No Longer at Ease MCQs

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Author: Nasir Iqbal | Assistant Professor of English Literature


Updated on: November 12, 2025
Estimated Reading Time: 20 min

No Longer at Ease MCQs

1. The novel opens with Obi Okonkwo appearing in court for charges related to:

A. Theft
B. Treason
C. Bribery
D. Assault

C. Bribery.
The judge and others discuss how Obi, a man of great promise, was jailed for taking money, indicating the nature of his crime.

2. The British Council man and Mr. Green were discussing Obi’s crime while drinking at:

A. A Lagos hotel
B. The club bar
C. A private residence
D. The High Court

B. The club bar.
After playing tennis, Mr. Green and his friend went to the club bar, where they discussed Obi’s case over cold drinks.

3. Mr. Green, Obi’s boss, blamed the African’s corruption on their having been victims of:

A. European education
B. Constant warfare
C. Climate and disease
D. Lack of firm leadership

C. Climate and disease.
Mr. Green argues that countless centuries of the worst climate and disease have “sapped mentally and physically” the African.

4. The organization that funded Obi’s scholarship to England was the:

A. Federal Government
B. Christian Mission
C. Umuofia Progressive Union
D. Obi’s immediate family

C. Umuofia Progressive Union.
The Umuofia Progressive Union (UPU) taxed its members mercilessly to fund the scholarship, which was worth eight hundred pounds.
5. How much money was Obi expected to repay the Umuofia Progressive Union (UPU)?

A. £500 over five years
B. £800 over four years
C. £1,000 indefinitely
D. £20 monthly

B. £800 over four years.
Obi’s scholarship was worth eight hundred pounds, which was to be repaid to the UPU within four years of his return.

6. The primary reason the UPU wanted Obi to study abroad was for him to read:

A. Medicine
B. English
C. Law
D. Economics

C. Law.
The UPU wanted Obi to read law so he could return and handle their land cases against their neighbors. This was a strategic goal.

7. When Obi went to England, he chose to read English instead of Law, demonstrating his:

A. Academic genius
B. Self-will
C. Respect for his father
D. Lack of ambition

B. Self-will.
Obi read English instead of Law despite the UPU’s request. The text notes that his self-will and independent thinking were not new traits.

8. What was Obi’s full name, meaning “the mind at last is at rest”?

A. Okonkwo
B. Nwanyidinma
C. Obiajulu
D. Obika

C. Obiajulu.
Obi’s full name was Obiajulu, which meant “the mind at last is at rest.” This referenced his father’s anxiety after four daughters.

9. Obi’s father, Isaac Okonkwo, had been employed as a catechist for how many years before retiring?

A. Five years
B. Fifteen years
C. Twenty-five years
D. Forty years

C. Twenty-five years.
Isaac Okonkwo had served as a catechist for the Church Missionary Society for twenty-five years before retiring on a pension.
10. When Obi first flew to the UK, he was hosted in Lagos by Joseph Okeke, who was a clerk in the:

A. Education Corps
B. Public Works
C. Survey Department
D. Scholarship Board

C. Survey Department.
Joseph Okeke, Obi’s former classmate, worked as a clerk in the Nigerian Government’s Survey Department. He hosted Obi in Lagos.

11. The motto “OSCULATE” was sewn onto what item in Joseph Okeke’s room?

A. Curtain
B. Pillow-case
C. Towel
D. Set of sheets

B. Pillow-case.
Obi noticed the strange word OSCULATE, sewn in multi-colored letters, on the pillow he was lying on in Joseph’s room.

12. When Obi returned to Lagos, what smell did he notice near the storm drain in the slum area?

A. Sewage
B. Rotting flesh
C. Burnt refuse
D. Cooking oil

B. Rotting flesh.
Obi noticed a very strong smell of rotting flesh coming from a wide-open storm drain, likely the remains of a dog killed by a car.

13. In Obi’s memory, the two areas of Lagos, the mainland and Ikoyi, were compared to:

A. Light and darkness
B. Twin kernels in a palm-nut shell
C. Heaven and hell
D. Sand and rock

B. Twin kernels in a palm-nut shell.
Ikoyi and the Lagos mainland always reminded Obi of twin kernels separated by a thin wall in a palm-nut shell.

14. What famous writer did Obi quote to Clara when she didn’t want to meet his friend?

A. W. B. Yeats
B. T. S. Eliot
C. Graham Greene
D. Chinua Achebe

B. T. S. Eliot.
Obi teased Clara, saying her reluctance to meet people she disliked was “pure T. S. Eliot,” though she had no idea what he meant.
15. What was the name of the ship Obi and Clara took back to Nigeria?

