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Author:
Nasir Iqbal|Assistant Professor of English Literature
Updated on:November 1, 2025 Estimated Reading Time:19 min
Possessing the Secret of Joy MCQs
1. What was the name of Tashi’s favorite sister who died?
A. Lala
B. Olivia
C. Dura
D. Nafa
C. Dura. Tashi’s favorite sister, Dura, had bled to death after her ritual circumcision. This tragic event caused Tashi great fear and lifelong trauma about the practice.
2. Why did Tashi’s family first take her away from the village?
A. She was ill
B. To meet foreigners
C. She could not stop crying
D. To work the crops
C. She could not stop crying. Tashi’s constant crying was deemed unacceptable by the elders, so her mother took her to their farm for seven weeks. This escape was for behavioral correction.
3. What item did young Tashi use two of to sew?
A. Scissors
B. Thimbles
C. Needles
D. Threads
B. Thimbles. Tashi learned to sew using two thimbles to take no risks after her sister bled to death. She was extremely fearful of drawing blood, even a small drop.
4. What item caused Dura’s scar before Tashi was born?
A. A sharp stone
B. A burning twig
C. A broken cup
D. A cat’s claw
B. A burning twig. Dura tried to put a burning twig from the fire into her mouth, leaving a small scar. This childhood incident showed her early tendency toward self-inflicted harm.
5. What was the community’s response when Tashi’s father asked why she was crying?
A. They ignored him
B. They laughed
C. They offered aid
D. They said she was sick
A. They ignored him. The elders shifted and replied, “There is no little crying girl here,” acting as if they were confused. This deflection showed the community’s lack of genuine engagement with her emotional suffering.
6. What was Tashi’s mother’s advice regarding hard work?
A. Work fills emptiness
B. Work is God’s plan
C. Work is necessary
D. Work is painful
A. Work fills emptiness. Tashi’s mother believed that hard work was the only thing that filled the emptiness in life. This philosophy provided her a grim form of emotional management and survival.
7. What did Tashi feel when she saw her mother trudging with groundnuts?
A. Shame
B. The weight of Dura’s death
C. Anger
D. Relief
B. The weight of Dura’s death. Tashi felt the weight of Dura’s death settling upon her mother’s spirit like the groundnuts. The burden of their shared loss was physically manifested in the image of the heavy load.
8. What did Tashi claim had happened to her missing penny?
A. She spent it
B. A bird took it
C. It rolled away
D. Adam stole it
B. A bird took it. Tashi’s improbable tale involved a giant bird snatching the coin from a glass of water. This fantastical explanation revealed her imaginative mind’s ability to cope with reality.
9. What was Tashi’s response to Olivia’s dramatic plea not to go to the Mbele camp?
A. She obeyed
B. She felt contempt
C. She felt pity
D. She got angry
B. She felt contempt. Tashi felt contempt because the foreigners were much more dramatic than Africans dared to be. This reaction highlighted the cultural difference in emotional expression and behavior.
10. What animal’s body parts were missing after a disastrous encounter that Tashi imagined?
A. Leopard. Tashi imagined a leopard returning to find her mate and cubs stiffly dead and without their skins. This dark image reflected her deep fear of violence and brutal loss.
11. Who recommended Evelyn (Tashi) to the Old Man (Mzee)?
A. Adam
B. Olivia
C. Lisette
D. Raye
C. Lisette. The Old Man, a doctor of the soul, saw Evelyn because Adam’s friend Lisette recommended the case. This contact initiated Tashi’s difficult psychological healing process.
12. What was the first drawing Evelyn made for Mzee?
A. Her circumcised body
B. The leopard and her mother
C. Her lost children
D. Adam’s face
B. The leopard and her mother. The first thing she drew was the terrifying meeting of her mother and the leopard on the path. This image represented her core childhood fear and trauma.
13. What did the American psychiatrist claim Africán-American women refuse to do?
A. Speak on the couch
B. Blame their mothers
C. Talk about sex
D. Acknowledge dreams
B. Blame their mothers. The psychiatrist claimed black women were difficult to analyze because they could not blame their mothers. This showed the cultural limitations of his psychological approach.
14. What object did Evelyn note Mzee used to shave wood for kindling?
A. An axe
B. A huge razor
C. A machete
D. A stone
B. A huge razor. Evelyn noticed a huge, ancient razor with Chinese dragons on the loggia, used for kindling. This razor was later connected to the trauma of female circumcision.
