Chinua Achebe

Chinua Achebe Study question

Things Fall Apart

Facts about Chinua Achebe

➾ His birth name was Albert, given by his parents in tribute to Prince Albert, the husband of Queen Victoria.

➾ While at university, he switched his studies from medicine to liberal arts.

➾ He abandoned his English first name, Albert, in college in favor of Chinua, a shortened version of his Igbo middle name.

➾ His chosen Igbo name, Chinualumogo, is translated to mean “My spirit come fight for me”.

➾ His first novel, Things Fall Apart, was nearly lost because a London typing service delayed returning the handwritten manuscript for months.

➾ He famously stated that he never experienced the life of a struggling writer because fame came almost instantly.

➾ After A Man of the People was published, he narrowly escaped harm from soldiers who believed the novel implicated him in the country’s first military coup.

➾ During the Nigerian Civil War, he served as Biafra’s international ambassador and communications minister.

➾ He moved to the United States in 1990 to receive better medical care after a car accident in Africa left him partially paralyzed.

➾ Despite his parents being Christian converts who shunned traditional practices, Achebe grew up fascinated by the tribal religion.

➾ When he read colonial books, he first sided with the white characters and even admitted that he used to strongly dislike the African people shown as “savages” in those stories.

Chinua Achebe MCQs

1. What was Chinua Achebe’s full birth name?

A. Chinualumogu Achebe
B. Albert Chinualumogu Achebe
C. Albert Ogidi Achebe
D. Chinua Okonkwo Achebe

B. Albert Chinualumogu Achebe

2. In what large village in Igboland was Chinua Achebe raised?

A. Umuahia
B. Lagos
C. Ogidi
D. Ibadan

C. Ogidi

3. What was the religious background of Achebe’s parents?

A. Traditional Igbo religion
B. Muslim
C. Christian evangelical
D. Roman Catholic

C. Christian evangelical

4. What subject did Achebe initially study at University College before switching to liberal arts?

A. History
B. Literature
C. Medicine
D. English

C. Medicine

5. Around what age did Achebe begin learning English?

A. Fourteen
B. At birth
C. At about eight
D. In college

C. At about eight

6. Achebe’s Igbo name, “Chinua,” is a shortened version of which name?

A. Okonkwo
B. Umuofia
C. Chinualumogo
D. Iloegbunam

C. Chinualumogo

7. What is the English translation of “Chinualumogo”?

A. My spirit finds peace.
B. My spirit come fight for me.
C. The Spirit of Ogidi.
D. The wisdom of the elders.

B. My spirit come fight for me.

8. Achebe grew up surrounded by a fusion of which two elements?

A. Traditional Igbo stories and European novels
B. Christian evangelicalism and colonial governance
C. Igbo traditions and the colonial legacy
D. Poetry and fiction

C. Igbo traditions and the colonial legacy

9. The Government College in Umuahia, which Achebe attended, was considered the best in which region?

A. Eastern Nigeria
B. West Africa
C. Igboland
D. The British Colony of Nigeria

B. West Africa

10. What was the profession of Achebe’s father, Isaiah Okafor Achebe?

A. A farmer in Ogidi
B. District Commissioner
C. An instructor in Christian catechism
D. A liberal arts professor.

C. An instructor in Christian catechism

11. After graduating in 1953, where did Achebe first work as a radio producer?

A. University of Nigeria
B. The Nigerian Broadcasting Corporation (NBC)
C. Bard College
D. Heinemann Publishing

B. The Nigerian Broadcasting Corporation (NBC)

12. Which of Achebe’s works was his first published novel?

A. Arrow of God
B. No Longer At Ease
C. A Man of the People
D. Things Fall Apart

D. Things Fall Apart

13. In what year was Things Fall Apart published?

A. 1960
B. 1958
C. 1966
D. 1987

B. 1958

14. How many copies has Things Fall Apart sold worldwide?

A. At least forty-five
B. Eight million
C. Over twenty million
D. Several thousand

B. Eight million

15. Things Fall Apart is set during the coming of the white man to Nigeria in which decade?

A. The 1930s
B. The 1950s
C. The 1890s
D. The 1920s

C. The 1890s

16. Achebe wrote Things Fall Apart as an antidote to European literature that depicted Africans in what way?

A. As highly educated
B. As prímitive and mindless savages
C. As overly concerned with justice
D. As naturally democratic

B. As prímitive and mindless savages

17. What did Achebe believe was his literary responsibility to his community?

A. To introduce complex European forms.
B. To create authentic criteria for writing in Africa.
C. To focus solely on political themes.
D. To ensure his work was published in London.

