WAEC Literature in English 2021 Theory Past Questions

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Points to develop: relation to theme; character identification; instances of ill-treatment. As the title suggests, women are treated as a second element in the novel — occupying lower and marginal status. The novel deals with gender discrimination in a chauvinist Nigerian society; culturally and traditionally, women are relegated to the background as objects, resulting in some males treating them negatively. Reference is made to Adah, the female protagonist, who works as a librarian assistant and is a breadwinner willy-nilly, in spite of being abused by her husband Francis. Adah's mother is also treated poorly and blamed for Adah's unsealed enrolment. Western education is reserved mainly for males; only through Adah's staunch determination does she push through the odds surrounding her.

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Points to develop: relation to theme; character identification; Adah's early life; Adah's life abroad; taking the bull by its horn. The novel explores the theme of gender discrimination and its negative effects on women. Adah, an ordinary Igbo girl, struggles against various forms of discrimination in her male-dominated society. Her father's early death nearly shatters her dream of pursuing education, but she finds support from her paternal uncle. She secretly enrolls herself in school, later marries Francis early and becomes a teen mother, working to support her husband and children while aspiring to travel abroad. In the UK, she faces a cold welcome, a hostile environment, and an abusive, lazy husband, alongside racial discrimination — yet she perseveres, practises birth control, builds her writing dream, and grows in confidence, ultimately deciding on divorce and becoming triumphant by the novel's end.

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Points to develop: relation to theme; character identification; breaking the curfew; the encounter; significance. One of the major themes in the novel is survival under constraint. The curfew, imposed by soldiers, restricts nocturnal movement; both Nii and I-put-it-to-me get caught up in it. Nii is the protagonist, caring for his bedridden wife Massa with the help of I-put-it-to-me (also known as Tally O), a crafty member of an illegal miners' group, the Daga Group. During the encounter, a soldier detains I-put-it-to-me for breaking curfew; Nii, asked to confirm the man's story, lies successfully to protect him, and both avoid arrest through Nii's ingenuity. Their meeting is ironic, since it is I-put-it-to-me — a stranger with no real knowledge of Nii — who ultimately helps facilitate Nii's flight to Ghana.

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Points to develop: relation to theme; identification of Mama Orojo and her church; Mama's relationship with the church; Mama's show of empathy/approval; Mama's generosity; accommodation. Mama Orojo's cordial relationship with church members belies the theme of dysfunction in government elsewhere in the novel. Mama Orojo is Nii's sister who comes to Ghana searching for her brother; she is a member of Amen Kristi church and occupies a key position there, being close to the pastor, elders, and other members. She shows empathy on hearing the chairman's report of an armed robbery case, is generous, and readily finances the church's building projects. Even when there is opposition to her intended marriage, she does not react negatively, though she firmly resists.

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Points to develop: relation to theme; character identification; Mary's character; Mary's role; significance. Invisible Man centres on the theme of self-identity, which the narrator seeks throughout the novel, treated by a racist American society as a non-being. Mary Rambo is a 'big, dark woman' and landlady in Harlem who rescues the narrator from a faint after his factory discharge. She is kind-hearted, humane, compassionate, and almost motherly, assisting the narrator when he is nearly suffocating and offering emotional and practical support. Without Mary, the narrator may not have survived after leaving hospital or would have been without accommodation. Through her nature, Mary nurtures the narrator physically, psychologically, and spiritually, encouraging him to 'make something' of himself and be careful — though even this goodwill does not overcome the stark effect of the narrator's invisibility.

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Points to develop: relation to theme; character/event identification; the eviction; the mood of the crowd; the speech of the narrator. The novel centres on the theme of self-identity, which the narrator, an unnamed protagonist treated by society as a non-being, seeks throughout. During his 'first northern winter', he encounters the eviction scene of an old couple being 'lawfully' evicted by Marshalls, and is scandalized by the ignorance/injustice of the scene. The crowd is incensed and wants to attack the men evicting the couple; when the old woman is struck and falls, the crowd surges to intervene, and the narrator gives an impromptu speech urging calm and lawful conduct, which pacifies and rouses the crowd. A white girl compliments the speech as masterful persuasion; a man named Brother Jack later offers the narrator coffee and cheesecake, contemplating his experience and the near-explosive race situation.