15. What creature in Mzee’s East Africa film caused Tashi to faint?
A. A fighting cock
B. An elephant
C. A snake
D. A dog
A. A fighting cock. Tashi felt overwhelming fear and quietly fainted upon seeing a large, majestic fighting cock. The cock symbolized aggressive masculinity and the violence she feared greatly.
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16. What did Tashi paint directly onto Mzee’s bedroom wall?
A. A woman’s portrait
B. The dark tower
C. The enormous cock
D. Her bloody feet
C. The enormous cock. Tashi painted a menacing, huge, feathered creature, which they subsequently called “The Beast.” This painting was a manifestation of her inner rage and pain.
17. What did Tashi remember after painting “The Beast”?
A. Her wedding day
B. Dura’s murder
C. Adam’s betrayal
D. Her lost youth
B. Dura’s murder. After finishing the painting, Tashi remembered and finally spoke the painful truth of Dura’s murder. This act of artistic expression unblocked the traumatic memory.
18. Where did Evelyn often go on Sunday mornings in America to find peace?
A. Church
B. The Waverly psychiatric hospital
C. Lisette’s house
D. Her garden
B. The Waverly psychiatric hospital. She appreciated the sanctuary of the Waverly, where she sat sedated and calm on the lawn. This was the only place she could find temporary peace in her life.
19. What did Evelyn say an American looks like?
A. White and rich
B. Wounded with a hidden wound
C. Angry and bitter
D. Strong and resilient
B. Wounded with a hidden wound. Evelyn concluded that an American looks like a wounded person whose wound is often hidden from others. This reflected her own hidden pain and identity.
20. What ritual did Tashi say she carried out for M’Lissa?
A. Cooking
B. Murder and burning
C. Washing her feet
D. Praying for her
B. Murder and burning. Tashi admitted she murdered M’Lissa by smothering her, carrying out the traditional expectation for a tsunga. This extreme act was a result of her deep trauma.
21. Why did Tashi go to the Mbele camp?
A. To escape Adam
B. To fight the regime
C. To be initiated as Olinka woman
D. To find her mother
C. To be initiated as Olinka woman. Tashi went to the Mbele camp because she recognized circumcision as the definitive stamp of Olinka tradition. She needed this mark for her cultural identity.
22. What effect did the circumcision have on Tashi’s ability to walk?
A. She needed a cane
B. It gave her a shuffle
C. It made her nimble
D. It made her fall often
B. It gave her a shuffle. The hidden scar gave her the classic Olinka woman’s walk, in which feet appear to slide forward. This was a physical mark of her profound, life-altering trauma.
23. What did M’Lissa carry out of the initiation hut after Dura’s age group ritual?
A. A sharp stone
B. A piece of the clitoris
C. A hen
D. Dura’s clothes
B. A piece of the clitoris. Tashi saw M’Lissa shuffle out of the hut carrying a small, unclean object between her toes. This was the piece of the clitoris removed during the violent ritual.
24. What was the symbolic meaning of the “dark tower” in Evelyn’s dreams?
A. A castle
B. A prison
C. A termite hill
D. A rocket ship
C. A termite hill. Pierre explained that the dark tower represented the termite hill, symbolizing the inert, breeding queen. This was a profound, mystical symbol of traditional female power.
25. Why did God cut down the termite hill (clitoris) in the Dogon creation myth?
A. It was too small
B. It barred intercourse
C. It was diseased
D. It was too soft
B. It barred intercourse. The termite hill rose up, displaying masculinity, barring God’s passage for intercourse, so he cut it. This myth attempts to justify the circumcision ritual.
26. What was the painful consequence for M’Lissa of resisting the cutting?
A. She went blind
B. Her inner thigh tendon was gashed
C. Her nose was broken
D. She became sterile
B. Her inner thigh tendon was gashed. M’Lissa’s body bucked, and a deep gash went through the tendon of her inner thigh. This permanent injury was a consequence of her fierce resistance to the mutilation.
27. What did M’Lissa say was the emotion that left her heart when she realized no God cared?
A. Guilt
B. Pain
C. Terror
D. Love
B. Pain. M’Lissa said she knew when the pain was greatest that there is no God who cares about children or women. This realization caused profound spiritual abandonment.
