The Voter
-Chinua Achebe
One mark questions
1. How long was Roof in Port Harcourt as a bicycle repairer’s apprentice?
Two years.
2. Where did Roof work as a bicycle repairer’s apprentice?
In Port Harcourt.
3. Who is the most illustrious son of the village referred to?
Marcus Ibe.
4. Who was the minister from the village in the outgoing government?
Marcus Ibe
5. Who was in the service of the honorable minister for the coming elections?
Roof.
6. What benefits had the politics brought to the minister?
Wealth, chieftaincy titles, doctorate degrees and other honours.
7. What was Marcus before he joined politics?
Mission School teacher.
8. What name did Marcus give to his new house?
Umuofia mansion.
9. Who was invited by Marcus to inaugurate his new house?
Archbishop.
10. What has Marcus armed his Campaign boys with?
Jute bags full of shillings.
11. When did the loyal campaign boys conduct their whispering campaign?
At night.
12. Which party did Marcus belong to?
People’s Alliance Party.
13. How much did Roof offer to the elders for their votes in the beginning?
Two shillings.
14. Which case had Roof won using the influence of Marcus Ibe?
A land case.
15. How much did the villagers finally agree for their votes?
Four shillings.
16. Name the enemy party of Marcus?
Progressive organization party (pop).
17. What had POP provided to their campaign boys?
Cars and loudspeakers.
18. Who founded POP?
The tribes down the coast.
19. Who approached Roof for his vote the previous day of the election?
POP campaign leader.
20. Where does the story ‘The Voter’ take place?
In Umuofia.
21. What does ‘firewood’ refer to in the “The voter”?
Benefits / money.
22. Why was POP formed?
To save tribes from total political, cultural, social and religious annihilation.
, 23. Who objected Roof when he pulled out beer bottles from the refrigerator?
Marcus’ wife.
24. Why did the leader of the POP campaign team meet Roof?
To buy Roof’s vote.
25. How much did the POP campaign leader offer Roof for his vote?
Five pounds.
26. What mesmerized Roof?
The picture of the cocoa farmer harvesting his crops on the notes.
27. Who did Roof swear on, promising his vote for Maduka?
‘IYI’ from Mbanta.
28. Who exercise power on Election Day?
People / citizen.
29. Who had Marcus hired on the day of election to entertain people?
A high life band from Umuru.
30. Who congratulated Marcus in advance?
One enlightened villager.
31. What was the symbol of Marcus Ibe’s party (PAP)?
The motor car.
32. What was the symbol of Maduka’s party (POP)?
The Man’s head.
33. How did the newspapers predict the victory of Marcus?
A landslide victory.
34. How did Roof cast his vote?
Tearing his ballot paper in two he dropped one half in each box.
1. Why did the villagers’ attitude change before the second election?
‘The Voter’ is a short story that depicts the dilemma of a person involved in the process
of election. It also throws light on the democratic set up providing insight into man’s
individualistic and mass behavior.
In the five years after the first election, people had seen the change in Marcus. They
saw that Marcus, who was only a mission school teacher, had become rich. They saw
that politics brought wealth, chieftaincy titles, doctorate degrees and other honors to him.
He had two long cars and had built himself the biggest house. He also had a private power
plant to supply electricity for his new mansion. He had slaughtered five bulls and countless
goats to feed the people on the day of house opening ceremony. On seeing all this, the
villagers thought that they had underrated the power of the ballot paper before and should
not do so again. When they got an opportunity to demand money for their votes, they
wanted to take the maximum advantage of the situation. According to them, climbing the
iroko tree and not taking down all the firewood they need would be foolish. Thus their
attitude was changed before the second election.
2. Give a character sketch of Roof.
‘The Voter’ is a short story that depicts the dilemma of a person involved in the process
of election. It also throws light on the democratic set up providing insight into man’s
individualistic and mass behavior.
-Chinua Achebe
One mark questions
1. How long was Roof in Port Harcourt as a bicycle repairer’s apprentice?
Two years.
2. Where did Roof work as a bicycle repairer’s apprentice?
In Port Harcourt.
3. Who is the most illustrious son of the village referred to?
Marcus Ibe.
4. Who was the minister from the village in the outgoing government?
Marcus Ibe
5. Who was in the service of the honorable minister for the coming elections?
Roof.
6. What benefits had the politics brought to the minister?
Wealth, chieftaincy titles, doctorate degrees and other honours.
7. What was Marcus before he joined politics?
Mission School teacher.
8. What name did Marcus give to his new house?
Umuofia mansion.
9. Who was invited by Marcus to inaugurate his new house?
Archbishop.
10. What has Marcus armed his Campaign boys with?
Jute bags full of shillings.
11. When did the loyal campaign boys conduct their whispering campaign?
At night.
12. Which party did Marcus belong to?
People’s Alliance Party.
13. How much did Roof offer to the elders for their votes in the beginning?
Two shillings.
14. Which case had Roof won using the influence of Marcus Ibe?
A land case.
15. How much did the villagers finally agree for their votes?
Four shillings.
16. Name the enemy party of Marcus?
Progressive organization party (pop).
17. What had POP provided to their campaign boys?
Cars and loudspeakers.
18. Who founded POP?
The tribes down the coast.
19. Who approached Roof for his vote the previous day of the election?
POP campaign leader.
20. Where does the story ‘The Voter’ take place?
In Umuofia.
21. What does ‘firewood’ refer to in the “The voter”?
Benefits / money.
22. Why was POP formed?
To save tribes from total political, cultural, social and religious annihilation.
, 23. Who objected Roof when he pulled out beer bottles from the refrigerator?
Marcus’ wife.
24. Why did the leader of the POP campaign team meet Roof?
To buy Roof’s vote.
25. How much did the POP campaign leader offer Roof for his vote?
Five pounds.
26. What mesmerized Roof?
The picture of the cocoa farmer harvesting his crops on the notes.
27. Who did Roof swear on, promising his vote for Maduka?
‘IYI’ from Mbanta.
28. Who exercise power on Election Day?
People / citizen.
29. Who had Marcus hired on the day of election to entertain people?
A high life band from Umuru.
30. Who congratulated Marcus in advance?
One enlightened villager.
31. What was the symbol of Marcus Ibe’s party (PAP)?
The motor car.
32. What was the symbol of Maduka’s party (POP)?
The Man’s head.
33. How did the newspapers predict the victory of Marcus?
A landslide victory.
34. How did Roof cast his vote?
Tearing his ballot paper in two he dropped one half in each box.
1. Why did the villagers’ attitude change before the second election?
‘The Voter’ is a short story that depicts the dilemma of a person involved in the process
of election. It also throws light on the democratic set up providing insight into man’s
individualistic and mass behavior.
In the five years after the first election, people had seen the change in Marcus. They
saw that Marcus, who was only a mission school teacher, had become rich. They saw
that politics brought wealth, chieftaincy titles, doctorate degrees and other honors to him.
He had two long cars and had built himself the biggest house. He also had a private power
plant to supply electricity for his new mansion. He had slaughtered five bulls and countless
goats to feed the people on the day of house opening ceremony. On seeing all this, the
villagers thought that they had underrated the power of the ballot paper before and should
not do so again. When they got an opportunity to demand money for their votes, they
wanted to take the maximum advantage of the situation. According to them, climbing the
iroko tree and not taking down all the firewood they need would be foolish. Thus their
attitude was changed before the second election.
2. Give a character sketch of Roof.
‘The Voter’ is a short story that depicts the dilemma of a person involved in the process
of election. It also throws light on the democratic set up providing insight into man’s
individualistic and mass behavior.