B. To create authentic criteria for writing in Africa.

18. Which literary tool does Achebe use to avoid Things Fall Apart reading like an anthropology text?

A. Tragic irony
B. Dialogue
C. Digression
D. Flashback

C. Digression

19. What prize did Things Fall Apart win a year after its publication?

A. The Booker McConnell Prize
B. The Nigerian National Merit Award
C. The Commonwealth Poetry Prize
D. The Margaret Wong Memorial Prize

D. The Margaret Wong Memorial Prize

20. What major theme unites Achebe’s first three novels?

A. The difficulty of city life
B. The rise of African dictators
C. The clash between traditional African life and British colonial practices
D. The importance of education

C. The clash between traditional African life and British colonial practices

21. Which novel is explicitly referred to as the sequel to Things Fall Apart?

A. Arrow of God
B. No Longer At Ease
C. Anthills of the Savannah
D. A Man of the People

B. No Longer At Ease

22. Which novel features a chief priest who turns his resentment against his own people?

A. No Longer At Ease
B. A Man of the People
C. Arrow of God
D. Things Fall Apart

C. Arrow of God

23. Which 1966 novel led the government to mistakenly believe Achebe was involved in a real coup?

A. Arrow of God
B. No Longer At Ease
C. A Man of the People
D. There Was a Country

C. A Man of the People

24. Which two novels deal specifically with corruption in postcolonial African life?

A. Things Fall Apart and Arrow of God
B. No Longer At Ease and Arrow of God
C. A Man of the People and Anthills of the Savannah
D. Girls at War and Morning Yet on Creation Day

C. A Man of the People and Anthills of the Savannah

25. Which of Achebe’s novels was shortlisted for the Booker McConnell Prize in 1987?

A. Arrow of God
B. A Man of the People
C. Anthills of the Savannah
D. The Trouble with Nigeria

C. Anthills of the Savannah

26. In the Igbo society of Things Fall Apart, how are decisions made?

A. By the king or chief
B. By a council of titled elders
C. By a simple democracy, with males deciding by consensus
D. By the District Commissioner

C. By a simple democracy, with males deciding by consensus

27. What injustice within Igbo society does Achebe not shy away from depicting?

A. Their sophisticated market economy
B. The injustices of Igbo society, such as their fear of twins
C. Their high degree of social mobility
D. The role of the masked spirits

B. The injustices of Igbo society, such as their fear of twins

28. What critique of corrupt Nigerian politicians did Achebe publish in 1983?

A. Anthills of the Savannah
B. Morning Yet on Creation Day
C. There Was a Country
D. The Trouble with Nigeria

D. The Trouble with Nigeria

29. What does Achebe believe good artistic and literary works must deal with?

A. The problems of European colonialism
B. The problems of society
C. The aesthetics of language
D. The history of the Igbo people

B. The problems of society

30. What does Achebe suggest “any good story, any good novel,” should have?

A. A perfect tragic hero
B. Complex literary forms
C. A message and a purpose
D. Only African characters

C. A message and a purpose

31. Achebe left his career in radio in 1966 during the unrest that led to which conflict?

A. The struggle for Nigerian independence
B. The Biafran War (Nigerian Civil War)
C. The First Military Coup
D. The clash between colonial authorities and the Igbo