28. What was the symbol that the potters discovered that showed women interacting sexually?
A. Statues of men only
B. Smiling figures touching genitals
C. Clay idols of warriors
D. Figures of prégnant women
B. Smiling figures touching genitals. Photographs showed ancient figures smiling, touching their own or other women’s genitals. This symbolized a past, unashamed female sexuality and power.
29. What was the common understanding of the “tsunga” (circumciser) among the Olinka elders?
A. A servant
B. God’s assistant
C. A murderer
D. A witch to control
D. A witch to control. The tsunga was merely a witch they could control, an extension of their dominating power. This dehumanized her role as the practitioner of the ritual.
30. What was the word that caused the boulder to “explode” in Tashi’s throat?
A. Murder
B. Crucified
C. Rape
D. Circumcised
A. Murder. Tashi finally confessed: “I remembered my sister Dura’s murder,” which caused the blockage in her throat to explode. This word released her pent-up trauma.
31. How did Adam and Tashi first become lovers?
A. They were married quickly
B. They were accustomed to each other
C. Tashi tricked him
D. It was a one-night stand
B. They were accustomed to each other. They became lovers partly because they were so used to each other, having known each other for years. This familiarity was the basis of their non-romantic connection.
32. What word in the marriage ceremony did Lisette feel tricked by?
A. Love
B. Obey
C. Honor
D. Forever
B. Obey. Lisette stated she could not reconcile the word “obedience” in the ceremony with spiritual expansion. She felt trapped by the patriarchal nature of the marriage vows.
33. What was Lisette’s family’s reaction to her having Adam’s son?
A. They disowned her
B. They were angry then supportive
C. They were immediately happy
D. They blamed Adam
B. They were angry then supportive. Her parents overcame their initial outrage and shock, then showered her with affection and advice. This eventual support provided her stability despite the unconventional birth.
34. What was the purpose of Adam’s father assigning him to tend the élderly parishioner Torabe?
A. To punish him
B. To increase his humility
C. To teach him Olinka
D. To prepare for ministry
B. To increase his humility. Adam’s father assigned him the task of feeding and clothing Torabe hoping to increase his feelings of humility. This assignment was meant to be a spiritual lesson.
35. Why did Evelyn begin boxing Benny’s ears after Pierre’s birth?
A. He annoyed her
B. She felt violence rising in her
C. He was retárded
D. He was disrespectful
B. She felt violence rising in her. Evelyn felt violence rising in her due to her pain, often boxing Benny’s ears for small cause. Her trauma was manifesting as uncontrollable, misdirected anger toward her child.
36. What did Lisette say her grandmother fought for regarding women?
A. Equal pay
B. The right to vote
C. Legal rights
D. Education
B. The right to vote. Lisette’s grandmother, Beatrice, spent her life fighting for the right of French women to vote. This historical struggle was part of Lisette’s heritage.
37. What was Pierre’s job as an adult?
A. Teacher
B. Anthropologist
C. Engineer
D. Priest
B. Anthropologist. Pierre pursued a career as an anthropologist, studying the mysteries that afflicted Tashi. This scientific inquiry into her culture provided a framework for her healing.
38. What quality did Olivia observe in Tashi’s movements after the circumcision?
A. Speed and grace
B. Graceful and slow
C. Hysteria
D. Clumsiness
B. Graceful and slow. Tashi’s movements, once quick and lively, became merely graceful and slow after the trauma. This was a physical manifestation of her psychological withdrawal and pain.
39. What shocking detail did Adam learn about the fate of Torabe’s young wife?
A. She poisoned him
B. She drowned herself
C. She fled the village
D. She killed a child
B. She drowned herself. Torabe’s wife drowned herself in shallow water rather than return to him after being mutilated. This revealed the brutal reality and despair of the women’s experience.
40. What did Pierre say his lovemaking did to his Hawaiian girlfriend?
A. Made her joyful
B. Had a dampening effect
C. Made her leave
D. Made her orgasm easily
B. Had a dampening effect. Pierre realized his approach of dominance had a dampening, or drying, effect on her sexuality. This showed his failure to connect with her as an equal partner.
