Plot
Characters
Theme
Literary Devices Toss Up
Grammar/vocab
100

Where does Kambili’s family go during Christmas?

Hometown

100

Who is Papa Nnukwu? 


Papa’s father/ Kambili and Jaja’s grandfather)

100

Contrast Kambili’s 2 grandparents on pages 67-8. What theme does this contrast reinforce?

Kambili’s maternal grandfather was albino and looked white, was a devout Catholic, converted many people, and spoke English in contrast to Kambili’s paternal grandfather who adheres to the traditional religion and ways. This reinforces the theme of colonialization and western vs traditional values.

100

Whichever group finds the simile on page 70 first gets the points. 

“You are like a fly blindly following a corpse into the grave”


100

Which of the following sentences does NOT have a comma splice in it? 

  1. Kambili does not worry about her friends not liking her, she is more worried about coming in first in her class.
  2. There was a lot to pack, and Admadu came over from the gate to help Sunday and Kevin.
  3. The people in Papa’s hometown respect him, he gives them money and food.
  4. Their house for the winter is very grand, it has four stories and a large fountain in the front.

2

200

Why doesn’t their grandfather ever visit their house?

Papa made a rule that no heathens were allowed on their compound, and their grandfather worships idols. (Pg 62-3)

200

What does “Omelora” (the title Papa has in their hometown) mean?

A. The one who does for the community 

B. Rich man 

C. Pious One 

D. None of the above 

A (pg 56)

200

Find an example of the theme of traditional vs. western values in this chapter. You have 3 minutes.

Papa’s prayer on page 61 (he prays for his father’s conversion and for the “ungodly” men ruling Nigeria). Papa greatly restricts the amount of time Jaja and Kambili are allowed to spend with their grandfather and what they can do when they visit. Papa Nnukwu’s religion vs Catholicism. There are many other examples.

200

Whichever group finds the simile on page 53 first gets the points. 

“pulling and pushing the whistling pine trees so that they bent and twisted, as if bowing to a dusty god” 


200

What does augment mean?

To increase

300

Why are Papa and his sister fighting?

She got mad at him when he barred Papa from their house. (Pg 65)

300

What is one limitation Papa puts on Jaja and Kambili when they visit their grandfather?

They can only stay 15 minutes, they can’t eat/touch his food or drink anything. (Page 61)

300

Find and explain an example of the theme of silence on page 57-8. You have 3 minutes. 

Jaja and I smiled and said nothing. ‘They are always so quiet,’ he said, turning to Papa. ‘So quiet’” (57). Papa’s children are quiet because they are scared of saying something that would anger Papa. 

“It was a joke. Ade Coker was laughing; so was his wife, Yesanda. But Papa did not laugh. Jaja and I turned and went back upstairs, silently.” (58) Jaja and Kambili are silent because their dad did not laugh, and they don’t want to contradict Papa.

300

Whichever group finds the simile on page 54 first gets the points.

“the front seat of the Volvo had a bag of beans slanting across it, like a passenger who had fallen asleep”


300

What does surmise mean?

To guess or infer

400

What kind of cars does Kambili’s family drive?


Mercedes and Volvo (pg 53)

400

What is an umannu?

kinship/family group

400

Find and explain an example of the theme of silence on page 59. You have 3 minutes.

 “With his eyes he said we can spend time together then”

400

Whichever group finds the 2 similes on page 69 first gets the points. 

his palm would make that sound like a heavy book falling from a library shelf at school

the silence he left was heavy but comfortable, like a well worn, prickly cardigan sweater on a bitter morning


400

Which vocab word means to wave or display something sharply, in a threatening way?

Brandish

500

Who appears at the end of the chapter and what happens?


Anikwenwa (friend of Kamibli’s grandfather) and Papa yells at him and says he has to go away because he is a heathen

500

Who is Kevin? 

Their chauffeur 

500

Find an example of colonialism on page 60. You have 3 minutes.

”Papa liked it when the villagers made an effort to speak English around him. He said it showed they had a good sense.”

500

Whichever group finds the 2 similes on page 52 first gets the points. 

52 “It was like balancing a sack of gravel on my head” 

“a tough lump like poorly made fufu formed in my throat”

500

Identify the errors in the following sentence:

Kambilis grades are very high, because of all of the pressure her father puts on her, she doesn’t have many friends, since their all mean to her and think shes a snob.


apostrophe needed in Kamibli’s name, no comma before “because” or “since”, comma splice after “her,” their vs they’re, missing an apostrophe in “she’s”. (Total of 6)

M
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