Study Guide for Devil on the Cross & Comprehension Test

Devil on the Cross
by Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o
About_
This study guide accompanies a novel that follows a young Kenyan woman’s journey through personal hardship,
exploitation, and eventual self-empowerment, set against a backdrop of satirical commentary on corruption and
neocolonialism. It is organized into five chapter sections, each with factual recall questions and critical thinking
prompts, plus a crossword and a character study activity. Teachers can use it to check comprehension chapter by
chapter or assign sections as homework. This study guide contains 65 questions across 5 chapter sections (50
Factual + 15 Critical), 1 Crossword Puzzle (12 clues), and 1 Character Focus Activity.
What’s Included_
This study guide features 5 sets of 10 Factual Questions with an answer key (50 total), 5 sets of 3 Critical Analysis
Questions (15 total), 1 Crossword Puzzle (12 clues), and 1 Character Focus Activity (8 traits + evidence prompt +
critical thinking question).
Target Grades_
Grades 11-12 (AP Literature / college-prep, due to mature themes)
Teacher Note_
This guide is designed to save you prep time while still pushing students beyond simple plot recall into real critical
analysis of theme, character, and social commentary. The mix of factual and open-ended questions helps
differentiate for varying skill levels, and the character focus activity encourages students to trace growth and moral
complexity across the whole story. We hope it makes your unit both easier to plan and richer for your students.