (By William Butler Yeats)
Turning and turning in the widening gyre
The falcon cannot hear the falconer;
Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold;
Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world,
The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere
The ceremony of innocence is drowned;
The best lack all conviction, while the worst
Are full of passionate intensity.
Surely some revelation is at hand;
Surely the Second Coming is at hand.
The Second Coming! Hardly are those words out
When a vast image out of Spiritus Mundi
Troubles my sight: somewhere in sands of the desert
A shape with lion body and the head of a man,
A gaze blank and pitiless as the sun,
Is moving its slow thighs, while all about it
Reel shadows of the indignant desert birds.
The darkness drops again; but now I know
That twenty centuries of stony sleep
Were vexed to nightmare by a rocking cradle,
And what rough beast, its hour come round at last,
Slouches towards Bethlehem to be born?
A Peaceful Force
by Cynthia Levinson
Despite his slight body and soft-spoken voice, Mohandas K. “Mahatma”
Gandhi (1869–1948) was a powerful force—a leader in the practice of
peaceful, nonviolent protest.
He was born and raised in India, but he developed his famous guiding
principles—ahimsa, or nonviolence, and satyagraha, seeking
truth through firmness—while practicing law in South Africa in the early
1900s. Gandhi had studied the Bhagavad Gita, a Hindu book that
teaches that people must fight evil with love. When he saw how the white
South Africans treated the native Zulus and other dark-skinned peoples
as second-class citizens, he began to organize nonviolent protests
against racial injustice. “Nonviolent acts exert pressure far more
effective than violent acts,” Gandhi explained, “for the pressure comes
from goodwill and gentleness.”
After nearly two decades in South Africa, Gandhi returned to India in
1915. He had become famous for adopting a spiritual, non-material life
and had been given the nickname “Mahatma,” or Great Soul. He now focused
his energies on freeing India from Britain’s oppressive colonial rule.
He demanded rights for peasants and religious toleration; he led
nonviolent strikes, boycotts, and fasts; and he willingly faced
imprisonment for these actions.
His most famous act of civil disobedience, in 1930, entailed a 240-mile
march to the sea, where he and his followers staged a protest against
the British salt tax. The British controlled a monopoly on the salt
trade and used the tax revenue they collected to support their regime in
India. This march sparked numerous other acts of civil disobedience
across the country.
India won its independence in 1947, and Gandhi’s example of creating
change through peaceful protest inspired millions of people around the
world, including Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and other American civil
rights activists of the 1950s and 1960s.
For Questions 1-12, please mark the letter of the correct definition of the given vocabulary word.
infuriating
(n.) talk
(adj.) unnecessary
(v.) to defile
(adj.) irritating
sonorous
(adj.) resonant
(adj.) heathen
(n.) neutralizing
(adj.) strong-willed
idolatrous
(adj.) heathen
(adj.) resonant
(n.) neutralizing
(adj.) strong-willed
resolute
(n.) neutralizing
(adj.) strong-willed
(adj.) resonant
(adj.) heathen
guttural
(n.) a charm
(v.) to yell
(adj.) throaty
(adj.) pale
pacification
(adj.) heathen
(adj.) resonant
(n.) neutralizing
(adj.) strong-willed
clamor
(n.) a charm
(adj.) throaty
(v.) to yell
(adj.) pale
palaver
(n.) talk
(adj.) irritating
(v.) to defile
(adj.) unnecessary
amulet
(n.) a charm
(adj.) pale
(adj.) throaty
(v.) to yell
desecrate
(adj.) unnecessary
(adj.) irritating
(v.) to defile
(n.) talk
wan
(adj.) pale
(adj.) throaty
(n.) a charm
(v.) to yell
superfluous
(n.) talk
(v.) to defile
(adj.) unnecessary
(adj.) irritating
What does the following passage from the novel best illustrate? “The drums were still beating, persistent and unchanging. Their sound was no longer separate from the village.” (44)
the drums serving as a means of communication over a long distance between the tribes
the skill the Ibo people have at making musical instruments
the importance of the drums to gather the villagers together before going to war
a symbol for the strength, power, and heart of the Ibo people
The story at the heart of Things Fall Apart can be considered a tragedy because…
...of the inability of the missionaries to save Ikemefuna in time
...of the disastrous downfall of Okonkwo and the Ibo way of life
...of the seven-year exile of Okonkwo after his intentional murder of a tribe-mate
…of the failure of the missionaries to establish power in Umuofia
What is ironic about the nature of Okonkwo’s exile from his fatherland?
He murders Ikemefuna before the accidental killing that exiles him.
He doesn’t commit the crime of which he’s accused unjustly.
He isn’t sentenced to death for his ugly crime.
He despised his father for his effeminate nature.
What best describes the story of the Earth and the Sky that withheld rain for seven years?
It’s a myth because it’s a story handed down by oral tradition, features non-human characters, and explains rain.
It’s a fable because it teaches the lesson that vultures, and people who are like vultures, cannot be trusted.
It’s a legend that’s part of the oral tradition and that presents an account of an historical event in the lives of villagers.
It’s a proverb because it is very short and tries to convey the truth about the origin of rain.
What is Okonkwo’s tragic flaw?
his pride and fear of appearing weak
his cruel nature and inability to express his feelings
his violent temper, which results in Ikemefuna’s death
his poor relationship with his son, Nwoye
What is one of the major themes of the novel?
The acceptance of new ways of thinking is the only way that primitive groups of people can survive.
Giving in to despair and committing suicide is a viable option is there is no escape from one’s problems.
Standing together can protect a group’s customs and traditions from outside influences.
Violence should be avoided under all circumstances except for those that are life-preserving.
