Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Part I: Questions About The Novel: Assessment English 9 Unit 4: Purple Hibiscus
Part I: Questions About The Novel: Assessment English 9 Unit 4: Purple Hibiscus
English 9
Unit 4: Purple Hibiscus
Part I: Q
uestions about the novel
Directions: Use your knowledge of Purple Hibiscus to answer the questions below.
1. Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie uses the Achike family as a microcosm for Nigerian
society in order to develop which of the following themes?
a. When those in power use their status to oppress others, the
consequences are devastating.
b. Family dynamics are complicated and they have long-lasting impacts on
children.
c. Freedom and independence are essential for a healthy government and
must be defended at all costs.
d. Love comes in many forms, but should never be confused with abuse and
oppression.
2. The author’s decision to develop the character of Amaka as a foil for Kambili is
mainly for what purpose?
a. To reveal the theme of family; Kambili and Amaka are family and will
support each other despite their differences.
b. To reveal Kambili’s internal conflict; she wants to be a faithful daughter to
her father, but also wants to develop into her own independent young
woman.
c. To reveal the tension that colonialism created in Nigeria; the differences
between Kambili and Amaka mirror the tension between tradition and
modernization in Nigeria.
d. To reveal the central irony of the novel; Kambili is the product of a home
that appears successful but is in fact a violent home, while Amaka’s
situation is the opposite.
3. The novel begins on Palm Sunday, traces time backwards from that day, and
finally returns back to Palm Sunday and the days that follow it. This structure
mainly serves to
a. characterize Papa as a tyrant.
b. move the plot forward in an interesting way.
c. emphasize the central role of Christianity in the novel.
d. highlight the central conflict of the novel.
C BY-NC-SA 4.0.
Except as otherwise noted, © 2015-2021 Fishtank Learning, Inc., and licensed under C
C BY-NC-SA 4.0.
Except as otherwise noted, © 2015-2021 Fishtank Learning, Inc., and licensed under C
4. Why does the author most likely include the detail that the package was from
the Head of State?
a. It reveals that Ade Coker had a relationship with the Head of State or
someone in his office.
b. It reveals that Ade Coker was a spy who had been covertly working for the
government.
c. It reveals that Ade Coker was killed by someone in the highest ranks of
the government.
d. It reveals that Ade Coker should have been suspicious of the package.
5. What literary device is Adichie using in these sentences from the passage above?
“The baby was nearby, in a high chair. His wife was spooning Cerelac into the baby’s
mouth. Ade Coker was blown up when he opened the package…”
“…I imagined the thick bluish lenses shattering, the white frames melting into sticky
goo.”
“I saw Ade Coker’s charred remains spattered on his dining table, on his daughter’s
school uniform, on his baby’s cereal bowl, on his plate of eggs.”
“He seemed so small, Papa who was so tall that he sometimes lowered his head to get
through the doorways…”
a. metaphor
b. allusion
c. symbol
d. juxtaposition
6. What is the main impact of the literary device used in number 5 on the reader?
a. It highlights for the reader the conflict between the military government
and the journalists who are writing about them.
b. It further characterizes Ade Coker for the reader by revealing that he is
not just a newspaper editor, but also a father.
c. It emphasizes for the reader the devastating impact that the violence in
Nigeria has on the everyday lives of the people.
d. It reveals to the reader the impact that this assassination has on both Ade
Coker’s family and Kambili’s family.
C BY-NC-SA 4.0.
Except as otherwise noted, © 2015-2021 Fishtank Learning, Inc., and licensed under C
7. The purple hibiscus is a central symbol in the novel. What does the flower
symbolize?
a. hope
b. sacrifice
c. family
d. freedom
“The rain was so heavy it had formed a small pool beside the hibiscuses.”
a. The wet hibiscus communicates to the reader that the conflict between
freedom and oppression is intensifying.
b. The wet hibiscus communicates Papa’s brokenness and the family’s deep
concern for him in this moment.
c. The wet hibiscus communicates that love has been lost in both Kambili’s
family and in the country of Nigeria.
d. The wet hibiscus communicates that the sacrifices Kambili made to bring
the hibiscus home were for nothing.
9. Which of the following best expresses how the setting mirrors the mood of this
passage?
a. The Achike family is in their living room and the mood is very peaceful.
b. It is an unusually rainy day and the mood is unusually somber and
subdued.
c. It is the harmattan season which is normally dry and the mood is one of
being surprised.
d. They are inside their home during the rain, and the mood is one of being
sheltered and protected.
C BY-NC-SA 4.0.
Except as otherwise noted, © 2015-2021 Fishtank Learning, Inc., and licensed under C
11. Which piece of evidence from the passage supports the answer to number 10?
a. “Later, after Mama told us what had happened, how it had happened, Jaja
said, “It was God’s will, Papa…gently patted his back.”
b. “It rained heavily the day that Ade Coker died, a strange, furious rain in
the middle of the parched harmattan.”
c. “Ade Coker was at breakfast with his family when a courier delivered a
package to him…everyone would have known it was from the head of
state.”
d. “’I should have protected him. I should have made him stop that story.’”
Part III: P
oem
Directions: Read the poem below and use it to answer the questions that follow.
C BY-NC-SA 4.0.
Except as otherwise noted, © 2015-2021 Fishtank Learning, Inc., and licensed under C
● WFA #1: Thesis: Begin with a universal idea/theme statement that is accurate and
can be supported with examples from the text
● WFA #2: Evidence: Use well-chosen evidence to support thesis
● WFA #3: Structure: Two paragraphs each revealing a way the author reveals theme
C BY-NC-SA 4.0.
Except as otherwise noted, © 2015-2021 Fishtank Learning, Inc., and licensed under C