African Literature
What pre-colonial Nigerian culture is depicted in the novel Things Fall Apart?
The Ibo (Igbo) culture
Persepolis is set during what turbulent political movement?
The Iranian Revolution
The Islamic Revolution
cat, rat, bat, hat
Rhyme
What is Foreshadowing?
hinting at future events
What iconic Detroit area highway is formally known as M1?
Woodward
What country's culture is examined through the novel The Joy Luck Club?
China
This branch of philosophy addresses issues of morality - right vs. wrong, good vs. evil.
Ethics
What is the largest animal in the world?
Blue Whale
Madrid is the capital of what country?
Spain
Who is the author of Things Fall Apart?
Chinua Achebe
Who is the main character in Marjane Satrapi's graphic novel Persepolis?
Marjane Satrapi
What is the literary term for an exaggeration?
Hyperbole
Who was the original storyteller of The Odyssey and The Illiad?
Homer
What team won the first super bowl ever?
The Green Bay Packers
Amy Tan
This branch of philosophy addresses questions of our existence: why we are here, who we are, what is reality, etc.
Existential Philosophy
How many degrees is a right angle?
90
What song by Miley Cyrus ranked number 2 in 2023?
Flowers
Identify the speaker of the following quote:
"My father, they have killed me!" (Achebe 61)
Ikemefuna
It was argued that the Shah (the king of Iran) was a puppet of what external entity?
Western powers (USA and England)
What literary device is being exemplified here:
Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers
Alliteration
Which Greek God is known as the messenger god?
Hermes
What famous Russian author wrote War and Peace and The Death of Ivan Ilych?
Leo Tolstoy
What famous Chinese philosopher said "Don't worry about being misunderstood, but about understanding others?"
Confucius
What philosopher argued that the "form" of an object existed before the object, itself.
(ie. the "idea chicken" existed prior to any actual chickens)
Plato
Which common deciduous tree produces acorns?
Oak
Freddy Mercury was the lead singer of what 1970s-1980s band?
Queen
In what time period (give or take a few years) does Things Fall Apart take place?
Approx. 1890-1905
What are the three modes of storytelling that are utilized in Persepolis (and any graphic novel, for that matter)?
Dialogue
Narration
Visual Imagery
What is the literary term for two opposing concepts being placed close together?
Juxtaposition
What famous novel written by William Golding depicted children descending into savagery on a deserted island?
Lord of the Flies
What is the largest country (by land size) in the Middle East?
Saudi Arabia
Collectivist / Collectivism
What philosopher argued that "what is not perceived does not exist."
Berkeley
What is the largest bone in the human body?
Femur
What is the capital of Denmark?
Copenhagen
When Nwoye joins the missionaries, he references two things about Ibo culture that have bothered him deeply. What are those two things?
the killing of Ikemefuna and the killing of twins
In what city did Marjane Satrapi spend her childhood?
Tehran, Iran
Define and give an example of an idiom.
a phrase with a double meaning
Mary Shelley wrote what famous novel, often called the first science fiction story?
Frankenstein
What is the name of the speech that Abraham Lincoln delivered on September 22, 1862, declaring that slaves will be free?
The Emancipation Proclamation
What game do the Joy Luck Club members play?
Mah Jong
In what year was Sophie's World written?
1991
What is the most prevalent element in the air we breathe?
Nitrogen
In what country would you find Mt. Kilimanjaro?
Tanzania
In what year was Things Fall Apart written?
1958
Motif
(Would accept "symbolism" for half points, maybe...)
The depiction of Marjane at a party with her friends placed directly below the image of young boys being killed in battle is an example of what literary device?
Juxtaposition
Briefly describe the Nacirema article.
The fake article about American culture designed to demonstrate the effects of Cultural Bias.
What is the term for a substance or event that initiates a reaction, change, or transformation, especially in chemistry?
Catalyst
In what year was The Joy Luck Club written?
1989
Who is the author of Sophie's World?
Jostein Gaarder
What element on the periodic table is identified by the letters Kr?
Krypton
Who was the original singer of the song "Pretty Woman"?
Roy Orbison
What is the title of the district commissioner's book (the final sentence of Things Fall Apart)?
The Pacification of the Primitive Tribes of the Lower Niger
On page 116 of Persepolis, it is depicted that Iran refuses to make peace with Iraq, out of a desire to maintain control. Marjane, similarly, on the very next page, does something out of a desire to maintain control. What is it?
She has her first cigarette
The depiction of Marjane floating on a carpet while going on vacation with her family in the midst of the political crisis is an example of what literary device?
Metaphor
In Things Fall Apart, what is the name of Okonkwo's second wife?
Ekwefi
In what year did the British Colonists officially gain control over Nigeria?
1903
In The Joy Luck Club, what was the name of Jing-Mei's recently deceased mother?
Suyuan Woo
What is utilitarianism?
A moral philosophy theory stating that good and bad are defined by pain and pleasure. We should seek to create as much good for the greatest number of humans.
What is the largest spider in the world?
The Goliath Bird Eating Spider
This large wind instrument is used for cultural music by the indigenous people of Australia.
didgeridoo
In what sport was Okonkwo (from Things Fall Apart) a long-time champion?
Wrestling
What famous 2003 novel by Khaled Hosseini depicts the conflict between the Sunni and Shia branches of Islamic religion?
The Kite Runner
Words such as "Bang" and "Crash" are examples of this literary device. Also, you have to spell it correctly.
Onomatopoeia
Who wrote Fahrenheit 451?
Ray Bradbury
Name four plays written by William Shakespeare.
Romeo and Juliet
Macbeth
Twelfth Night
Much Ado About Nothing
King Lear
Hamlet
Julius Caesar
The Tempest
Othello
The Taming of the Shrew
A Midsummer Night's Dream
The Merchant of Venice
Identify three major world religions that originated in Eastern Asian culture.
Buddhism
Taoism
Hinduism
What is the existential philosophy theory that every event can be traced back to a series of causes, thus implying that the future is both fixed and predictable.
Determinism
How do you calculate the area of a circle?
pir^2
This French word for paperclip is also the name of an instrument.
Trombone