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i) - Koro Apirana is unhappy with the birth of Kahu. Pg10. “A girl”, she has broken the male line of descent in our tribe.”
- He is opposed to the girl being named after the great ancestor Kahutia Te Rangi- the founder of thetribe. Pg 14. Koro Apirana felt naming a girl – child after the founder of our tribe was belitting Kahutia Te Rangi’s prestige.
- He could not reconcile his traditional believes about Maori leadership and rights with Kahu’s birth. “She won’t be any good to me……… I won’t have anything to do with her.”
- Koro even opposes the idea of having Kahu’s after birth buried in the village Pg 16.
- He appears too willing to let Kahu be raised by her mother’s people. Pg 22.
- Although for Kahu it was first love when she saw Koro he continued to push her away. Pg 25, 26, 27. Even when Kahu bites Old Koro’s toe, one of the tests his rigidity does not allow him to see the sign. When finally Kahu has saved the Whales and by extension the Maori people, Koro admits “ I blame myself for this. It’s all my fault…..ever since….. but my toe. Nani flower says ‘You were deaf, dump, blind and stubborn. Pg 118.
ii) - Nani flowers knows what Maori culture says about leadership yet she appears willing to accommodate the dynamic nature of culture. Pg 10. Her lips were quivering with emotion because she had been waiting for the call ……well, Rawiri,” she said to me, “you and the boys have got’ a beautiful niece.” Everytime Koro sulked about Kahu, she was always there teasing him. Constantly drew parallels between old Muriwai and Kahu. “…..Now I shall make myself a man.” ….she saved the canoe pg 15
- She sees the semblance between Koro and Kahu.
- Organizes for the receiving and burying of Kahu’s after birth in Whangara.”
- Kept on encouraging porourangi to bring Kahu for the holidays. Pg 25 - Pg 41
- While she agreed that the instruction should take place, she could not help feeling…..about the exclusion of women. “Themes” the rules…..”I know, but rule are made to be broken. Pg 33.
iii) -Rawiri seems to have been the moderate of all the men discussed in the novel apart from Porourangi. He acts as Kahu’s guardian. Pg 18 “You boys are the only ones who know where Kahu’s birth cord has been placed. It is your secret and mine. You have become her guardians.” …… I can truthfully say that Kahu was never forgotten by the boys and me” Pg 24.
- When Rawiri arrives in Australia he had thought he would be the first. He found many Maori cousins as he would put it.
- Rawiri is able to understand the change of behavior by his Maori cousins such as Henarge – who was now wearing a dress and Reremoana who had changed her name to Lola L’Amour and had red hair and fishnet stockings. He let them be Kingi who could not accommodate this who was always trying to cross the street when he saw a cousin he did not want be seen with Rawiri let them be.
- Rawiri’s experience with Jeff in Australia and elsewhere in Papua New Guined deepen his understanding of the changing Nature of culture and prepares him to go back and fight for Kahu’s right as the chosen one.
iv) Jeff, Rawiri’s friend in Australia does not shed not shed his people’s cultural belief that the natives are inferior and this is shown when he is unable to break free from the hold his mother and the white people in Papua New Guinea have on him. He is encouraged to leave Rawiri at home when going to parties. He seems to be finding difficulties trying to tell Rawiri that it was time for him to go. The highest point of his turmoil is brought out when he runs over Bernard. Pg 58.
v) Clara, Tom and other white people could not bring themselves to accept the natives as being human like they were. Even those natives like Bernard – who had more degrees ‘Oh, my goodness, how am I going to explain this they had a miserable life.
Musyoxx answered the question on March 1, 2018 at 18:30
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Francis Imbuga’s play, Betrayal in the City show the truth of this...(Solved)
“Francis Imbuga effectively uses satire to expose the ills bedeviling society.” Using illustrations from
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Vera did not want to be held, and the big ?ashing eyes on her...(Solved)
Read the following extract and answer the questions that follow.
Vera did not want to be held, and the big flashing eyes on her skinny face were restless and tempestuous. Even adults were a little afraid of her. She however had one saving grace; her capacity for love. Hers was and would remain a passionate nature. She took nothing for granted. She was completely loyal and from an early age her sister was the object of love and protection. It was her business to see to it that Becky was happy and had everything she needed. She was willing and ready to do battle with anyone who crossed Becky’s path and she was a fearless fighter although tears were ready to fall at the slightest provocation. Once when she was about five, she almost tore a playmate apart before anyone realized what was happening because she was screaming at the top of her lungs while pummeling him. The boy remained mute and shocked and did not or could not utter a sound. He only remembered to snivel a little when they pulled the screaming Vera off him.
When the girls were two, Mark got his long awaited promotion and moved to a slightly bigger house which had an extra bedroom. It was just in the nick of time for Elizabeth was pregnant again and sleeping arrangements were becoming tricky. Their joy was however tempered by the fact that owing to the state of emergency, the country was becoming more and more dangerous even for ordinary people between the White Johnies on one side and the Mau Mau freedom fighters on the other, death could arrive without warning. It was therefore decided that as soon as the baby was born, Elizabeth would move back to her old teaching job at Aluor where it was much safer, being far from the central region which was the enclave of the freedom fighters.
