SECTION A

Sub - section (i)

Choose one of the passages 1 to 4, read it carefully and then answer the questions following it as concisely as possible.

Either 1. WOLE SOYINKA: The Trials of Brother Jero

AMOPE: you haven't let the soup pour out, have you?

CHUME: [with some show of exasperation.] do you see oil on the wrapper?

[Throws down the wrapper.]

AMOPE: abuse me. All right, go on, begin to abuse me. You know that all I asked was if the soup had poured away and it isn't as if that was something no one ever asked before. I would do it all myself if it wasn't for my ankle - anyone would think it was my fault.........careful now.......the cork nearly came off that bottle. You know how difficult it is to get any clean water in this place.......

[Chume unloads two bottles filled with water, two little parcels wrapped in paper, another tied in a knot, a box of matches, a piece of yam, two tins, one probably an ovaltine tin but containing something else of course, a cheap breakable spoon, a knife, while Amope keeps up her patient monologue, spoken almost with indifference.]

AMOPE: do, I beg you, take better care of that jar....... I know didn't want to bring me, but it wasn't the fault of the jar, was it?

CHUME: who said I didn't want to bring you?

AMOPE: you said it was too far away for you to bring me on your bicycle.........I suppose you really wanted me to walk.........

CHUME: I.............

AMOPE: and after you'd broken my foot, the first thing you asked was if you should take me home. You were only too glad it happened.......in fact if I wasn't the kind of person who would never think evil of anyone - even you - I would have said that you did it on purpose.

[The unloading is over. Chume shakes out the bag,]

AMOPE: just leave the bag here. I can use it for a pillow.

CHUME: is there anything else before I go?

AMOPE: you've forgotten the mat. I know it's not much, but I would like something to sleep on. There are women who sleep in beds of course, but I'm not complaining. They are just lucky with their husbands, and we can't all be lucky I suppose.

CHUME: you've got a bed at home.

[He unties the mat which is round the cross bar.]

AMOPE: and so I'm to leave my work undone. My trade is to suffer because I have a bed at home? Thank God I am not the kind of woman who...............

CHUME: I am nearly for work.

Questions:

a) What happens before this passage?

b) Describe Amope and Chume's character as shown in the passage.

c) What do you find amusing in this passage?

d) Briefly say what happens to Amope and Chumes' relationship by the end of the play.

 

Or 2. WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE: The Merchant of Venice

SHYLOCK: I take this offer then, pay the bond thrice,

And let the Christian go.

BASSANIO: here is the money.

PORTIA: soft, the Jew shall have all justice, soft, no haste,

He shall have nothing but the penalty.

GRANTIANO: therefore prepare thee to cut off the flesh,

Shed thou no blood, nor cut thou tak'st more

Or less than a just pound, be it but so much

As makes it light or heavy in the substance,

Or division of the twentieth part

Of one poor scruple, nay if the scale do turn

But in the estimation of a hair,

Thou diest and all thy goods are confiscate.

GRATIANO: A second Daniel, a Daniel Jew,

Now infidel I have thee on the hip.

PORTIA: Why doth the Jew pause, take thy forfeiture.

SHYLOCK: Give me my principal and let me go.

BASSANIO: I have it ready for thee, here it is.

PORTIA: He hath refused it in the open court,

He shall have merely justice and his bond.

GRANIANO: A Daniel still says I, a second Daniel,

I thank thee Jew for teaching me that word.

SHYLOCK: Shall I not have barely my principal?

PORTIA: Thou shalt have nothing but the forfeiture,

To be so taken at they peril Jew.

SHYLOCK: Why then the devil gives him good of it:

I'll stay no longer question.

PORTIA: Tarry Jew,

The law hath yet another hold of Venice,

It is enacted in the laws of Venice,

If it be proved against an alien,

That by direct or indirect attempts

He seek the life of any citizen,

The party, against which he doth contrive,

Shall seize one half his goods, the other half

Comes to the privy coffer of the state,

And the offender's life lies in the mercy

Of the duke only, against all other voice.

In which predicament I say thou stand'st:

For it appears by manifest proceeding,

That indirectly, and directly too,

Thou hast contrived against the very life

Of the defendant: and thou hast incurred

The danger formerly by me rehearsed.

Down therefore and beg mercy of the duke.

Questions:

a) What has just happened before this passage?

b) What kind of person is Portia as portrayed in this passage?

c) (i) What are your feelings towards shylock in this passage?

(ii) Give reasons for your answer.

d) What happens to shylock later in the play after this passage?

 

Either 3. ERNEST HEMINGWAY: The Old Man and the Sea

For a long time after everyone had called him the champion and there had been a return match in the spring. But not much money was bet and he had won it quite easily since he had broken the confidence of the Negro from Cienfuegos in the first match. After that he had a few matches and then no more. He decide that he could beat anyone if he wanted to badly enough and he decided that he could beat anyone if he wanted to badly enough and he decided that it was bad for his right hand for fishing. He had tried a few practice matches with his left hand. But his left hand always been a trailer and would not do what he called on it to do and he did not trust it.