41. How did Evelyn avoid the embarrassment of cleaning behind her circumcision scar in America?
A. Using a syringe
B. Daily baths
C. Asking Adam to help
D. Ignoring it
A. Using a syringe. Adam and the family solved the cleaning problem by using a medical syringe that looked like a turkey baster. This was a grim, awkward solution to her ongoing physical issue.
42. What did Evelyn tell the court the razor was associated with before she came to America?
A. Hair removal
B. Cooking
C. Men and beards
D. Women’s liberation
C. Men and beards. To Evelyn, the razor was always associated with men, beards, and barber stools. This contrasted with its later horrifying use in the female circumcision ritual.
43. What was the meaning of the color red on the Olinka flag?
A. Prosperity
B. The blood of the people spilled in resistance
C. Joy and life
D. The color of the sky
B. The blood of the people spilled in resistance. Red symbolized the blood of the people that was spilled in resistance to the white regime. This color was a powerful symbol of defiance and suffering in politics.
44. What did the prosecutor say about Evelyn’s time in America?
A. She was a good mother
B. She was often committed to an asylum
C. She was happy
D. She was educated
B. She was often committed to an asylum. The prosecutor asked Adam if his wife was often committed to an insáne asylum in America. This medical history was used to discredit her testimony during the trial.
45. What did Raye do to understand better the pain Tashi endured?
A. She read books
B. She mutilated her gums
C. She spoke with M’Lissa
D. She took a strong drug
B. She mutilated her gums. Raye had her own gums mutilated and scraped to gain a faint idea of Tashi’s pain. This extreme act was a gesture of profound solidarity and empathy.
46. Who did Evelyn say was “She Who Prepares the Lambs for Slaughter”?
A. M’Lissa
B. Lisette
C. Her mother
D. Olivia
C. Her mother. Evelyn felt her mother had sunk into the role of “She Who Prepares the Lambs for Slaughter.” This was her daughter’s cruel interpretation of her mother’s compliance with the violent ritual.
47. Why did Tashi want to wear a red dress to her execution?
A. It was her favorite color
B. To represent women’s blood power
C. To make Adam cry
D. It meant resistance
B. To represent women’s blood power. Red, the color of women’s blood, comes before black and white, and she was sick of those colors. She wanted to reclaim a symbol of female power.
48. What Yoruba word did Evelyn teach Mbati, meaning “the power to make things happen”?
A. Mbele
B. Aché
C. Nyanda
D. Tsunga
B. Aché. Aché is Yoruba and means “the power to make things happen” or energy. This concept was a fundamental belief system that Evelyn shared with her friend.
49. What slogan did Tashi’s friends unfurl on a banner at her execution?
A. Joy is inevitable
B. Resistance is the secret of joy
C. Tashi is free
D. Death is peace
B. Resistance is the secret of joy. The banner Mbati unfurled stated in huge letters: “RESISTANCE IS THE SECRET OF JOY!”. This was a powerful final political statement against her executioners and the oppressive system.
50. What object did Tashi concentrate on before she died?
A. Adam’s face
B. The firing squad
C. The blue hill
D. The old village
C. The blue hill. Tashi decided to concentrate on the beauty of one blue hill in the distance, making the moment eternity. This was a final act of spiritual freedom and detachment from her suffering.
Brief Overview
Tashi is an Olinka woman living in America. She goes by the name Evelyn Johnson. She feels she is already dead due to her childhood trauma. Tashi was raised near the family of missionaries, Adam and Olivia.
As a girl, Tashi saw her beloved sister, Dura, die after a circumcision ritual. Tashi joined a rebel group as a young woman. She had the painful female initiation (circumcision) done to herself as an adult. She wanted to be a “real woman” and accepted by her people. This caused her lifelong psychological and physical pain.
Tashi married Adam, who carved tribal markings on his face to show solidarity. In America, Tashi suffered extreme psychological distress and paranoia. She believed her nightmare of a dark tower represented her painful existence as a woman.
Tashi learned that M’Lissa, the midwife, killed her sister Dura with a botched procedure. Tashi returned to Africa and was accused of murdering M’Lissa. She confessed to the murder even though she was innocent. She did this because she was tired of life and wanted to stop her suffering.
Tashi was sentenced to death. Her step-son, Pierre, helped Tashi understand her trauma through mythology. At her execution, Tashi’s family held a banner. The banner declared: RESISTANCE IS THE SECRET OF JOY. Tashi found peace and died satisfied.