Aoro, a bouncing boy and the apple of his father’s eye was born in the middle of a long dry season-thus his name. When he was two weeks old he was whisked off to Aluor with his sister. When she heard about it, their paternal grandmother was furious.
“How can you allow that woman to take off with my grandchildren? Is this why they refused to take a bride price for her? So that they could treat us like dirt?”
“Mother nobody is trying to treat anyone else like dirt. It is just that there is no suitable school for her to teach in around here. She can bring the children over during the holidays.”
“Huff!” snorted his mother. Mark was almost sorry he had stopped by to see his mother on his way back to Nakuru. Things became very bad and lorries carrying the dead, purportedly Mau Mau were a common sight. There was suspicion everywhere - white against black and black against white. The Kikuyu especially suffered greatly-and could be shot, maimed, killed or translocated at a moment’s notice. They returned atrocity for atrocity and blood flowed- both black and white. Mark was very lonely without his wife and children. He particularly missed little Vera’s constant chatter which he had found so irritating before. She had been tireless and irrepressible, but now he would have given anything to hear her say: “Father why is mother’s stomach so big?”
(a) Place the extract in its immediate context.
(b) Characterize Vera according to the extract.
(c) Identify and illustrate two features of style employed in the extract.
(d) What are some of the themes brought out in the extract?
(e) In a paragraph of not more than 20 words write a summary of the effects of war as seen in the extract.
(f) Mark is said to have been lonely. This loneliness leads to something. Briefly say what happens.
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HUNGER
Hunger makes a person climb up to the ceiling
And hold on to the rafters
It...(Solved)
Read the Oral poem below and then answer the questions that follow.
HUNGER
Hunger makes a person climb up to the ceiling
And hold on to the rafters
It makes a person lie down.
But not feel at rest.
It makes a person lie down
And count the rafters.
When the Moslem is not hungry, he says:
“We are forbidden to eat monkey.”
When Ibrahim is hungry, he eats baboon!
When hunger beats the woman in the Koinange,
She will run out into the street in daytime.
One who is hungry does not care for taboos
One who is hungry does not care for death
One who is hungry will take
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Hunger will open it.
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Does bite with hunger.
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Date posted: February 27, 2018. Answers (1)
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The River and the Source: Margaret A. Ogola
Read the excerpt below and answer the questions that follow.
“Hey, was an army passing this way, Mother?” asked Aoro.
“It is not every day my grandchildren – all of them, come to see me; and I am a farmer; I have plenty of food – fresh from the garden, not like that frozen tasteless stuff you people eat in the city.”
“Agreed! Agreed!” answered her eldest son waving a juicy looking drumstick in the air. She noticed with motherly approval that he had started to fill out and his eyes were happy and settled. For a while, she had feared that this particular son was headed for trouble. But that had been long ago in his boyhood. She had been mistaken – happy mistake. She noted with concern, however, that Wandia seemed to have little to say. Something was a miss.
After the meal the children ran out to chase whatever farm animals they could find and to exercise their city cramped limbs. Aoro and Tony decided to take a walk together. Opiyo and his twin went to admire a herd of high breed cattle. Mark sat on the veranda admiring his scampering many hued grandchildren and Elizabeth and Wandia went to the kitchen – the only place where a woman can expect not to be disturbed for a while, especially when all are well fed.
“Yes tell me. Is he giving you a hard time or something?” Elizabeth asked and Wandia looked at her startled.
“No! No! I mean – gosh – am I so obvious?”
“ I can read you like a book, my girl.”
“I have a scholarship to study in America for a year.”
“And he is against it?”
“No! He is not. In fact he is all for it. But how can I leave him with five children?”
“Don’t worry about him. You see if you don’t go, it is something that will haunt you – a lost chance is very hard to live with. We will all chip in to give him a hand with the children. Mary is also there in Nairobi with absolutely no responsibility whatsoever. They will be OK. Just organize your affairs and go do what you have to do.
“Oh, thank you so much! Now I can tell the good news to my own family. I didn’t want to have to disappoint them.” The two women looked at each other with understanding. The leaving and cleaving was always more difficult for a woman who has to tear herself from so much, and give so much – which almost always went unnoticed.
The children, who apparently have some very powerful grinders in their tummies started rushing back into the house to ask for this, that or the other to eat and their solitude was broken as they attended to their needs, but Wandia was now at peace.
Father Tony and Aoro were reminiscing, about the escapades of their boyhood and each memory was punctuated by great gales of laughter. Eventually they got around to more serious talk.
“Great girl you have there.” Observed Tony.
“Yes. I am a lucky man. She does a wonderful job with the kids – Becky’s as well as ours. How about you Tony?
How’s the priesthood? Are you happy?”
“Absolutely. It is my life and it fulfills me completely. You know the priesthood is quiet like medicine.
Date posted: February 27, 2018. Answers (1)
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Write an essay showing the validity of this statement.
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