Assessment 

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. 

   

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Part II:​ Excerpt from the novel 

Directions:​ ​Read the excerpt from the novel and then use it to answer the questions that 
follow. 
 
It rained heavily the day that Ade Coker died, a strange, furious rain in the middle of 
the parched harmattan. Ade Coker was at breakfast with his family when a courier 
delivered a package to him. His daughter, in her primary school uniform, was sitting across 
the table from him. 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 – a package everybody would have known was from the head of state 
even if his wife Yewande had not said that Ade Coker looked at the envelope and said “It 
has the State House seal” before he opened it. 
When Jaja and I came home from school, we were almost drenched by the walk 
from the car to the front door; the rain was so heavy it had formed a small pool beside the 
hibiscuses. My feet itched inside my wet leather sandals. Papa was crumpled on a sofa in 
the living room, sobbing. He seemed so small, Papa who was so tall that he sometimes 
lowered his head to get through the doorways, that his tailor always used extra fabric to 
sew his trousers. Now he seemed small; he looked like a rumpled roll of fabric. 
“I should have made Ade hold that story,” Papa was saying. “I should have protected 
him. I should have made him stop that story.” 
Mama held him close to her, cradling his face on her chest. “No,” she said. “O z​ ugo​. 
Don’t.” 
Jaja and I stood watching. I thought about Ade Coker’s glasses, I imagined the thick 
bluish lenses shattering, the white frames melting into sticky goo. Later, after Mama told us 
what had happened, how it had happened, Jaja said, “It was God’s will, Papa,” and Papa 
smiled at Jaja and gently patted his back. 
Papa organized Ade Coker’s funeral; he set up a trust for Yewande Coker and the 
children, bought them a new house. He paid the S
​ tandard​ staff huge bonuses and asked 
them all to take a long leave. Hollows appeared under his eyes during those weeks, as if 
someone had suctioned the delicate flesh, leaving his eyes sunken in. 
My nightmares started then, nightmares in which 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. In some of the nightmares, I was the daughter and the charred 
remains became Papa’s. 
 
Excerpt from Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, P
​ urple Hibiscus, ​Algonquin Books 2012, p. 206 
   

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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. 
 
 
 
 

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7. The purple hibiscus is a central symbol in the novel. What does the flower 
symbolize? 
a. hope 
b. sacrifice 
c. family 
d. freedom 

8. Which of the following best explains what Adichie is communicating to her 

reader through the symbol of the hibiscus in this line from the excerpt. 

“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. 
 

10. Which sentence best expresses the theme of the passage? 

a. Oppression has a devastating impact on the everyday lives of individuals. 
b. Each small moment of life should be appreciated because each is 
precious. 
c. Violence begets violence. 
d. No person can escape his/her fate. 
 
 
 

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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. 

Quilts​ by Nikki Giovanni 

 
Like a fading piece of cloth 
I am a failure 
 
No longer do I cover tables filled with food and laughter 
My seams are frayed my hems falling my strength no longer able 
To hold the hot and cold 
 
I wish for those first days 
When just woven I could keep water 
From seeping through 
Repelled stains with the tightness of my weave 
Dazzled sunlight with my  
Reflection 
 
I grow old though pleased with my memories 
The tasks I can no longer complete 
Are balanced by the love of tasks gone past 
 
I offer no apology only 
This plea: 
 
When I am frayed and strained and drizzle at the end 
Please someone cut a square and put me ina quilt 
That I might keep some child warm 
 
And some old person with no one else to talk to 
Will hear my whispers 
 
And cuddle 
Near 
 

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12. Which of the following words b

​ est​ describes the speaker’s tone in lines 1-5? 
a. angry 
b. jealous 
c. puzzled 
d. defeated 
 
 
13. Based on lines 12-14, what is the speaker’s reward for her present condition? 
a. a life of leisure 
b. help with her work 
c. a sense of confidence 
d. reflecting on her successes 
 
 
14. What is the ​most likely​ reason the speaker specifically wants an old person to 
“hear my whispers?” 
a. The speaker feels she can gain wisdom from old people. 
b. The speaker can empathize with old people who are alone. 
c. The speaker believes young people do not need her assistance. 
d. The speaker does not have much in common with young people. 
 
 
15. How has the speaker changed by the end of the poem? 
a. She has learned to respect others. 
b. She has learned to be more affectionate. 
c. She has started feeling safe in modern times. 
d. She has accepted being part of a greater purpose. 
 
Part IV: E​ ssay 
Directions:​ Use the poem above as well as your knowledge of the novel, P ​ urple Hibiscus​, to 
write a well-crafted essay in response to the prompt below. 
 
In the poem, “Quilts” by Nikki Giovanni and in the novel, Purple Hibiscus by Chimamanda Ngozi 
Adichie, the writers develop the theme of identity, specifically how identity can change over time. 
Use evidence from both texts to explain how each writer conveys this theme. 

● 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 

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