Devil on the Cross Quizzes

Devil on the Cross Quiz 1

1 Who in Ngũgĩ's life was responsible for helping him to prioritize his education?

His stepbrother

His mother

A distant relative from Nairobi

His father
2 Forming the backdrop of Ngũgĩ's early life were ___.

the Mau Mau Uprising and French settler colonialism

the presidency of Jomo Kenyatta and a renaissance in Kenyan peasant life

the Mau Mau Uprising and British settler colonialism

the presidency of Jomo Kenyatta and a land rush in Kenya
3 While at Leeds, Ngũgĩ's peers ___.

helped to cowrite Ngũgĩ's earliest dramatic work

helped to bankroll the publication of his earliest works

helped to foment his early interest in Marxism and revolutionary ideology

recommended him for the Nobel Prize in Literature
4 "A Grain of Wheat" marked a shift in Ngũgĩ's narrative technique in that ___.

it was written in English, where all of Ngũgĩ's earlier works were written in Gĩkũyũ

the novel was Ngũgĩ's first foray into satire

narrative focus on the individual was foregone in favor of a focus on the collective

it was Ngũgĩ's first novel to focus on Kenyan peasants and workers
5 While working at the University of Nairobi, Ngũgĩ fought most distinctly to ___.

take down campus monuments to corrupt Kenyans and foreign dignitaries

raise the wages of graduate students and custodial staff

accept a more diverse coalition of students, including many white settlers

center African literature and remove the word "English" from the Literature Department's name
6 A turning point in Ngũgĩ's life came in 1977 when ___.

he was fired from the university and forced into exile

he met his wife Njeeri

an assassination attempt was made on his life

he was arrested and detained at Kamiti Maximum Security prison
7 While incarcerated, Ngũgĩ made the decision to ___.

write only in Gĩkũyũ from that point onwards

write only satire from that point onwards

return to his ancestral village for the remainder of his days

pursue revolutionary Marxism and foment insurrections against the government
8 Ngũgĩ's novel "Matigari" caused a stir when ___.

it was not translated into English, and Ngũgĩ said that he would never translate the novel

the Moi government mistakenly issued an arrest warrant for its fictional protagonist

it was distributed in samizdat around Kenya, much to the government's chagrin

its Marxist undertones scandalized the global literary scene
9 Ngũgĩ wrote "Devil on the Cross" ___.

on toiletpaper in Kamiti Maximum Security Prison

while in voluntary exile in the U.K.

in order to issue a direct challenge against the American presence in Kenya

while working on the faculty of the University of Nairobi
10 An inadvertent effect of Ngũgĩ's choice to write "Devil on the Cross" in Gĩkũyũ was that ___.

his manuscript of the novel was spared confiscation from a prison officer

it failed to attract a large, international readership

the novel spurred an international revival in interest in Gĩkũyũ

it avoided censorship by the Kenyan government, which did not have Gĩkũyũ representation
11 In writing "Devil on the Cross" in Gĩkũyũ, Ngũgĩ intended for each of the following EXCEPT:

To skirt using the language of the oppressor to criticize their own systems of oppression

To alienate a wider audience in favor of something more intimate and personal

To reflect reality as it is from the eyes of his own people and culture

To speak directly to peasants about their conditions in their own langauge
12 In the frame story of the novel, we are told that our narrator is ___.

a Gĩcaandĩ Player in Ilmorog

Warĩĩnga's mother

Warĩĩnga herself

Gatuĩria
13 The narrator begins the novel by telling us that they ___.

are a descendant of Warĩĩnga herself

are lucky enough to have known Warĩĩnga personally

will enthusiastically tell us the story of Warĩĩnga

are hesitant to tell us the story of Warĩĩnga, since we are outsiders to Ilmorog
14 Complete the quote from the novel's opening: "The voice of the people is ___."

the voice of God

the voice of a nation

the voice of purpose

the voice of our land
15 We get early evidence that our narrator may not be a wholly reliable one in that ___.

he describes Warĩĩnga in the opening chapter with derisive and sexist language

he starts Warĩĩnga's story in the wrong place, then corrects himself

he explicitly mentions his dislike for Warĩĩnga as well as the other central characters

he mentions that he was among the people who evicted Warĩĩnga from her apartment
16 Which of the following provides early evidence of the neocolonial regime's impact on Warĩĩnga?

Warĩĩnga's lover is a young revolutionary.