B. The Biafran War (Nigerian Civil War)

32. The Biafran War began when the southeast provinces, largely populated by which ethnic group, seceded?

A. Yoruba
B. Hausa
C. Igbo
D. Tiv

C. Igbo

33. What was Achebe’s role during the Nigerian Civil War?

A. A war correspondent
B. A soldier
C. Biafra’s international ambassador
D. A relief worker

C. Biafra’s international ambassador

34. Achebe’s civil war writings include essays and which 1971 volume of poetry?

A. Christmas in Biafra
B. The Trouble with Nigeria
C. Beware, Soul Brother
D. Dead Man’s Path

C. Beware, Soul Brother

35. Which novel nearly got Achebe arrested after the country’s first military coup?

A. Anthills of the Savannah
B. A Man of the People
C. The secession of Biafra
D. The establishment of colonial rule

B. A Man of the People

36. In 1967, Achebe co-founded a publishing company with which Nigerian poet?

A. Gabriel Okara
B. Wole Soyinka
C. Christopher Okigbo
D. Cyprian Ekwensi

C. Christopher Okigbo

37. After leaving radio, where did Achebe take a position as Senior Research Fellow?

A. Brown University
B. University of Massachusetts
C. University of Nigeria
D. Bard College

C. University of Nigeria

38. What prestigious Nigerian literary magazine did Achebe become an editor for in 1971?

A. Uwa Ndi Igbo
B. The Trouble with Nigeria
C. Okike
D. University Herald

C. Okike

39. In which year did Achebe become Emeritus Professor at the University of Nigeria?

A. 1976
B. 1981
C. 1985
D. 1990

C. 1985

40. In the 1970s, Achebe served as director of Heinemann Educational Books and which other publisher?

A. GradeSaver LLC
B. Nwankwo-Ifejika Ltd.
C. Longman
D. Macmillan

B. Nwankwo-Ifejika Ltd.

41. What bilingual publication dedicated to Igbo cultural life did Achebe found in 1984?

A. Okike
B. Uwa Ndi Igbo
C. Girls at War
D. The University Herald

B. Uwa Ndi Igbo

42. Achebe was the founding editor of which influential publishing series?

A. Heinemann’s World Literature Series
B. Heinemann’s African Writers Series
C. Heinemann’s Modern Classics
D. The Oxford Library of African Fiction

B. Heinemann’s African Writers Series

43. Which of these American universities did Achebe teach at?

A. Harvard University
B. Brown University
C. Yale University
D. Columbia University

B. Brown University

44. Where did Achebe attend the Staff School of the BBC in 1956?

A. Lagos
B. Enugu
C. London
D. New York

C. London

45. What was Achebe’s aim as director of the Voice of Nigeria?

A. To publish more Nigerian books.
B. To develop national identity through radio programs on Nigerian culture.
C. To broadcast anti-colonial propaganda.
D. To encourage Nigerians to learn English.

B. To develop national identity through radio programs on Nigerian culture.

46. Which of the following is a collection of short stories by Achebe?

A. Morning Yet on Creation Day
B. Beware, Soul Brother
C. Girls at War
D. The Trouble with Nigeria

C. Girls at War

47. In which year did Achebe receive the Nigerian National Merit Award?

A. 1987
B. 1959
C. 1960
D. 1972

A. 1987

48. How many honorary doctorates did Achebe receive from universities worldwide?

A. Two
B. More than ten
C. Over twenty
D. Exactly forty-five

C. Over twenty

49. What 1990 incident left Achebe partially paralyzed?

A. He suffered a stroke while teaching.
B. He was shot at by soldiers.
C. A car accident in Africa.
D. He retired from academia.

C. A car accident in Africa.

50. Chinua Achebe died in Boston, Massachusetts, on March 21, 2013, at what age?

A. 79
B. 82
C. 87
D. 60

B. 82

Arrow of God MCQs

1. Ezeulu’s primary duty at the start of the novel is to watch for the:

A. New Yam Festival
B. White man
C. New moon
D. War drum

C. New moon
Ezeulu is the Chief Priest, responsible for watching the sky to correctly calculate and announce major festivals.

2. What design feature differentiates Ezeulu’s obi from others?

A. Special mud
B. No threshold
C. Moon-viewing entrance
D. Larger size

C. Moon-viewing entrance
Ezeulu’s obi has a second shorter threshold and cut-back eaves, allowing him to watch the moon appear.

