Honors Oral Exam
Africa Unit--Mrs. Loomis
1.
In the story of Son-Jara (“Pulling Up the Baobab Tree”), what mythological elements exist?
2.
What details in the poem “The Second Coming” connect with Things Fall Apart?
3.
Provide several examples of foreshadowing from both “Life is Sweet at Kumansenu” and Things
Fall Apart. What do the details foreshadow?
4.
How is the impact of family heritage (or the discovery of one’s heritage) portrayed in the film
Rabbit Proof Fence?
5.
How do superstitions play a role in both Rabbit Proof Fence and Things Fall Apart?
6.
Explain how the title of the film Rabbit Proof Fence applies to the story it tells.
7.
Discuss how Nwoye and Unoka serve as foils to Okonkwo.
8.
Okonkwo is described (in Chapter 2) as “a man of action, a man of war…In Umuofia’s latest war
he was the first to bring home a human head. That was his fifth head; and he was not an old man
yet.” Comment.
9.
“His whole life was dominated by fear, the fear of failure and weakness. It was deeper and more
intimate than the fear of evil and capricious gods and of magic, the fear of the forest, and of the
forces of nature, malevolent, red in tooth and claw” (Chapter 2). What does this tell us about
Okonkwo?
10. Okonkwo is “ruled by one passion--to hate everything that his father Unoka had loved. One of
those things was gentleness and another was idleness” (Chapter 2). Discuss the significance of this
quotation as it pertains to Okonkwo.
11. Comment on the statement that “Okonkwo knew how to kill a man’s spirit.” (Chapter 4)
12. Why does Okonkwo believe that “to show affection is a sign of weakness”? (Chapter 4)
13. What is the significance of Ekwefi’s comment about Ezinma, “Perhaps she has come to stay”?
(Chapter 6)
14. Why does Okonkwo strike the final blow to Ikemefuna and what is the function of his death in the
story?
15. How would you describe the relationship between Ezinma and Ekwefi?
16. Why would the idea of ogbanje be necessary in a society? Include examples from both Things
Fall Apart and “Life is Sweet…” in your analysis.
17. Okonkwo worries about Ezinma. Comment on this side of his personality.
18. What similarities do you see between the stories of “Tortoise” and Odysseus? What lessons do
they attempt to teach?
19. Why is the destruction of Okonkwo’s compound (in Chapter 13) seen as “the justice of the earth
goddess”?
20. “Obierika was a man who thought about things. When the will of the goddess had been done, he
sat down in his obi and mourned his friend’s calamity. Why should a man suffer so grievously for
an offense he had committed inadvertently? But although he thought for a long time, he found no
answer. He was merely led into greater complexities. He remembered his wife’s twin children,
whom he had thrown away. What crime had they committed?” (Chapter 13) What is Obierika’s
attitude toward the day’s events and those of the past, and what does this passage show about the
changes that are coming?
21. Comment on the statement, “Clearly his personal god or chi was not made for great things. A man
could not rise beyond the destiny of his chi. The saying of the elders was not true--that if a man
said yea his chi also affirmed. Here was a man whose chi said nay despite his own affirmation”
(Chapter 17).
22. Comment on the quotation, “Okonkwo felt a cold shudder run through him at the terrible
prospects, like the prospect of annihilation” (Chapter 17).
23. How does exile affect Okonkwo?
24. Comment on Obierika’s statement, “The white man is very clever. He came quietly and peaceably
with his religion. We were amused at his foolishness and allowed him to stay. How he has won
our brothers, and our clan can no longer act like one. He has put a knife on the things that held us
together and we have fallen apart” (Chapter 20).
25. Nwoye takes the name Isaac from the Bible. Isaac was the son of Abraham and Sarah. Isaac’s
name, which means laughter in Hebrew, refers to his father’s reaction to the news that Sarah
would have a child at her advanced age. To test Abraham’s faith, God told him to sacrifice Isaac.
Abraham began to do so, but God stopped him, and Abraham sacrificed a ram instead. Isaac
married Rebekah and had twin sons, Esau and Jacob. Given this historical background, why is
Nwoye’s choice of his new name significant?
26. Where is Okonkwo’s suicide foreshadowed earlier in the novel?
27. The Commissioner considers putting this episode in a book he is writing, The Pacification of the
Primitive Tribes of the Lower Niger. In what ways is this title ironic or satirical?
28. Why does the D.C. consider the tribes to be primitive?
29. Compare and contrast Obierika’s view of Okonkwo with that of the D.C.
30. Why does Achebe shift the point of view in the last chapter, alternating between Obierika and the
D.C.?
31. In what ways is Okonkwo a tragic hero?
32. In what ways is the novel about pride/hubris?
33. In what ways is the novel about ambition?
34. In what ways is the novel about the loss of tradition?
35. In what ways is the novel about the devastation of culture?
36. In what ways is the novel about loneliness and isolation?
37. In what ways is the novel about humiliation and retaliation?
38. In what ways is the novel about disillusionment?
39. In what ways is the novel about the arrogance of the conqueror?
SCORING-WORTH 100 POINTS (50 FROM STUDENTS, 50 FROM TEACHER)
1ST LEVEL—Teacher will randomly draw one of the above questions for you to answer. You may use any
of your notes to assist you. You will have one full minute to answer. Teacher and your peers will evaluate
your CLARITY, FLUENCY, AND USE OF SUPPORTIVE DETAILS to present a viable argument.
2ND LEVEL—Following a level 1 response teacher will randomly select a student to clearly summarize a
level one response, adding a rebuttal or agreement with reasons and/or additional information. Two
minutes.
Scoring Rubric:
Category
Purpose/Thesis
Organization
of Speech
In Progress
(1-5)
Vague, confusing,
and/or missing
information; no distinct
opening or closure
Audience and
Presentation
Strategies
Little evidence of
audience—presentation
lacks awareness of
formal discussion; no
enthusiasm, inaudible,
no eye contact
Time Limit
Unaware of time
constraints; rushes or
generalizes with
extensive time
remaining
Partially Proficient
(6-7)
Sometimes vague or
confusing; points
sometimes made
without support or are
irrelevant; little
transitions between
points
Evidence of some
awareness of
audience; looks up;
eye contact; audible;
however, some
disengagement with
the audience
Uses time effectively,
but tends to generalize
when time is left over
or tends to rush.
Proficient
(8-8.5)
Clear, relevant thesis;
points made with
clarity and support;
distinct opening and
closure; logical
progression of ideas
with transitions
Clear evidence of
audience awareness;
words chosen with
care; little distractions
such as “you know,”
“uh,” rocking or
swaying
Finishes with some
time remaining but all
points have been made
and was not rushed.
Advanced
(9-10)
All elements of
“Proficient”—
Points made are
clear, relevant, and
INTERESTING
Presentation is
consistently
appropriate and
engaging;
specialized jargon
is used effectively
Within time limits;
not rushed ; “just
right”