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Points to develop: relation to theme; scene identification; description of Wuthering Heights; description of Thrushcross Grange; influence of each setting on its inhabitants. Wuthering Heights is set in nineteenth-century England, straddling the Romantic and Industrial periods. The theme of love and revenge is played out through the relationship between Wuthering Heights and Thrushcross Grange, two settings that concretise the novel's thematic concerns. Wuthering Heights is exposed to stormy weather and has a wild, passionate, violent influence on its inhabitants (e.g. Heathcliff, Hindley); Thrushcross Grange is calm, light, more pleasant and 'splendid', influencing its calm, refined residents (e.g. Edgar and Isabella Linton). The contrast in settings symbolizes the traditional links to the push and pull of the novel's plot and events.

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Points to develop: relation to theme; character identification; the relationship; significance of their relationship; revelations. The theme of love and revenge is played out through the relationship between Wuthering Heights and Thrushcross Grange, which the relationship between Lockwood and Heathcliff (as landlord and tenant) unlocks the mysteries of. Heathcliff is a dark-skinned gypsy from Liverpool and Lockwood's landlord; Lockwood, a wealthy gentleman renting Thrushcross Grange, is uncomfortable at Wuthering Heights but finds Heathcliff's hospitality significant. Their relationship reveals a pattern of power/authority through which one could be corrupt; Lockwood eventually learns Heathcliff's history and unhappiness through Nelly Dean, coming to understand and feel sorry for his landlord, and later learns the circumstances of Heathcliff's death from Nelly.

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PAPER 3 - DRAMA & POETRY (100 marks)

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Solution

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Points to develop: relation to theme; character identification; her character from what she says/thinks; her character from what she does; her character from what others say about her. The play centres on the theme of colonial exploitation, tradition, and unfair demands on womanhood, realized through Yoko's characterization. Madam Yoko is the favourite wife of Gbanya, ruler of Mende Kingdom, introduced as a Sande dancer and sister of Lamboi. She is ambitious and courageous, shown by counselling Gbanya on dealing with colonialists, joining an all-male secret society, and being portrayed as submissive/loyal yet using courtesy and 'please' with Gbanya. She usurps the chiefdom after Gbanya's death, fights internal and external wars, delivers fair verdicts, but is also accused by Musa and Lamboi of murder, humiliated by Mende women who call her names, and ultimately commits suicide to protect her dignity — remembered as a tragic hero for her leadership traits blending grace, bravery, peace, and authority.

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Points to develop: relation to theme; setting; external challenges; internal challenges; the fate of Yoko's rulership. The play centres on the theme of struggle for leadership. The power tussle is contested between Yoko and the villains Musa and Lamboi. Mende Land is the chiefdom ruled by the assassinated Gbanya, whereby Yoko becomes his successor. Mende chiefdom meets challenges from within and without: colonial exploitation is represented by Governor Rowe (the Imperial Majesty's representative), who imposes tax and demarcates borders without consulting Yoko; internally, Lamboi and Ngo Musa collude and poison Gbanya, later assassinate him after implicating Yoko in the murder of Jeneba, leading to Yoko's eventual downfall and suicide.

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Points to develop: relation to theme; character identification; Lakunle's approach to Sidi (morning); Baroka's approach to Sidi (noon); Sidi snubs Lakunle for Baroka. The play addresses the conflict between tradition and modernity, in which bride price is central. Lakunle, a symbol of modernity, refuses to pay Sidi's traditional bride price, and as a consequence loses her to Baroka. Lakunle criticizes Sidi's traditions as ignorant/uncivilised and condemns bride price as primitive and barbaric, promising Sidi a 'civilized' life after marriage instead. Baroka, through Sadiku, praises Sidi's beauty and promises wealth, honour, and prestige, then employs cunning (feigning impotence) to seduce and win her, exposing Lakunle's failure to secure Sidi through mere words rather than fulfilling the traditional requirements.