3. Which festival does Ezeulu plan to announce after the new moon?

A. New Yam
B. Pumpkin Leaves
C. Idemili
D. Gathering of Elders

B. Pumpkin Leaves
Ezeulu plans to send his assistants on the next day (Afo) to announce the Festival of the Pumpkin Leaves.

4. What object does Ezeulu use to announce the sighting?

A. Drum
B. Iron gong (Ogene)
C. Flute
D. Ofo staff

B. Iron gong (Ogene)
After confirming the sighting, Ezeulu beats his ogene, which is an iron gong, to announce the news.

5. Ezeulu compares his political power to:

A. A mighty stream
B. Child with a goat
C. An angry Mask
D. A great tree

B. Child with a goat
Ezeulu questions his power, comparing it to a child who owns a goat but is not the real owner when the goat is slaughtered.

6. How does Ezeulu challenge young men when shaking hands?

A. Testing knowledge
B. Powerful grip
C. Asking riddles
D. Offering wine

B. Powerful grip
Ezeulu proves his strength by tensing his arm and putting all his power into his grip.

7. Why does Ezeulu believe Nwafo is the future Chief Priest?

A. He is eldest
B. Resembles grandfather
C. Most intelligent
D. Quiet nature

B. Resembles grandfather
Ezeulu thinks the deity has marked Nwafo because he is drawn to ritual and resembles Ezeulu’s father.

8. Why is Ezeulu angry with his eldest son, Edogo?

A. Refused to farm
B. Carving a god
C. Drunkenness
D. Hit his sister

B. Carving a god
Ezeulu is angry because Edogo is carving an image of a god (alusi), which Ezeulu had forbidden.

9. Ezeulu feels bitterness during his prayer because of:

A. The white man
B. Okperi war
C. Village division
D. Son’s disobedience

C. Village division
Ezeulu is bitter because of the severe division among the six villages, which his enemies blame on him.

10. What two traits spoiled Obika’s character?

A. Cowardice and greed
B. Laziness and impatience
C. Drinking and anger
D. Theft and malice

C. Drinking and anger
Obika was spoiled by drinking too much palm wine and being given to sudden and fiery anger.

11. Why did Akueke return to her father’s compound?

A. Hut burned down
B. Husband beat her
C. Visiting mother
D. Seeking new husband

B. Husband beat her
Akueke returned home because her husband, Ibe, had ill-treated and beaten her.

12. Why did Ezeulu send Oduche to the Christian mission?

A. To serve whites
B. To be his “eye”
C. To find a wife
D. To fight colonists

B. To be his “eye”
Ezeulu sent him “to join these people and be my eye there,” in case the white man took over.

13. Which proverb warns Oduche about crossing lines?

A. Fowl and goat
B. Masked spirits
C. Handshake beyond elbow
D. Dancing Mask

C. Handshake beyond elbow
“When a handshake goes beyond the elbow we know it has turned to another thing.”

14. Why did the six villages originally install Ulu?

A. Fight Okperi
B. Protection from slavers
C. Central authority
D. Land dispute

B. Protection from slavers
The villages united to protect themselves from the Abam slave raiders.

15. Why did Ezeulu oppose the war with Okperi?

A. Umuaro was weak
B. War was unjust
C. Nwaka was corrupt
D. Family ties

B. War was unjust
Ezeulu believed the land belonged to Okperi and that Ulu would not fight an unjust war.

16. What is the name of the high title held by Nwaka?

A. Ozo
B. Ndichie
C. Eru
D. Eze

C. Eru
Nwaka held the Eru title, named after the lord of wealth.

17. Nwaka claimed Ezeulu was biased because:

A. He was cowardly
B. His mother was from Okperi
C. He wanted kingship
D. He lied

B. His mother was from Okperi
Nwaka implied Ezeulu favored Okperi because his mother was born there.

18. What act led to Akukalia’s death?

A. Cursed the chief
B. Stole cattle
C. Split the Ikenga
D. Insulted elders

C. Split the Ikenga
Akukalia committed an abomination by breaking his host’s sacred Ikenga statue.

19. What nickname was given to Captain Winterbottom?

A. Wintabota
B. Otiji-Egbe (Gun Breaker)
C. Obi Ikedi
D. White Lion

B. Otiji-Egbe (Gun Breaker)
He was called “Breaker of Guns” after destroying the natives’ firearms.

20. Winterbottom blames administrative difficulties on:

A. The climate
B. Headquarters’ interference
C. Native dishonesty
D. Lack of kings

B. Headquarters’ interference
He felt experienced officers were constantly overruled by ignorant officials at Headquarters.