Which of the following is true about Okonkwo’s father?
He kills Okonkwo’s mother in a fit of anger.
He only holds one title and is shamed because of it.
He isn’t good at growing yams and has very few.
He abandons his son when Okonkwo is a young boy.
Why does Okonkwo commit suicide?
After killing a clan member, he does not want to be hanged in the court of the white man.
He knows that the ancient traditions of the clan are gone, so it no longer matters how he dies.
If he continues to fight the white man, he will be fighting his own son, Nwoye
In honor of his beloved father, he wants to die just as this great mentor and tribe dignitary died.
Why is the fact that Okonkwo’s clan members refuse to cut down the dead man’s body steeped in irony?
Okonkwo fought hard to protect tribe customs, one of which prohibits his tribe mates from touching a suicide victim.
They cannot touch his body without his son present, and Nwoye has left the tribe to join the white missionaries.
Even after his death, the tribe is afraid of the white man’s power and refuse to bury the body until his death is proven.
As Okonkwo was never afraid of death or killing, it’s unexpected that his death would make his tribe afraid.
How is a man’s “chi” defined?
his personal god
his relationship with the earth goddess
his ability to plant and harvest yams
his fate as it was predetermined at his birth
With which custom of the clan does Obierika disagree?
Kola nuts are served to visitors.
A man needs more than one wife
A man should be punished for a “female crime.”
Obtaining titles makes one great in the clan.
How does an Ibo man get a message from the gods at the Agbala shrine?
He prays to his personal god or chi.
He brings yams to a priestess, who then proclaims the will of the gods.
He crawls into the shrine and listens to a priestess proclaim the will of the gods.
He sends his first wife to see the priestess, who tends the fire in the cave.
Which of the following incidents from the story is justified by the following proverb? “As the elders said, if one finger brought oil it soiled the others.” (125)
Okonkwo is banished from the tribe for accidentally killing a clan member.
Inexperienced young men are chosen by the tribe to tap the palm trees.
Wives only get enough yams from their husbands for one meal at a time.
Husbands eat exactly one dish prepared by each of their wives.
Which of the following serves as the best thematic summary statement for the poem’s first stanza?
When ideas that center a culture don’t remain polarizing, society crumbles.
Animals that aren’t kept in line can destabilize the civilized world.
Anarchy can be a good thing if it throws everything about the old world into chaos.
Blood in the water means that it is high time for predators to strike.
How does the second stanza follow up on the ideas presented in the first stanza?
It indicates that a Second Coming of horrid proportions is to be expected as society falls.
It applauds anarchy as the preface for a Second Coming that will cure the ills of twenty centuries.
It suggests that the predators of the new world will be the rough beasts of our dreams.
It references a sphinx as a dangerous animal that could signal civilization’s destabilization.
Why did Chinua Achebe choose a line from this particular poem for the title of his novel?
The society of the Ibo “cannot hold” in the face of missionary incursions which destroy cultural tenets that bind.
The family of Okonkwo, especially his father, was “vexed to nightmare by a rocking cradle,” holding bad children.
The “Second Coming” is something that the missionaries believe is “at hand” and preach about it to the Ibo people.
The Ibos worship sacred animals like falcons and sphinxes as well as other “indignant desert birds” like vultures.
Pick the correct verbs for the following sentence. (HW17) Every new thought and feeling _________ the prodigy in me, and neither gymnastics nor predictions _______ my real skill.
reveals; was
reveal; was
reveal; were
reveals; were
Which sentence is written correctly?
“Each of our family members always contributes to the March of Dimes,” Mother said.
Each of our family members always contributes to the march of dimes, mother said.
“Each of our family members always contributes to the March of Dimes.” Mother said.
“Each of our family members always contributes to the March of Dimes,” mother said.
Read the excerpt from “A Peaceful Force.”
When he saw how the white South Africans treated the native Zulus and other dark-skinned peoples as second-class citizens, he began to organize nonviolent protests against racial injustice. “Nonviolent acts exert pressure far more effective than violent acts,” Gandhi explained, “for the pressure comes from goodwill and gentleness.”
Based on the excerpt, which statement best summarizes Gandhi’s philosophy?
The best way to make a change is through disruptiveness and violence.
Only if peaceful protest does not work, should a person use force.
To make change, one must apply pressure in any way possible.
Change comes from the pressure generated by a peaceful movement.
Part A:
Which statement best describes a central idea of the article “A Peaceful Force”?
Gandhi inspired many people to change their own spiritual practices.
Many people admired Gandhi's nonviolent protests for religious freedom in South Africa.
Gandhi’s ideas had a profound influence on many others, including significant leaders throughout history.
Even though Gandhi was born in India, he felt more at home among the people he met in South Africa.
Part B:
Which sentence from “A Peaceful Force”
best supports the answer to Part A?
Despite his slight body and soft-spoken voice, Mohandas K. “Mahatma” Gandhi (1869–1948) was a powerful force—a leader in the practice of peaceful, nonviolent protest.
He was born and raised in India, but he developed his famous guiding principles—ahimsa, or nonviolence, and
satyagraha, seeking truth through firmness—while practicing law in South Africa in the early 1900s.
He had become famous for adopting a spiritual, non-material life and had been given the nickname “Mahatma,” or Great Soul.
India won its independence in 1947, and Gandhi’s example of creating change through peaceful protest inspired millions of people around the world, including Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr, and other American civil rights activists of the 1950s and 1960s.
Which event directly triggered many acts of civil disobedience across India?
Gandhi’s move from South Africa to India
a 240-mile march to the sea to protest the British salt tax
the unfair treatment of Zulus by white South Africans