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Points to develop: relation to theme; customary love and marriage; western type of marriage; conflict between traditional/modern love and marriage; the triumph of traditional love/marriage based on the payment of bride price. Bride price is central to the play's conflict between tradition and modernity. Lakunle refuses to pay bride price for Sidi and consequently loses her to Baroka. Baroka, the Bale of Ilujinle, epitomizes traditional love and marriage, which is polygamous and based on payment of bride price; Lakunle, a young half-educated schoolteacher, upholds the western type of marriage based on courtship and non-payment of bride price, but is portrayed as a caricature of the western values he preaches. In the end, tradition (represented by Sidi and Baroka) triumphs over the modern values Lakunle stands for.

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Points to develop: relation to theme; character identification; nature of the friendship; complication in relationship; resolution. The play deals with the frustration of social life in post-World-War-II Britain and its negative effects on relationships. Jimmy Porter is the protagonist, tall, thin, about twenty-five, married to Allison, educated but resentful of the establishment, running a sweet stall. Cliff Lewis, short, dark, and big-boned, of the same age as Jimmy, lives with Jimmy and his wife and assists in his business; their friendship, from similar middle-class backgrounds, is marked by boredom, shared chores, and quarrelling over current affairs. At the centre of complication is Allison, Jimmy's wife: Cliff opposes Jimmy's ill-treatment of her and falls for her, yet Jimmy is indifferent even when they are found in compromising situations, until he is eventually redeemed by Allison's sudden return.

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Points to develop: relation to theme; identification of character; estrangement from Establishment; feeling that Britain has lost its identity; what Jimmy's responsibility for his own alienation can be attributed to. Jimmy Porter is the protagonist of Look Back in Anger, which deals with frustration in post-WWII Britain and its effects on relationships. Jimmy shows frustration in relation to his friends, Cliff, and his wife Allison. He is highly educated but has not been from an old, respected institution ('not even red brick, but white tile'), finding himself outside the establishment because he lacks the contacts to gain high placement, becoming increasingly estranged, frustrated, and lashing out at Cliff, Allison, and their friend Helena. His own responsibility for his alienation can be attributed to his haughty and self-righteous attitude to life; he constantly feels wronged by society and wants to pay it back, but has also failed to love his wife Allison genuinely.

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Points to develop: relation to theme; definition and explanation of plot; identification of character; events before Raynell's integration into Maxton's family; Raynell as a source of comfort for the family. Fences centres on racial discrimination and its negative impact on the lives of African Americans in the 1950s; Troy Maxton complicates an already uneasy family life with his extra-marital affair with Alberta. Raynell is Troy's extra-marital daughter, whose mother Alberta dies in childbirth; she is brought home by Troy, 'wrapped in blankets', becoming Cory and Lyons's step-sister and Gabriel's niece. Before her birth, the Maxton family's events seem largely under control, but Raynell's entry into the family introduces the most significant crisis Maxton must handle, since Rose is disowned by Troy as his wife over the affair. Rose's acceptance of Raynell eases the crisis, and things are never the same again in the relationship until Troy's death, after which Raynell is left with Rose, who introduces her to Cory and Lyons as her elder siblings.

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Points to develop: relation to theme; explanation/definition; 'fence' as a metaphor/symbol; 'fence' and 'fences'; significance of the title. The play centres on racial discrimination and its effects on an African-American family in the 1950s; they had to fight white segregation as well as deal with their own internal conflict, so they build both physical and internal fences while also putting up their own internal 'fences'. A fence is a structure built to separate one area from another, or to prevent people/animals from entering or leaving an enclosure. The play centres on the building of a fence in the Maxton backyard, which affects family life; Rose sings a song asking Troy and Cory to work together on it to heal the conflict between father and son. The fence becomes the physical barrier separating father and son — the constant friction between Troy and Cory can be seen as an emotional barrier — and even though the play centres on the building of a single fence, the title 'Fences' (plural) derives from the many other metaphorical fences in the play: the racism preventing Troy from a professional baseball career; the poverty/homelessness that shaped his life; and the fence he himself places between Cory and his football scholarship ambitions because of his own past discrimination.

