2024 NECO GCE LITERATURE IN ENGLISH: 2024 NECO GCE LITERATURE (DRAMA) QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS (5990)

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Sidi is the village belle of Ilujinle. She's very beautiful and is acutely aware of that fact, especially once the stranger returns to the village with a magazine of photographs that show Sidi in all her glory. Seeing the photographs makes Sidi obsessed with her own image and gives her an exaggerated sense of her power over men. Both Lakunle and Baroka wish to marry Sidi, but she doesn't act particularly interested in marrying either of them—she deems Baroka too old, and Lakunle insults her by calling her dumb and referring to her as a "bush-girl." However, she indicates that she supports her village's traditional way of life by implying that she'd marry any man, provided he paid her bride price.

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Cliff Lewis is Jimmy’s friend. Jimmy says that he is the only friend of his that still stays around especially after Hugh went abroad. Cliff is of the same age as Jimmy. But unlike Jimmy, Cliff is short, dark and big-boned. In Act I, he wears a pullover and grey new but very creased trousers. He is teased by Cliff and Alison for not being able to take care of his new trousers. This is indicative of his lower class background which is supposed to be crude. Cliff is relaxed, easy and lethargic. The stage direction also states that Cliff has the sad natural intelligence of the self-taught. This means that though Cliff might not have been educated like Jimmy, he still tries to ‘better himself’ as can be seen in his seriousness at reading newspapers in the play. Cliff is the foil of Jimmy in the play. While Jimmy tends to alienate people and their love, Cliff attracts people. People find it easier to talk to and confide in him. He cares so much about Alison and this counteracts Jimmy’s characteristic indifference.

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There is a serious case of one who is building an enduring family reputation and unity and there is another who is destroying it and bringing it to disrepute.

Rose who is positive minded does everything possible to reposition the Maxson’s family by giving moral and financial support to the members in her household, while Troy whose income cannot even settle his family’s need is busying dragging the family name on the mire.

So, Troy struggles to fulfill his role as a father to his son and husband to his wife.  He does not do much before his demise.  The family he ruled with Iron hand or hard-handedness is torn apart, as his son; Cory turns against him and also becomes a rebel.  After leveling serious criticism on how Troy tormented his life and dreams for a better future, he vows not to attend his funeral.

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(i)African Beauty; The poem gives prominence to the admiration and glorification of the beauty of the black woman; hence the whole of the poem is devoted to the beauty of the black woman. The poet admires the beautiful smooth skin of the African woman, which strikes his heart" like the lighting of the eagle" he appreciates the powerful black presence of the natural black woman around him right from his childhood. The African woman's body is then compared to the of a ripened fruit, and whose resonant contralto voice is regarded as the spiritual anthem of the nation. The poet describes the African woman as elegant, graceful, and pure in all her physical attributes. This, the poet achieved by evoking elements of beauty in the poem, such as: " sun-baked pass", the "heart of summer" "the heart of noon", " firm-fleshed ripe fruit", somber raptures of black wine" to refer to African that is personified as a Naked woman, a Black woman in the poem.

(ii)The Nurturing Quality of a Black Woman; In the poem, the poet does not cease to express the unbeatable qualities of a black woman as the source and sustainer of the growing child. The poet expresses his affection and appreciation to the black woman who had care tenderly in the gentleness of her hands until he enters the "promised land" of adulthood (Lines 1- 10). The ability of a black woman to give birth and sustain the life of the infant child is applauded. Also, the role of the African woman as the first teacher of 'copied from e x a m p l a z a . c o m free' the child is uncovered by the poet, as he remembers his mother's tutelage at the various stages of childhood that sustained his growth into adulthood. (Line 4—5)
“The Theme of Praises of the Africa Culture.

(iii)The theme of the praises of the Africa; culture cannot be overlooked in the poem. The poet's choice of words to enchant the praises of the black woman is extraordinary.
In lines 1-2, the poet made a direct call of a naked woman, a black woman who is "clothed" with her color which is life. The poet showers praise on the natural black color of the African woman's skin, and everything about the black woman. Her smooth skin is compared to that of an athletel The poet further praises the African woman as graceful and elegant as a gazelle. The natural beauty of the black woman in the poem is the richness of the African culture before the colonization.

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(i)Rhetorical Question
There is an instance of rhetorical question (in any case, an enjambment) in lines 35-36: “were we led all that way for Birth or Death?”

(i)Pun; There is an instance of pun in line 33 of the poem where the poetic persona played upon the phrase “set down”. The first “set down” is a phrasal verb while the second “set down” modified with the determiner “this” is nominalised. Apart from the distinction in word class, “set down” is also used in different senses. While the first use of “set down” denotes putting something down, the other use of “set down” implies depression and disappointment.

(iii)Allusion; There is an instance of literary allusion in the opening lines of the poem. Allusion, according to Oxford Concise Dictionary of Literary Terms, is defined as “an indirect or passing reference to some event, person, place, or artistic work, the nature and relevance of which is not explained by the writer but relies on the reader’s familiarity with what is thus mentioned.” Within the context of the poem, there is a case of literary allusion. The opening lines of the poem allude to a Christian sermon given by the Bishop of Winchester