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Blossoms of the Savannah is a novel that presents a story of two sisters,Taiyo and Resian,who are very close to womanhood.The two are daughters of Parsimei Ole Kaelo and Mama Milanoi have been raised in Nakuru town and now are are relocating to the rural area of Nasila following the retrenchment of their father from Agribix Limited where he served as the manager.Ole Kaelo is well prepared for the transition as he had build a shop in the rural area where he would selling agricultural inputs.We are not told that Ole Kaelo got some financial support from Olosudori who is well known for his unscrupulous business which involve extortion and several corrupt deals.
As the story begins the family is busy putting things together for the relocation.All the stuff is loaded in two lorries.Taiyo is busy looking through the window of what seemed to be their bedroom,she sympathizes with the loaders as she knows the sting of her father's tongue,which reminded her of an ordeal with him when he refused to allow her attend to an extravangaza.Resian joins her and the two ex[press their fear and anxiety of leaving the town because they knew that things would be different in Nasila.
When they begin the Journey to Nasila,they all look apprehensive and each member is busy with their own thoughts.Ole Kaelo thinks about his entire life,how he rose from clerk to manager ,how he met his wife,the birth of his daughter Resian which was a great dissappointment since he had hoped for a son and how his young brother,Simiren is respected in the community. He thus his going back will give him identity among his community.
The Ole Kaelos family had been taking traditions for granted all this time.Mama Milanoi now fears of her daughters whose status she had never given a serious thought even after the women who came to visit her from Nasila contemptuously referred to them as Intioye nemengalana.
They are received in the village with a ceremony,which causes the girls to be reminded again of their status which is not acceptable.During the ceremony Taiyo notices a young man among the Morans and she feels that he is handsome ,their illicit contact between them is cautioned as they belong to the same sub-clan,thus brother and sister according to traditions.
Pressure starts to mount in the Kaelo family when Ole Kaelo succumbs to the pressure of his community as he asks his wife to start counselling the girls to prepare them so that they can call the enkumuratani to perform the ceremony on them .This comes as a surprise to Mama Milanoi making her so worried about her daughters .She knows that her culture does not allow her to dissent with her husband and thus she obliges.
It is the unexpected visit of Oloisosudori that worsens the situation for the Kaelo family .His visit is intended to extort money from Ole Kaelo with whom they had a business deal but on seeing Resian ,he changes his mind and instead demands for her hand in marriage.Ole Kaelo has no option but to Succumb to Olisudori's demand since he needs to save his home,business and his other daughter Taiyo.
Her premonition about Oloisuduri's monstrous nature is proven when he discloses to her that he has already betrothed her as his wife .This revelation leaves her fuming with anger.She confronts her father who confirms that he has already received dowry from Oloisudori and thus she had no option. Resian finds her way to Nasila River and even contemplates jumping into it'Fortunately,Olarinkoi arrives in time and offers to help her escape to Minik ene Nkitoi,the Emakerererei's ranch.The thought of meeting her role model revives her resilience.At that time the remembrance of how Olarinkoi once rescued her sister and her from the vagabonds who wanted to rape her them makes her trust Olarinkoi to her guardian angel.
Unfortunately for Resian,Olorinkoi was not the angel angel she had expected but rather a fox that was trailing the lion for its prey to fall from its mouth.She Painfully discovers this after being taken through a rough journey only to be taken to a dark hurt.She is physically assaulted by Olarinkoi when she bites his finger to stop him from taking her by force,she goes to see a nurse who discloses to her that she intends to be circumcised.
It is while at the ranch that Resian is reunited with her sister Taiyo who arrives five days later.She is rescued by Emakererei's team.Unfortunately for Taiyo,the olmuranya has already been applied on her forcefully.The olmuranya has already been applied on her forcefully.The two get a chance to actualize their dream as they soon receive good news that they have been admitted to the Egerton University.
During the party ,the girls who have been rescued by the Emakererei's presents a song that expresses their pride in their achievement ,especially their escape from circumcision and the acquired education which will empower them.
The story comes to an end as Resian and Taiyo are being driven to Egerton University by Minik ene Nkoitoi,the Emakererei.
marto answered the question on April 18, 2018 at 07:17
- Give the relevance of the Title Blossoms of the Savannah.(Solved)
Give the relevance of the Title Blossoms of the Savannah.
Date posted: April 17, 2018. Answers (1)
- Greed and materialism are the source of all evil in the society. Support this with illustration from the novel Blossoms of Savannah.(Solved)
Greed and materialism are the source of all evil in the society. Support this with illustration from the novel Blossoms of Savannah.
Date posted: April 17, 2018. Answers (1)
- Oloisudori is a despicable character.Justify this statement basing your answer on the novel Blossoms of the Savannah.(Solved)
Oloisudori is a despicable character.Justify this statement basing your answer on the novel Blossoms of the Savannah.
