2024 NABTEB GCE LITERATURE IN ENGLISH: 2024 NABTEB GCE Literature (Lit) Verified Ans. (2030)

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PART I

(Answer ONE Question From This Part)

(1)

(i) Francis:

Francis, in Buchi Emecheta’s "Second-Class Citizen," serves as a complex character whose role encompasses the embodiment of patriarchal norms, the pursuit of educational aspirations, and the portrayal of cultural clashes. As a representation of traditional Nigerian societal expectations, Francis becomes a pivotal figure in understanding the gender dynamics prevalent in the story.

His character is a product of a patriarchal society, reflecting the deeply ingrained norms that dictate the role of women. Francis’s treatment of Adah within the confines of their marriage becomes a microcosm of the broader societal expectations placed on women to be submissive and conform to traditional gender roles. His interactions with Adah highlight the power dynamics within the relationship, illustrating the challenges women face when navigating a society that inherently places them in a subordinate position.

The narrative takes a significant turn when Francis, driven by his ambition for a Western education, leads the couple to migrate to England. This educational pursuit becomes a symbol of broader aspirations within Nigerian society—a quest for opportunities beyond the limitations of their homeland. However, the challenges Francis encounters in achieving academic success in a foreign land shed light on the struggles faced by immigrants adapting to new cultural and educational environments. His character becomes a representation of the clash between traditional values and the aspirations of a generation seeking a different, more globally connected future.

The cultural clashes experienced by Francis and Adah in England emphasize the difficulties inherent in navigating a new identity. Francis, grappling with the complexities of racism and a foreign culture, becomes a microcosm of the immigrant experience. The challenges he faces in securing stable employment and integrating into English society underscore the broader themes of displacement and the dissonance between one’s cultural roots and the realities of life in a foreign land.

(ii) Adah:

Adah, the protagonist in "Second-Class Citizen," emerges as a compelling character whose role encompasses resilience, ambition, feminist themes, and the intricate balance between motherhood and personal aspirations. Her journey becomes a powerful exploration of the challenges faced by women in a patriarchal society and the complexities of navigating personal dreams within societal expectations.

Adah’s resilience is evident from the beginning as she confronts the constraints of her marriage and societal expectations. Her determination to pursue education and career aspirations in the face of an unsupportive husband reflects a strong sense of self and a fervent desire for independence. Adah becomes a symbol of women’s agency, challenging and transcending traditional gender roles.

The feminist themes embedded in Adah’s character become a central focus of the narrative. Through her experiences, Emecheta delves into the societal constraints imposed on women, illustrating the struggle against traditional gender norms. Adah’s journey becomes a vehicle for exploring women’s rights and the limitations of patriarchy, contributing to the broader discourse on gender equality and female empowerment.

Adah’s role as a mother adds depth to her character. The narrative navigates the complexities of balancing familial responsibilities with individual aspirations. Her sacrifices for her children highlight the challenges women face in reconciling traditional maternal roles with the pursuit of personal dreams. Adah becomes a poignant representation of the multifaceted nature of women’s lives, challenging the societal expectations that often force women to compartmentalize their roles.

(2)

Buchi Emecheta’s "Second-Class Citizen" vividly contrasts the lives of the characters, Adah and Francis, in Nigeria and England. These stark differences serve as a lens through which the novel explores themes of cultural dislocation, immigration challenges, and the impact of societal expectations on individual aspirations.

Life in Nigeria:

In Nigeria, the characters experience the weight of traditional gender roles and societal expectations. The patriarchal structure is evident in Francis and Adah’s marriage, where Adah is expected to conform to the roles dictated by her husband and society. The cultural norms in Nigeria confine Adah to a subordinate position, limiting her opportunities for education and personal fulfillment. Adah’s dreams of pursuing a career and education are stifled by the prevailing gender dynamics, reflecting the societal constraints on women during that period.

The social and economic challenges faced in Nigeria also play a significant role in shaping the characters’ lives. Francis’s pursuit of a Western education, while emblematic of broader aspirations in Nigerian society, is hindered by economic constraints and limited opportunities. The couple faces financial struggles, and Francis grapples with the pressures of providing for his family, reinforcing the economic disparities that shape their lives in Nigeria.

Life in England:

The migration to England represents a pivotal shift in the characters’ lives. England, as a foreign and culturally different environment, introduces a new set of challenges and opportunities.