21. Why did Winterbottom choose Ezeulu as Warrant Chief?

A. Offered bribe
B. Spoke the truth
C. Promised conversion
D. Was educated

B. Spoke the truth
Ezeulu was the only witness who testified truthfully about the land dispute.

22. Who is the antagonist backing Nwaka?

A. Obika
B. Oduche
C. Ezidemili
D. Moses Unachukwu

C. Ezidemili
Ezidemili, the priest of Idemili, constantly urged Nwaka to challenge Ezeulu.

23. What does the name “Idemili” mean?

A. Sky Father
B. Pillar of Water
C. Earth Lord
D. Great Mother

B. Pillar of Water
It refers to the pillar holding up the raincloud.

24. Ezidemili claims Ezeulu’s burial custom is a copy of:

A. Royal tradition
B. Idemili’s ritual
C. War rites
D. Magical rites

B. Idemili’s ritual
He argues the first Ezeulu copied the head-separation ritual from Idemili priests.

25. Why did Ezeulu really send Oduche to church?

A. To gain an ally
B. To destroy it
C. To sacrifice him
D. To carry messages

A. To gain an ally
He wanted a family member on the white man’s side if they stayed.

26. What animal did Oduche trap in a box?

A. Sacred cow
B. Royal python
C. Poisonous snake
D. Iguana

B. Royal python
Oduche committed an abomination by trapping the sacred royal python.

27. John Goodcountry used the example of killing which animal?

A. Snake
B. Tortoise
C. Iguana
D. Ram

C. Iguana
He cited Niger Delta Christians who killed the sacred iguana to fight bad customs.

28. Moses Unachukwu argued that killing the python causes:

A. Wealth
B. Ruin and strife
C. Divine favor
D. Good harvest

B. Ruin and strife
He used the story of the lost village Umuama to show that killing the python brings destruction.

29. How was the Okperi-Umuaro road built?

A. Paid labor
B. Unpaid communal labor
C. Slaves
D. Soldiers

B. Unpaid communal labor
Mr. Wright used forced, unpaid labor from the age groups.

30. Why was Obika flogged by Mr. Wright?

A. Drunkenness
B. Late for work
C. Assault
D. Refused to sing

B. Late for work
Obika was whipped for arriving late to the road-building site.

31. Unachukwu compared the white man to:

A. A storm
B. Hot soup
C. Weak child
D. Barking dog

B. Hot soup
“The white man is like hot soup and we must take him slowly-slowly from the edges.”

32. How was Winterbottom injured during his illness?

A. Frostbite
B. Scalded feet
C. Lost sight
D. Burns

B. Scalded feet
Hot water bottles were applied to his feet during delirium, causing severe burns.

33. Umuaro believed Winterbottom’s illness was caused by:

A. Natural sickness
B. Bad luck
C. Ezeulu’s charm
D. Bad omen

C. Ezeulu’s charm
They believed Ezeulu struck him with a powerful charm for the summons.

34. What was Ezeulu’s initial reply to the summons?

A. Too old
B. White man must come
C. Fasting
D. Arrest Nwaka first

B. White man must come
He defiantly stated he would not leave his hut; the white man must come to him.

35. What did Ezeulu find “pleasant” about detention?

A. Food
B. Loss of responsibility
C. Meeting kin
D. Learning language

B. Loss of responsibility
He felt relief at being temporarily free from the heavy burden of priesthood.

36. Who officially offered Ezeulu the Warrant Chief title?

A. Winterbottom
B. Mr. Clarke
C. John Nwodika
D. Ezidemili

B. Mr. Clarke
Due to Winterbottom’s illness, his assistant, Mr. Clarke, made the offer.

37. Ezeulu refused the title, saying he is chief only of:

A. Umuaro
B. Okperi
C. Ulu
D. His compound

C. Ulu
He stated, “Ezeulu will not be anybody’s chief, except Ulu.”

38. What was Ezeulu’s strategy for revenge?

A. Curse the clan
B. Delay return (Ulu’s wrath)
C. Fight with whites
D. Riot