A. MV Niger
B. MV Sasa
C. SS Victoria
D. Queen Mary

B. MV Sasa.
Obi and Clara returned to Nigeria on the same small cargo boat called the MV Sasa, meeting eighteen months after their first encounter.

16. The young customs officer in Lagos offered to reduce Obi’s radiogram duty from five pounds to two pounds if Obi agreed to:

A. Pay in cash
B. Not receive a Government receipt
C. Sign a sworn affidavit
D. Share the item

B. Not receive a Government receipt.
The officer said he could reduce the duty, but Obi “no go get Government receipt,” indicating the money was a bribe.

17. The English used by the UPU Secretary in the Welcome Address was admired by the members because it:

A. Was simple and clear
B. Was short and concise
C. Sounded learned and verbose
D. Reflected Ibo culture

C. Sounded learned and verbose.
The UPU members admired the Secretary’s English because it was the kind that “filled the mouth, like the proverbial dry meat.”

18. What was Obi Okonkwo’s second “Mistake Number Two” at the UPU reception?

A. He arrived late
B. He spoke too much Ibo
C. He refused beer
D. His speech was unimpressive

D. His speech was unimpressive.
Obi’s second mistake was his unimpressive speech, which featured simple words like “is” and “was,” contrasting the admired verbose style.

19. During Obi’s interview for the Civil Service, one of the African board members was criticized for doing what during the conversation?

A. Asking irrelevant questions
B. Being late
C. Sleeping
D. Asking for money

C. Sleeping.
One of the four non-chairman members (an African representative) was asleep throughout the interview. This showed his disinterest.
20. Obi used a proverb about wrestling against one’s chi (personal god) to criticize Joseph for what attitude?

A. Laziness
B. Accepting fate
C. Colonial mentality
D. Pride

C. Colonial mentality.
Obi called Joseph’s advice to accept the status quo “colonial mentality,” but Joseph responded with the proverb about challenging one’s chi.

21. When Obi traveled to Umuofia, he boarded a mammy wagon called:

A. The Black Maria
B. God’s Case No Appeal
C. Lagos Express
D. Destiny’s Child

B. God’s Case No Appeal.
Obi traveled first class (in the front seat) on the mammy wagon, which was named “God’s Case No Appeal.”

22. During the journey, the lorry driver complained about “book people” and “too too know” young men after Obi interfered with what routine practice?

A. Speeding
B. Paying a bribe to the police
C. Smoking and driving
D. Picking up extra passengers

B. Paying a bribe to the police.
Obi’s intervention prevented the driver’s mate from handing the police their two shillings, leading to a higher ten-shilling charge.

23. While traveling at night, Obi tried to analyze a trader’s song and decided its hidden meaning was:

A. The pain of exile
B. The love of one’s homeland
C. The world turned upside down
D. The joy of a long journey

C. The world turned upside down.
Obi analyzed the song about a kinsman being killed and a paddle speaking English, concluding that the burden was “the world turned upside down.”

24. The Umuofia elders wished Mr. Okonkwo had taken wine and money to the rain-maker because they feared:

A. An epidemic
B. The failure of the crops
C. The possibility of rain
D. The coming harmattan

C. The possibility of rain.
The people wished Isaac Okonkwo had paid the chief rain-maker, hoping to prevent the rain that might ruin Obi’s reception.
25. Obi’s father, Isaac, told a kinsman that the true meaning of the written word was its permanence, comparing it to:

A. Unfading uli (body patterns)
B. The strength of granite
C. The enduring power of God
D. A great man’s legacy

A. Unfading uli (body patterns).
Isaac compared the written word of the white man, which lasts for years, to uli (black patterns) that never faded, unlike the temporary body patterns.

26. The Christian elder, Ogbuefi Odogwu, insisted on breaking the kola nut in Obi’s Christian house using what adopted phrase?

A. The Lord’s Prayer
B. ‘He that brings kola nuts brings life.’
C. ‘In the name of Jesu Kristi.’
D. ‘As it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be, world without end.’

D. ‘As it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be, world without end.’.
Ogbuefi Odogwu liked and understood the Christian phrase “As it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be, world without end,” which he used during the prayer.
27. What animal did Obi’s mother forbid her children from eating at neighbors’ houses?

A. Goat
B. Chicken
C. Heathen food
D. Yam

C. Heathen food.
Obi’s mother, a devout catechist’s wife, taught her children not to accept “heathen food” from neighbors because they offered it to idols.