One prominent contrast lies in the exposure to Western values and the clash between traditional Nigerian norms and the more liberal societal expectations in England. Adah, in particular, experiences a newfound sense of freedom and agency. The cultural differences create a space for her to challenge traditional gender roles and pursue her educational and career aspirations. The novel highlights the transformative effect of the Western environment on Adah’s self-perception and her ability to navigate societal expectations.

Economically, the characters face a different set of challenges in England. The struggle for stable employment and financial stability persists, but the context has shifted. The racial and cultural prejudices they encounter become significant hurdles in their pursuit of the so-called "better life." The novel depicts the harsh realities of being immigrants in a foreign land, facing discrimination and the challenges of adapting to a new social and economic landscape.

The contrast in the characters’ lives between Nigeria and England serves as a commentary on the complexities of identity, the impact of cultural shifts on individual agency, and the challenges of adapting to a foreign environment. Emecheta skillfully uses these contrasts to explore the broader themes of immigration, cultural displacement, and the evolving roles of women in a changing world. The novel invites readers to critically examine the societal structures that shape individuals and the transformative power of new environments on personal

(3)

The link between Ghana and Nigeria in the Novel is potrayed in the search for identity and identity crisis

The novel explores the question of identity, that is, the individual characteristics by which a person is known or recognized and identity crisis which is distress orientation resulting from conflicting uncertainty about oneself and one’s role in society. The nature of search for identity in the novel is both psychological and ethical.

For example, the Ghana society has made it possible to displace the natives and non natives which also make them faceless without identity The more they try to assert their identity, the more the harsh economic policy bites them hard. Nii Talkie, for instance, suffers from identity crisis greatly. He is unsure of his society, and not dully recognized in his place of birth, Ghana and his nationality, Nigeria. In Ghana, he is branded as alien in spite of the fact that he bears Ghanaian name and lived in Ghana all his life. The society expects him only to come to his own country, Nigeria to meet another identity problem. Nii escapes economic hardship in Ghana and goes to Nigeria in search of his identity, his family in order to start life anew, he beams in elusive hope with the conviction that with a Yoruba tribal mark and a family name, he is sure that he can easily trace his roots in his family. His arrival coincides with a deportation order asking all aliens to leave the country.

However, Nii’s experience back in Nigeria is a direct testimony of how difficult it is for Africa to integrate in its post-colonial society. The society has lost the identity and also finds it difficult to define who is a Nigerian and who is a Ghanaian? What does citizenship entail? Although Nii does all that is possible to prove that he is a Nigerian, he is not accepted as one and risks begin deported back to Ghana where he is escaping. Everywhere, he attempts to prove his Nigerian Citizenship, he is confronted with the question of language. You can’t speak Yoruba, Igbo, Hausa, or any authentic local language, you see and you say you are a Nigeria?. His dogged determination to claim his identity becomes fruitless at some point and he persists. “I am not asking to be given citizenship. “I am claiming it as a right, look at my tribal marks. I have told you of my parentage, told you of my sad story, how I have deprived of parental care due to a barbaric un-Africa unconscionable law over there”.

Therefore, Nii numerous problems in Nigeria which are based on his being considered a stranger on African identity grounded on flimsy national differences. Nii expresses his disgust for identity problem through a symbolic ritual of blood covenant when he draw. Blood from incisions and put it in the midst of the thirsty and dying deportees whose only identity is their collective predicament. Nii’s struggle for identity sees the light of day when he eventually meets his sister, Mama.

In addition, the Ghanaian government of the day has also lost its identity and it is now faced with the problem of identity crisis because of its insensitivity and inability to make law that will benefit the general masses. The armed soldiers are used as puppet or war dog to promote anarchy. For instance, the government does not consider the plight of the masses before they enact law about the withdrawal from circulation of fifty cedis notes, the national currency’s highest denomination. And the new law about all savings in bank above fifty thousand cedis should be frozen is another heartless law that makes the government visionless. A certain woman named Auntie Joe who has lost forty thousand cedis dies of heart attack as a result.

(4)

The theme of discrimination in the novel is fully shown in through Xenophobia, which is a strong feeling of dislike, discrimination, hatred or fear of people from other countries. The novelist explores its phenomenon as a theme – its causes and consequences. In examining the causes of this discriminating hatred for one another includes bad government policy, vision less leaders, and the need to revenge and rewrite the past history.