B. Delay return (Ulu’s wrath)
He used his detention as an excuse to delay the sacred calendar, weaponizing Ulu against the people.

39. Why did Ezeulu refuse to announce the New Yam Feast?

A. Punishing villages
B. Had remaining yams
C. Lost count
D. Ulu’s command

B. Had remaining yams
He still had three sacred yams left to eat (one per month) before the year could end.

40. Why did he have excess yams?

A. Saving for sacrifice
B. Too ill
C. Missed moons in prison
D. Forgot ritual

C. Missed moons in prison
Detention prevented him from performing the monthly ritual of eating a yam.

41. Who offered to take the punishment for eating the yams early?

A. White men
B. Christians
C. The ten delegates
D. Family

C. The ten delegates
The elders offered to bear the abomination themselves if Ezeulu would eat the yams.

42. What metaphor explains Ezeulu’s refusal?

A. Child and goat
B. Enemy ruin
C. God’s whip
D. Hunting leopard

C. God’s whip
He claimed he was merely an arrow or whip used by Ulu, unable to act against the god’s will.

43. How long was the harvest delayed?

A. Two moons
B. Two weeks
C. One year
D. Indefinitely

A. Two moons
Ezeulu announced that the year would be prolonged by two months to finish the yams.

44. Who noted that people must still pay tribute despite ruined crops?

A. Akuebue
B. Ofoka
C. Nwaka
D. Oduche

C. Nwaka
Nwaka pointed out the cruelty that people would lose their harvest but still owe tribute to Ulu.

45. Who offered immunity for harvesting yams?

A. Elders
B. Christians
C. Traders
D. Family

B. Christians
The church offered protection to anyone who brought thank-offerings to God.

46. How did Ezeulu react to the Christian offer?

A. Pleased
B. Worried/Investigated
C. Ignored it
D. Cursed them

B. Worried/Investigated
He was disturbed and asked Oduche to confirm if it was true.

47. What did Ezeulu tell Oduche to master?

A. Fighting
B. Writing with left hand
C. Medicine
D. Road building

B. Writing with left hand
He urged him to learn the white man’s skill so thoroughly he could write with his left hand.

Brief Overview

Arrow of God is a novel by Chinua Achebe, first published in 1964. It is a tragic novel that details the downfall of a traditional religious leader due to his own pride and the disruptive interference of British colonial rule.

The story centers on Ezeulu, the powerful Chief Priest of the god Ulu, who looked after the six villages of Umuaro. Ezeulu tried to warn his people against starting an unjust war, but they ignored his counsel. The white man, Captain Winterbottom, stops the conflict and later offers Ezeulu a political title.

Ezeulu decides to send his son, Oduche, to the Christian mission. He wants Oduche to act as his “eye” there, learning the ways of the white men. Oduche later causes great turmoil in the compound by trapping the sacred python, violating tradition.

Winterbottom summons Ezeulu to Okperi. Ezeulu initially refuses to go. He is arrested and detained for thirty-two days. He returns home full of anger and publicly refuses the title of Warrant Chief.

Ezeulu refuses to announce the New Yam Feast. He still needs to eat three sacred yams before he can authorize the harvest. His absence caused him to miss eating two yams. The delay causes a severe famine in Umuaro.

The Christian teacher, Goodcountry, steps into the vacuum. He tells the starving villagers to sacrifice their yams to the Christian God instead. Ezeulu’s favorite son, Obika, dies suddenly. The people conclude that Ulu has punished his proud priest. Many villagers abandon Ulu and turn to the Christian church for help.