Half of a Yellow Sun

Multiple Choice and Long Answer questions create ideal opportunities for whole-book review, unit exam, or summative assessments.

Multiple Choice

1. What is the author’s primary purpose for dividing the book into sections labeled the early ‘60s and the late ‘60s?

A) To draw a comparison between the life of privilege led by the characters before the war and the life of poverty depicted during the war

B) To highlight the comparison between the lives of Olanna and Kailene, as they had vastly different approaches to life

C) To create an intense emotion in the reader using flashbacks to highlight the sense of betrayal felt by Kailene

D) To draw a comparison between the life Ugwu had lived with his family in the village versus his new life with his Master

2. Which emotional archetype best describes Kailene?

A) The gusher

B) The rock

C) The empath

D) The intellectual

3. What can the reader infer about Mohammed based on his actions?

A) He is against having a separate Biafran nation.

B) He is anti-Muslim.

C) He judges people needlessly.

D) He is not prejudiced.

4. Which of the following phrases best supports the idea that Olanna was in shock due to the events she witnessed on her escape from Kano?

A) The day her legs failed

B) Followed the conversation

C) Excitedly talked

D) Freeing her to take in gulp after gulp of air

5. Which statement from Chapter 16 best describes Richard’s surprise when he heard that the federal government had declared police action to bring the rebels to order?

A) They can’t let us go easily with all that oil.

B) She did not seem to understand that he could not comprehend a war at all.

C) War was the inevitable outcome of events.

D) I have to get my manuscript and some personal belongings.

6. What can the reader infer when the soldier asks Odenigbo the following question as he heads back home with his family? “Why do you still have Biafran number plates? Are you supporters of the defeated rebels?” (Chapter 35)

A) The war is still going on.

B) Odenigbo does not mind breaking the law.

C) They are still punishing supporters of the rebels.

D) Life will never be normal again.

7. How does the setting of the compound that Odenigbo and Olanna are forced to move in to when their landlord evicts them contribute to the theme The Horrors of War?

A) It details the mass shooting of several of the residents.

B) It forces Odenigbo’s family to live in squalid conditions.

C) It becomes a prison for Nigerian soldiers.

D) It is bombed and forces them to live amongst rubble.

8. Which event from Chapter 33 most directly contributes to the disappearance of Kainene?

A) She decides to trade with Nigerians because they do not have enough food.

B) Father Marcil gets one of the young refugee girls pregnant.

C) She was overtaken by a racist white man who tried to stop her mission work.

D) Inatami deceives by turning her over to the people running the Ninth Mile Road.

9. What key idea is supported by Kainene’s claim that Olanna protects Baby too much?

A) Kainene allowed Baby to run around with thin children.

B) Kainene spoke about resenting her parents.

C) Kainene let Baby put cream on her face.

D) Kainene let Baby eat a lizard leg.

10. Which statement best supports the idea that Olanna thought of her Aunty Ifeka as a mother?

A) Aunty Ifeka taught her to sew.

B) Aunty Ifeka breastfed her as a baby.

C) Aunty Ifeka bought her a plane ticket.

D) Aunty Ifeka was her house girl growing up.

11. How does the tone of Okeoma’s comment, “You sound surprised, as if you never imagined these people capable of such things,” in Chapter 2, influence Richard’s decision to destroy his first manuscript?

A) He thinks his writing needs to be better.

B) He believes his story does not capture the correct essence of the people.

C) Her mistake of his true intent angers him to his very core.

D) Her words make him realize there is a better story than his original idea.

12. Which statement would the author most likely agree with?

A) The Igbo people should have known from the beginning that the war was futile.

B) The Muslim Hausa had a right to protect their culture against Igbo culture.

C) The Igbo people should not have insisted on secession, because they had to give up too much.

D) War takes a toll on everyone who goes through it, but standing up for what you believe in is essential.

13. Which event from Chapter 10 most directly contributes to the theme of Betrayal?

A) Miss Adebayo hurried ahead into Odenigbo’s study without his permission.

B) The Igbos were being slaughtered like ants.

C) Olanna was visiting her parents in Kano and had yet to return.

D) Odenigbo refused to believe that 500 hundred people had been killed.

Long Answer

Compose a response of 2-3 sentences, incorporating text details to support your response.

1. How would you justify Kailene forgiving her sister’s betrayal?

2. What is “kwashiorkor” and how does it contribute to the theme of The Horrors of War?