28. Obi realized his father was heavily dependent on his mother because she was generally the person in the family who:

A. Handled all the finances
B. Got things done
C. Settled all the arguments
D. Led the prayers

B. Got things done.
Obi realized that his father was a man of thought, postponing action, and relied heavily on his mother as “the woman who got things done.”

29. Clara worked as a/an ___ in Lagos.

A. Teacher
B. Medical Doctor
C. Assistant Nursing Sister
D. Missionary

C. Assistant Nursing Sister.
Clara was offered a job as an Assistant Nursing Sister and was due to start work in Lagos in a week or so.
30. Obi was immediately drawn to Clara on the MV Sasa after she came to his cabin to offer him medicine for:

A. Fever
B. Sea-sickness
C. A headache
D. Scalded feet

B. Sea-sickness.
Clara came to Obi’s room noticing he was unwell and offered him Avomine tablets, having enough for all the passengers.

31. Clara confessed to Obi that she could not marry him because she was an osu, which means she belongs to:

A. A lineage of criminals
B. A forbidden caste dedicated to a god
C. A rival clan
D. A slave family

B. A forbidden caste dedicated to a god.
Clara explained that she was an osu, meaning she belonged to a caste dedicated to serve a god, turning her descendants into forbidden outcasts.

32. Obi’s father, Isaac Okonkwo, compared the osu system to the disease of:

A. Malaria
B. Measles
C. Leprosy
D. Smallpox

C. Leprosy.
Obi’s father argues against the marriage, stating that the osu is “like leprosy in the minds of our people,” drawing an analogy from the Bible.

33. When the UPU President challenged Obi about marrying Clara, Obi immediately retaliated by:

A. Refusing to attend meetings
B. Taking the President to court
C. Taking back his request for four months’ grace
D. Converting Clara to Christianity

C. Taking back his request for four months’ grace.
Outraged by the President’s interference, Obi shouted that he would start repaying his loan immediately and never return to the meetings.

34. Obi’s financial difficulties worsened because he had to pay for his mother’s treatment in a:

A. Traditional healer’s hut
B. Private hospital
C. Mission dispensary
D. Lagos clinic

B. Private hospital.
Obi realized that if he had not sent thirty-five pounds to pay for his mother’s treatment in a private hospital, he would have been financially stable.
35. Obi tried to impose new economy measures at his flat, which included turning off the refrigerator:

A. All day
B. At 7 p.m. until noon the next day
C. On weekends only
D. When he was away

B. At 7 p.m. until noon the next day.
Obi instructed his steward that the fridge must be switched off at seven in the evening and turned on again at twelve noon. This was an austerity measure.

36. Who suggested to Obi that he was an “inexperienced kite” that should have accepted bribes noisily instead of refusing them in silence?

A. Mr. Green
B. The UPU President
C. An inner voice/proverb
D. Clara

C. An inner voice/proverb.
A proverb described how an inexperienced kite (Obi) was dangerous because it refused a duckling (bribe) silently, causing grave danger by its silence.

37. When Obi refused the bribe offered by Mr. Mark for a scholarship, he felt a strange sense of elation similar to his feelings after his first successful encounter with a/an:

A. University examination
B. Argument with Green
C. Woman in London
D. Nigerian cultural feast

C. Woman in London.
Obi felt elated after refusing the bribe, comparing it to the feeling he had in England after his first experience with a woman.

38. The próstitute who visited one of Obi’s European neighbors in Ikoyi came only on:

A. Sundays
B. Weekdays
C. Saturday nights
D. Mornings

C. Saturday nights.
Obi knew one of his upstairs neighbors, a European, who regularly brought an African próstitute home only on Saturday nights.

39. Obi had an immediate strong reaction against the bride-price after Joseph told him he paid how much for his wife?

A. £50
B. £100
C. £130
D. £500

C. £130.
Joseph mentioned paying a bride-price of one hundred and thirty pounds, which Obi immediately decided was far too much to pay for a wife.
40. Obi’s final analysis of the corruption problem suggested that change would require:

A. Educating the masses
B. A long time (centuries)
C. A handful of men or one enlightened dictator
D. Complete colonial withdrawal

C. A handful of men or one enlightened dictator.
Obi lamented that educating the masses would take centuries and wondered if the solution was “A handful of men… or even one man with vision.”

