Akata Witch

Use these essay questions as writing and critical thinking exercises for all levels of writers, and to build their literary analysis skills by requiring textual references throughout the essay.

Differentiation Suggestion: For English learners or struggling writers, strategies that work well include graphic organizers, sentence frames or starters, group work, or oral responses.

Scaffolded Essay Questions

Student Prompt: Write a short (1-3 paragraph) response using one of the bulleted outlines below. Cite details from the text over the course of your response that serve as examples and support.

1. Chittim functions as currency for Leopard people, but it is not acquired in the ways Lamb money is usually acquired.

• What important Leopard value is reflected in the process of acquiring chittim? (topic sentence)
• Give three examples from different parts of the story that show that your interpretation is correct.
• In your concluding sentence or sentences, show how the process of acquiring chittim supports the text’s larger concern with The Value and Power of Knowledge.

2. One source of stress that Sunny faces is having to keep her Leopard identity a secret.

• Why is it especially stressful to Sunny to have to keep her Leopard identity a secret from her family? (topic sentence)
• Give three examples from the text that show the impact on Sunny of keeping her identity a secret from her family.
• In your concluding sentence or sentences, show how this stressor supports the novel’s larger concern with The Importance of Belonging to Communities.

3. Each member of the Oho coven has unique magical abilities; Anatov tells Sunny that their strengths come from what others perceive as weakness.

• In Akata Witch, how is Sunny’s albinism presented as both a strength and a weakness? (topic sentence)
• Give at least two examples of ways in which Sunny’s albinism limits her opportunities, and give at least two examples of ways in which Sunny’s albinism turns out to be a source of strength.
• In your concluding sentence or sentences, show how Sunny’s albinism relates to the novel’s larger concern with The Strength of the Individual.

Full Essay Assignments

Student Prompt: Write a structured and well-developed essay. Include a thesis statement, at least three main points supported by text details, and a conclusion.

1. Look up African speculative fiction, Afrofuturism, Africanfuturism, and Africanjujuism. What do these genre terms mean? Which term or terms describe Akata Witch most accurately? What does Nnedi Okorafor have to say about the subject? What evidence in the story supports your choice(s)? How does Okorafor’s choice of genre relate to the novel’s thematic concern with The Importance of Belonging to Communities? Write an essay in which you take and defend a position regarding which of these terms apply to Akata Witch and how the novel’s genre relates to its concern with belonging to a community. Support your assertions with evidence drawn from throughout the novel and from your research into the genres. Be sure to cite any quoted evidence as well as evidence from outside sources.

2. What role do books play in this narrative? How do the excerpts from Fast Facts for Free Agents comment on the story? How does using these “false documents” (when an author inserts fictional documents into a narrative as if they are real-world documents) impact the reader? What do Sunny and her friends learn from books? Are the lessons always good ones? Write an essay in which you analyze the role that books play in Akata Witch. Connect your analysis to the novel’s concern with The Value and Power of Knowledge. Support your assertions with evidence drawn from throughout the novel, making sure to cite any quoted material.

3. Black Hat Otokoto is the novel’s antagonist. What does this character do that creates problems for other characters? How does Okorafor use plot detail and rhetorical techniques like diction and imagery to characterize Otokoto? How does this characterization impact the reader’s assessment of Otokoto’s actions and the Leopard community’s reactions? Analyze the values conveyed by the novel’s treatment of Otokoto’s character. Connect your analysis to one or more of the novel’s larger thematic concerns: The Value and Power of Knowledge, The Importance of Belonging to Communities, and The Strength of the Individual. Support your assertions with evidence drawn from throughout the novel, making sure to cite any quoted material.