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Points to develop: relation to theme; definition/explanation of personification; Rage as a thief; Rage as offspring of perception; the prescribed remedy. The poem addresses the adverse effects of unchecked Rage on human virtues like joy, compassion, and love. Rage is personified as an entity capable of disturbing or ruining one's peace of mind if invited in. Rage is described as 'the sole cause of your perception of Storms/Breaking around' and takes birth from people's feelings ('as you think, so you feel'). Rage is 'the companion of ruin', an 'enemy of equanimity' that 'spreads toxic fumes on every scene'; the poet advises against the adverse effects of Rage and recommends how to live a joyful and peaceful life, watching one's mind, thinking positive thoughts (love, compassion, joy), and restoring 'laughter, charity, sweetness and light'.

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Points to develop: relation to theme; the extent of grieving; the psychological effects of Africa's grief; Africa's means of survival; Africa's hope for the future. The poem is about suffering and survival; the title, 'The Grieved Lands', is a personification of Africa in grief, extending from colonial to modern times, due to colonialism and slavery — 'in the tearful woes of ancient and modern slave of other seas', as well as seduction ('in the infamous sensation of the stunning perfume of the flower') and violence ('by the wickedness of iron and fire'). This grief has resulted in psychological effects: the aborting of dreams, loss of self-worth, and bottled-up feelings; despite this, Africa survives through resilience — 'the never-dying spirit' that 'bubbles up in dreams', through alliance with kindred souls, and through the sacrifices of the dead. In spite of suffering, Africa lives with hope: hope in union and conscience, integrity, universal justice, and the continuation of the African race — 'we are living. And are imperishable particles of the grieved lands of Africa.'

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Points to develop: relation to theme; use of alliteration; use of repetition; use of assonance; cumulative effect of the use of the devices. In 'Binsey Poplars', the poet decries the destruction of nature through the felling of trees, using alliteration, repetition, and assonance to demonstrate nature's role in human affairs. Alliteration occurs across the poem, e.g. 'k' and 'l' in 'whose airy cages/quelled or quenched in leaves the leaping sun', and 's', 'd', 'w' sounds in 'That dandled a sandaled/Shadow that swam or sank... wind-wandering, weed-winding bank'; most sounds alliterated are voiceless/soft, conveying empathy and reinforcing the delicate, great loss of nature's destruction. Repetition (deliberate duplication of words for emphasis) occurs throughout, e.g. 'all felled, felled, are all felled', 'delve or hew'/'hew or delve', 'quelled/quelled', 'ten or twelve, only ten or twelve' — emphasizing and intensifying the point of loss and the destruction taking place. Assonance (repetition of identical/similar vowel sounds) appears in words like 'quelled/quenched/mend/end/delve/selve' and 'leaves/leaping sun' — heightening the feeling of loss and adding musical quality. Cumulatively, these devices reinforce the poet's regret and draw attention to the harm being done to the trees by human extension.

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Points to develop: relation to theme; the fact of death; approaches to dying; the admonition; the poet's attitude to death. The poem deals with the human condition of the fear of death. It sees death as inevitable and natural, but unwelcome — there is no need to call it by name, so euphemisms such as 'goodnight', 'close of day', and 'dying of the light' are used. The poet advises that death should be resisted, even at old age: 'Old age should burn and rave at close of day'; he provides examples of important people who do not give in readily to death — wise men who 'do not go gentle into that goodnight'; good men who 'Rage, rage against the dying of the light'; carefree people (wild men) with missed opportunities; and 'brave men' — visionary people 'who see with blinding light, but do not go gentle into that good night'. Since the poem is directed at his dying father (and, by extension, people in general), the poet admonishes revulsion towards death — 'curse, bless me now with your fierce tears', 'rage, rage against the dying of the light'. The words 'burn' and 'rage' suggest resentment; however, his fear of death also makes him address it euphemistically, as though he wishes for it — showing ambivalence in the poet's tone/attitude towards death.