41. What type of post did Obi occupy in the Civil Service, raising him from the masses to the élite?

A. Senior Service
B. Clerical Service
C. Public Works
D. Administrative Assistant

A. Senior Service.
Obi’s position was considered a “European post” or Senior Civil Servant, offering a high salary and luxuriously furnished quarters.

42. Which key character was described as a devout Christian and a sidesman at the Colonial Church?

A. Isaac Okonkwo
B. Mr. Clarke
C. Mr. Green
D. Christopher

C. Mr. Green.
Miss Tomlinson informs Obi that Mr. Green is a “very devout Christian, a sidesman at the Colonial Church,” adding complexity to his character.

43. Obi’s mother told him she would kill herself if he married Clara, likening the marriage to a bad dream about:

A. A storm destroying the harvest
B. Termites eating her bed
C. Drowning in the stream
D. A serpent striking

B. Termites eating her bed.
The mother narrated a bad dream where white termites ate her bed, which she interpreted as the meaning of her death.

44. What object did Obi’s father not allow his children to handle when pouring kerosene into his hurricane lamp?

A. The lid
B. The bottle
C. The match
D. The wick

B. The bottle.
Obi knew his father would never dream of letting children pour the kerosene into his lamp, as they would not know how to do it properly.
45. Obi’s father, Isaac Okonkwo, was the son of which historically significant character mentioned in the novel?

A. Ezeudu
B. Okolo
C. Ogbuefi Okonkwo
D. Obierika

C. Ogbuefi Okonkwo.
Obi’s father is the son of Ogbuefi Okonkwo, who faced the white man single-handed and died in the fight, making him a famous ancestor.

46. What ultimately happened to the £50 Clara loaned Obi to pay off his overdraft?

A. Obi spent it on the car
B. It was stolen from his glove-box
C. Obi immediately returned it
D. Obi used it for the abortion

B. It was stolen from his glove-box.
After Clara dropped the ring and the money (£50) in the glove-box, Obi returned later to find the box empty and the money stolen.

47. When Obi’s mother died, the Umuofia Progressive Union members believed Obi did not go home for the funeral because:

A. He ran after “sweet things”
B. He was too busy working
C. He lacked money for transport
D. He did not receive the telegram

A. He ran after “sweet things”.
The UPU members suggested Obi missed the funeral because “Lagos can do to a young man. He runs after sweet things, dances breast to breast with women.”

48. What service did Obi eventually secure for Clara regarding her pregnancy?

A. A swift marriage
B. Adoption of the child
C. An illegal abortion
D. A trip abroad

C. An illegal abortion.
Obi sought out doctors willing to perform a criminal operation for thirty pounds after Clara refused to marry him while pregnant.

49. In Obi’s diary entry, following his mother’s death, he described himself as feeling like a brand-new snake that has emerged from its:

A. Nest
B. Slough
C. Pit
D. Cave

B. Slough.
Obi wrote in his diary: “I wonder why I am feeling like a brand-new snake just emerged from its slough,” indicating a renewed perspective after grief.
50. What final event led to Obi Okonkwo’s arrest and detention in the dock?

A. He tried to flee the country
B. He paid back his loan fully
C. He accepted marked money
D. He assaulted Mr. Green

C. He accepted marked money.
A visitor (the stranger) searched Obi and found the “marked notes” (the bribe money) in his pocket, leading to his arrest.

Brief Overview

No Longer at Ease is a novel by Chinua Achebe, first published in 1960. It is a tragic novel that follows the downfall of a brilliant young man due to the immense conflict between traditional Nigerian culture and modern, colonial society.

The story centers on Obi Okonkwo, whose village, Umuofia, funded his education in England with £800. The Umuofia Progressive Union (UPU) expected him to study Law, but Obi demonstrated his self-will by choosing English instead.

Obi returns to Lagos and secures a Senior Service job. He meets Clara, an Assistant Nursing Sister, and falls deeply in love with her. Clara reveals she is an osu, a forbidden caste. Obi’s parents strongly oppose the marriage, calling the osu system “leprosy.” His mother threatens to kill herself if he marries Clara.

Obi suffers heavy financial pressure. He owes money to the UPU and pays for his mother’s hospital treatment. He initially refuses to accept bribes, feeling morally victorious. Clara becomes pregnant. Obi pays £30 for an illegal abortion, and his mother dies shortly after. Obi feels great guilt.

Clara leaves him. Obi is desperate for money and struggles greatly to repay his loans. He becomes depressed and feels weak. Obi finally accepts a bribe. He is immediately arrested with the marked money. The novel ends with Obi facing trial for taking a bribe.

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