In the novel, discrimination occurs in an attempt to right the wrong of the Ghanaian community at first. According to Mama the then opposition party accused aliens, that is, non-citizens of ruining the country, or the government of that time has made a mess of its management of the affairs of the Ghanaian economy and blamed their failure to do things right on us aliens as scapegoats. Life becomes quite unbearable to learn that Mama Orojo and her family are unwanted in a country they have come to regard to be their home. “We were aliens, they said and we had to regularize our stay” The journey to Nigeria is not without difficulties, as they stopped to bury someone each time the track stopped. She buried her father and mother on her way. Not heard about her grandma who refused to come with them.

Consequently, the economy of Ghana grows from bad to worse and the working personnel and technocrats are forced out of the country. The country begins to go through a terrible drought as a result of widespread crop failure, primary products fall on foreign markets and the burden of the country worsened. It is a period of economic gloom, a period when Nii Tackie even as assistant Manager in a bank has to do part time teaching job to survive. It is a period of panic economic measures like the withdrawal from circulation a fifty cedis notes, the national currency highest denomination which has made the people poor heart broken. This also sparks off a frosty relationship between the natives and the immigrants, leading to discriminating attack as a medium of communicating their discomfort and disapproval against foreigners. Both the natives and the non-natives alike are affected Aaron Tsuru, the proprietor of Ant Hill brick is forced to abandon his career as a result of his inability to secure loan from the bank to stay in business owing to bad government policy. Both Nii Tackie and Aaron Tsura abandon their dream careers to travel to Nigeria for greener pastures. Another consequence of discrimination is undue brutality victimization on the part of security personnel who take advantage of the situation to maltreat the citizens and non citizens alike. Such incident occurs at the market when a ten year old girl is being chased by an armed soldier for selling at above ‘control price’

Worse still, Nii and Aaron meet the highest discriminating attack in Lagos as soon as they get to Nigeria border. As all Nii’s efforts to survive in Ghana failed woefully, he decides to come to Nigeria to start life anew and also to search for his sister whom he has not seen for many years now. And this time around, the Nigerian government has also come out with a policy to flush aliens out of the country which is a reprisal of xenophobic attack Nii who is a Nigerian by blood is said to wallow in pain and anguish because he cannot speak any language. His tribal marks and family name could not save him. Nii soon finds out that it takes more than a tribunal mark and a family name to claim citizenship. He is therefore taken capture by an officer to work in a cassava farm to buy back his freedom in his own country. Nii had to pass through the trauma of fruitless search until fate eventually unite him and Mama Orojo, his sister in Nigeria.

PART II

(Answer ONE Question From This Part)

(5)

Nelly Dean formally know as Ellen Dean is the chief narrator of Wuthering Heights. She is a sensible, intelligent and compassionate woman. She grew up alongside Hindley and Catherine Earnshaw and she is deeply involved in the story she narrates. She has strong feelings for the characters in her story and these feelings complete her narration.

Nelly is a maid at Thrushcross Grange at the beginning. She gives Lockwood the full doze on the history of both houses, the Grange and Heights. She’s loyal to the Linton family of Grange and to certain members of the Earnshaw family, the owners of Wuthering Heights. That loyalty influence her narrations at times. She is also very opinionated, and she’s willing to express herself both positively and negatively. She really dislikes Heathcliff and it is revealed through her narration. She uses sassy comments about Heathcliff and other characters. She says Heathcliff looks like demon or a ghoul.

Nelly is romantic at heart and she exaggerates things to heighten the drama both as a character in the story and the person telling the story. For example, she encourages Heathcliff to invent a noble background for himself. Nelly is an unreliable narrator because she is telling her own version of the story that occurred at Wuthering Heights and Thrushcross Grange. She is telling her own version of the story someone else hold her too. Everything Lockwood hears about the history of these people and these two houses is filtered through Nelly.

She is loyal to both Hareton Earnshaw and Cathy Linton because she raises them when their mothers died shortly after giving birth to them. Her attachment to them is strong, and her opinion of them is higher than others.

Nelly is information bearer, for she is able to make us understand the intensity of the love that Catherine feels for Heathcliff. She endures the tragic events of Wuthering Heights, witnessing love, betrayal, and revenge. Her continued presence at Thrushcross Grange makes her a resilient character who has weathered the storms of the narrative.

Nelly Dean’s multifaceted role as a narrator, storyteller, mediator, and moral interpreter significantly shapes the plot of "Wuthering Heights." Her insider’s perspective offers readers a glimpse into the complex and passionate world of the characters, though her subjectivity adds layers of complexity and occasional unreliability to the narrative.