She is rescued not by a woman, but a man at the bus stop.

She tries to lighten her skin and straighten her hair.

She tries to commit suicide in front of a bus.
17 Warĩĩnga's recurring nightmare symbolizes ___.

a dislike for the church, which Warĩĩnga recognizes as an instrument of white supremacy

her desire to end her life and be scrubbed entirely from the face of the Earth

the involvement in the church of the Rich Old Man from Ngorika

horror at the compradores and tycoons who allow foreigners and other evil powers to build Hell on Earth for the people of Kenya
18 In telling her own story through the thin allegory of Kareendi, Warĩĩnga alludes to ___.

real locations around the city of Ilmrog such as the Golden Heights

the Biblical Parable of the Talents

the Gĩkũyũ ballad of Kamoongonye

a popular song about a man named Kĩhara
19 In propositioning Warĩĩnga, Boss Kĩhara does all of the following EXCEPT:

Offer Warĩĩnga wealth and gifts

Woo Warĩĩnga considerately, outside of the office environemnt

Attempt to shame Warĩĩnga by calling her old-fahsioned

Pervert scripture to suit his purposes
20 The man who saves Warĩĩnga at the Kaka bus stop is also the man who ___.

rescued her years earlier from the railroad tracks

speaks first at the Devil's Feast

invites her to the Devil's Feast in Ilmorog

she is engaged to at the novel's end
21 Mwaũra's use of gossip as a sales technique, as well as his sloganeering, suggest ___.

that he is a person of loose morals, who will do anything to turn a profit

that, in his prior career, he was a man of the church who delivered sermons

that he is sexist towards women, especially African women

that he places value in language, just like Ngũgĩ himself
22 When Wangarĩ tells Mwaũra that she cannot pay the bus fare, how do most of the other passengers respond?

They admire her for having fought in the Mau Mau Uprising and offer to split her fare among themselves.

They ignore her and allow Mwaũra to try and throw her out.

They are sympathetic towards her but offer her no immediate remedy.

They think Wangarĩ to be a thief, until she tells them her story.
23 While recounting her story, Wangarĩ recalls that she was arrested because ___.

she walked through Nairobi dressed in traditional kitenge garments

of her earlier actions in the Mau Mau Uprising

a Black man who worked for a white hotel owner thought her to be a thief or spy

of her failure to pay off the debts related to her farm
24 The fact that Wangarĩ faces vagrancy charges at the courts is emblematic of ___.

the way in which people are willing to sell out their own countrymen for profits

the way in which foreign powers and money have made locals feel alienated in their own country

the way in which women are often reduced to prostitutes in the eyes of local men

the way in which the European colonial establishment sees local women as aimless and lazy
25 Wangarĩ ultimately says that she is going to Ilmorog in order to ___.

visit her parents in Njeruca, from whom she is estranged

cooperate with the police and reveal thieves and robbers, so as to lighten her own sentence

attend the Devil's Feast as a distinguished guest

stop the Devil's Feast before it even is allowed to begin

discuss wariinga's transformation in the novel,devil on the cross

Thank you for such an insightful discussion on Wariinga's transformation in *Devil on the Cross*. I appreciate how you highlighted her resilience. It's interesting to consider how her journey also reflects broader societal struggles, challenging...

Asked by kandaruku i #1349356

Answered by William W #1394669 on 7/1/2026 10:14 AM

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Discuss the stylistic techniques employed by Ngugi Wa Thiong'o in the devil on the cross

"Devil on the Cross" by Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o is a novel rich in stylistic techniques that contribute to its powerful narrative and social critique. Here are some of the key stylistic techniques employed by the author:Language Choice: Ngũgĩ wa...

Asked by Joan c #1341164

Answered by Faisal A #1291854 on 4/4/2024 11:50 PM

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Humanist Elements

In Chapter 3, the narrator tells us Gatuĩria is aware "that the slavery of language is the slavery of the mind" (58). Though it seems rather contextual, this quote in fact expresses a central tenet of Ngũgĩ's text—that is, the language that we use...

Asked by Phabrisshia A #1360558

Answered by jill d #170087 on 3/6/2025 6:12 PM

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Devil on the Cross

by Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o

Devil on the Cross Quiz 1

Devil on the Cross Questions and Answers

Study Guide for Devil on the Cross

Essays for Devil on the Cross

Lesson Plan for Devil on the Cross

Wikipedia Entries for Devil on the Cross