WAEC Literature in English 2021 Theory — Question 6

Model answer

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.