(6)

Love is one major thing in Wuthering Heights and the nature of love is both Romantic and brotherly – not erotic. In the text, every relationship is strained at one point or another. Bronte’s treatment of love is best seen as good versus evil or love versus hate. The only most important relationship is the one between Heathcliff and Catherine. The nature of their love is beyond this world-spiritual plane and it supersedes anything available to everyone on earth.

However, their love seems to be born out of their rebellion and not mere sexual desire. Both of them do not fully understand the nature of their love, for they betray each other. Each of them married the person whom they did not love, as much as they love each other. Catherine and Heathcliff’s love is based on their shared perception and they are identical. For instance Heathcliff demonstrates this when Catherine dies and he wails profusely that he cannot live without his “soul” referring to Catherine.

Apart from the love between Catherine and Heathcliff which is destructive, that of Catherine and Edgar is proper rather than passionate. Theirs is a love of peace and comfort, a socially acceptable love, but it can’t stand in the way of Heathcliff and Catherine which is more profound connection. That of Cathy and Linton is an exaggeration. While Catherine always seems 46 just a bit too strong for Edgar, Cathy and Linton’s love is founded on Linton’s weakness, Linton gets Cathy to love him by playing on her desire to protect him.

Finally, there is a love between Cathy and Hareton, which seems to balance the traits of the other loves on display. They have the passion of Catherine and Heathcliff without the destructiveness, and the gentleness shared by Edgar and Catherine without the dullness in power.

(7)

The narrator of "Invisible Man" portrays societal ills, particularly racism, identity crises, and invisibility.

Racism, as depicted in the novel, obstructs individual identity. The protagonist, an invisible black man, grapples with defining his identity in a racist American society. Passing through various communities, from Liberty Paints to the Brotherhood, he faces societal expectations that force him into an inferior role.

In New York, the Liberty Paints plant exemplifies financial success achieved by diminishing the role of blacks. Racial discrimination is evident in the factory’s operations, where whites heavily rely on blacks but deny them the final presentation of the product. Joining the Brotherhood, the narrator discovers its exploitation of him as a token black man rather than a partner in racial equality.

The narrator’s invisibility is further emphasized by others’ racial prejudices, limiting their perception of him. He realizes that the world is filled with blind people, especially white counterparts, unable or unwilling to see his true nature and the struggles of blacks in a white-dominated society. This limitation hinders his ability to act authentically. Initially embracing his invisibility, he later resolves to contribute to society, challenging the ironic racial dynamics at Liberty Paints.

The narrator’s grandfather’s advice underscores racial consciousness. He suggests outward compliance while harboring resentment to combat racial discrimination. The characters, including Tod Clifton, grapple with conflicting pressures and uncertainty about their roles in society. The narrator’s quest for identity in a race-dominated society is evident from the novel’s beginning.

While racism is a significant factor in the narrator’s invisibility, other aspects contribute. Joining Liberty Paint Plant, the narrator hopes for equality but finds himself on an endless quest for identity. The Brotherhood initially offers a systematic solution to racism, prompting the narrator to structure his identity around it. However, he discovers their willingness to sacrifice him for selfish interests.

The novel unfolds as a black man’s struggle to find his identity against the backdrop of societal pressure and racism. The narrator, using invisibility as a shield, expresses himself in an unsafe society, gaining praise for his actions only when invisible. The narrative weaves together themes of racism, identity, and invisibility, providing a nuanced exploration of societal challenges faced by the protagonist.

(8)

(a) Point of View: The novelist employs first person narration using the narrator as the central narrator throughout the novel. We understand the story to be his perception; he is speaking out about his experience and, as he says in the epilogue, hopefully shedding light on things we might not have realized. This treatment of other characters actually mirrors the way he himself has been treated; aside from the narrator. The narrator’s experience and narration is semi-autobiographic in nature.

(b) Satire: Ellison uses satire to critique various aspects of society, including racial stereotypes, the Brotherhood (an organization in the novel), and societal expectations. Employed to critique and expose the flaws, vices, or absurdities of society.

For instance Ellison satirizes racial stereotypes and prejudices prevalent in society. The protagonist’s invisibility becomes a metaphor for society’s refusal to see him as an individual beyond his race.

The Brotherhood, an organization the protagonist joins, is satirized for its political opportunism. Ellison critiques the exploitation of the protagonist’s invisibility for the Brotherhood’s gain rather than addressing systemic issues.

The novel satirizes societal expectations and the pressure to conform. The protagonist’s invisibility results from society’s refusal to acknowledge and address the realities faced by African Americans.

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