The sun will bake it out well now, he thought. It should not cramp on me again unless it gets too cold in the night. I wonder what this night will bring.

Questions:

a) What match has made the old man be called the champion?

b) How does the old man's past help him while at sea?

c) How does the old man become a champion at the terrace once again?

d) What do you find admirable in the old man?

 

Or 4. PETER ABRAHAMS: Mine Boy

Paddy returned and slowly shut the door behind him. Di watched him. He went to the settee and pulled her down beside him. He slipped his arm round her shoulder and they sat like that for a while.

'What do you think of him,' he asked finally.

'What is there to think?...he's just a mine boy.'

'He's a grand fellow.'

'Yes. Grand, but not a human being yet. Just a mine boy. His girl's human and he can't understand her. He can't understand her wanting the things I want and have. And another thing you're wrong about - he does not dislike you, you're just not of the same world, red.'

'That's nonsense, Di.'

'Think it out for yourself.'

'That fellow's as human as I am.'

'No, red, he accepts what you wouldn't. That's part of the reason why he's so popular among all the other whites. He's all right. You can't say the same about Chris's boy.'

'Think you are wrong, Di.'

She smiled bitterly and looked at him.

'Yes, I know, Red. A man's a man for a' that. A man's a man to the extent that he asserts himself. There's no assertion in your mine boy. There is confusion and bewilderment and acceptance. Nothing more. Oh, he's human all right; he talks, he eats, he feels, he thinks, he gets lonely, but that's all.'

Questions:

a) What has led to this scene?

b) What does Di think about Xuma in this passage?

c) What does the passage reveal about the relationship between the blacks and whites?

d) How is this incident related to what happens to paddy in the end?

 

Sub - section (ii)

Answer one question on one book only

N.B if your answer in section (i) was on a play, now select a novel; but if your answer in sub - section (i) was on a novel, you must now select a play.

WOLE SOYINKA: The Trials Brother Jero

Either 5. If your school were to perform the play, The Trials of Brother Jero, which one of the given characters would you like to act and why?

- Amope

- Brother Jero

- Chume

Or 6. Why does brother Jero succeed in most of his plans in The Trial of Brother Jero?

 

 

WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE: The Merchant of Venice

Either 7. In what way does shylock's demand for justice affect him at the end of the play?

Or 8. Compare the characters of Antonio and Shylock in the play, The Merchant of Venice.

 

 

ERNEST HEMINGWAY: The Old Man and the Sea

Either 9. How does the return of the Old Man (Santiago) affect the people at the Terrace?

Or 10. Describe the relationship between the old man and the boy. What lessons do we learn from it?

 

 

PETER ABRAHAMS: Mine Boy

Either 11. Compare the characters of Paddy and Xuma.

Or 12. In Mine Boy, what kind of life were the south Africans leading at that time?

 

SECTION B

In this section you must answer three questions covering three books.

OBI B. EGBUNA: The Anthill

Either 13. Which one of the following characters - Bobo, Nigel or Mrs. Cocking would you like to act and why?

Or 14. What makes the play, The Anthill, amusing?

 

 

EFUA T. SUTHERLAND: The Marriage of Anansewa

Either 15. How does Ananse get out of the web he weaves around himself?

Or 16. Why does Anansewa agree to marry Chief - who - is chief?

 

 

V.S. NAIPAUL: Miguel Street

Either 17. By referring to two of the following characters. Bogart, Man - Man or Big - foot, show how people are rather odd.

Or 18. How does the environment of Miguel Street affect the lives of the people living in it?

 

 

CHINUA ACHIEBE: No Longer an Ease.

Either 19. Describe the character of Joseph Okeke and show his role in the novel.

Or 20. How does Obi's relationship with Clara affect his relationship with his people?

 

 

NGUGI WA THIONG'O: Weep Not Child

Either 21. Describe the circumstances that lead to Jacob's death.

Or 22. Closely referring to the novel, Weep Not Child, show whether the Africans were right to fight.

 

 

DAVID RUBADIRI: Growing up with Poetry. (Ed)

Read the poem below and answer the questions following it.

Either 23. Pedestrian, to passing Benz - man

You man, lifted gently

Out of the poverty and suffering

We so recently shared; I say

Why splash the muddy puddle on to

My bare legs, as if, still unsatisfied

With your seated opulence

You must sully the unwashed

With your diesel - smoke and mud water

And force of soap from your shop?

A few years back we shared a master

Today you have none, while I have exchanged a parasite for something worse.

But may be a few years is too long a time.

Albert Ojuka (Kenya)

Questions:

a) What kind of person is being addressed in this poem?

b) Explain how the person talking in this poem feels.

c) In your view, what changes would the speaker like to see?

d) Compare the two people in the poem.

Or 24. Select a poem from Growing up with poetry on the theme of love and answer the following questions on it.

a) What does the poet say about love?

b) What feelings does the poem arouse in you?

c) What has made you enjoy this poem?