Date posted: April 17, 2018. Answers (1)
- "What do you mean?" In page 61,62 in the excerpt, if she aligned herself with a person who Nasila regarded as having such an obnoxious...(Solved)
In page 61,62 in the excerpt,if she aligned herself with a person who Nasila regarded as having such an obnoxious reputation where would her marriage stand? a)Place the excerpt in its immediate context b)Explain the three themes in the excerpt 6 marks c)illustrate the use of allusion and explain its use.3 marks
d)Why was Minik ene Nkoitoi regarded as a devil incarnatein Naisela?2 marks
e)Give two character traits of Mama Milanoi that are brought out in this excerpt.4 marks
f)Rewrite in reported speech " What do you mean?" 1 mark
Date posted: April 15, 2018. Answers (1)
- Read the following excerpt carefully and then answer the questions that follow.(Solved)
Old man, left:(suspiciously)Is this us?
Old man,right:(amid laughter):How could it be a way of influencing you,Surab,you the valley thief?Everyone knows you will take the cheese and the valley too.(laughter.)All i expected from you is an honest answer.Do you like the cheese.
Old man.left:The answer is yes.
Old man,right:Really.(Bitterly)I might have known you knew nothing ab out cheese.
Old man,left:Why?when I tell you I like it?
Old man,right:Because you cant like it.Because our goats don't like the new grass.The grazing land over there is no good,whatever the young folks say.You can't live there.It doesn't even smell of morning in the morning.(several people laugh)Please put that in your report.
Delegate:Don't mind them;they got your point .After all,why does a man love his country?Because the bread tastes better there,there,the air smells better.Voices sound stronger ,the sky is higher ,the ground is easier to walk on. Isn't that so?
Old man,right:The valley belongs to us by law.
Girl Tractorist;In any case,the laws must be re examined to see if they they are still right.
Old man,right:That goes without saying.But doesn't it make a difference what kind of neighbors you have ?We want to come back just to have you as our neighbors,valley thieves!you can all laugh again.
Old man,left:(laughing):Then why don't you listen to what your neighbor,Kato Vatchang,our agriculturalist,has to say about the valley.
Peasant Woman,right:comrade specialist,we're not horse trading.I can't take your cap, hand you another and say this one's better.It may be better ,but you prefer your own.
Girl tractorist:A piece of land is not a cap-not in our country,comrade.
Delegate: Don't get angry.Its true a piece of land.In any event,what we need to know is exactly what you people would do with the valley if you had it.(To those on the left)
Others :Yes ,let Kato speak.
Adapted from the Caucasian chalk circle.
Questions
a)Give a brief account of what led to what is happening in this excerpt.(4 marks)
b)In your own words state what the OLD MAN to the right's argument is.(3 marks)
c)What does the OLD MAN to the right imply by,"Everyone knows you will take the cheese and the valley,too"?(2 marks)
d)According to the soldier to the left,not so long ago,people didn't have ................freedom.(Fill in the blank space with the most appropriate words.) 1 mark
e)Basing your answer on what transpires in this excerpt,describe the character and role of delegates.(4 marks)
f)What is the theme of this excerpt?(2 marks)
g)Describe the mood of the gathering.(2 marks0
h)What is the significance of this meeting in relation to the message of the play?(2 marks)
i)"I can't take your cap,hand you another,and say,this ones's better (1 mark)
j)Outline Kato's points that comes immediately after this excerpt (3 marks)
Date posted: April 14, 2018. Answers (1)
- Describe the events that take place in chapter four of Blossoms of Savannah(Solved)
Describe the events that take place in chapter four of Blossoms of Savannah.
Date posted: April 13, 2018. Answers (1)
- How can one know that audience are attentive when reciting poem?(Solved)
How can one know that audience are attentive when reciting poem?
Date posted: April 13, 2018. Answers (1)
- Why the title Blossoms of the Savannah?(Solved)
Why the title Blossoms of the Savannah?
Date posted: April 12, 2018. Answers (1)
- What forced Kaelo's family to relocate to Nasila(Solved)
What forced Kaelo's family to relocate to Nasila
Date posted: April 6, 2018. Answers (1)
- Name three types of oral narratives(Solved)
Name three types of oral narratives.
Date posted: April 6, 2018. Answers (1)
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Highlight 10 Maa cultures portrayed in blossoms of the Savannah.
Date posted: April 5, 2018. Answers (1)
- Define and make short notes on the following literary terms: character and characterization(Solved)
Define and make short notes on the following literary terms: character and characterization.
Date posted: April 3, 2018. Answers (1)
- Features of dilemma narrative(Solved)
Features of dilemma narrative.
Date posted: April 2, 2018. Answers (1)
- Discuss four themes in Caucasian Chalk Circle(Solved)
Discuss four themes in Caucasian Chalk Circle.
Date posted: March 21, 2018. Answers (1)
- Is oral literature important or useful in modern society? Using specific examples demonstrate your view either for or against the statement.(Solved)
Is oral literature important or useful in modern society? Using specific examples demonstrate your view either for or against the statement.
Date posted: March 17, 2018. Answers (1)
- Read the following poem and answer the questions that follow:
BEGGAR IN THREE PIECE
My jumbo
Shot its way
Across the sky
To distant lands
Across blue seas.
I descended the...(Solved)
Read the following poem and answer the questions that follow:
BEGGAR IN THREE PIECE
My jumbo
Shot its way
Across the sky
To distant lands
Across blue seas.
I descended the ladder
To a waiting ribbon
Of blood-red carpet
A quick glance at my
Three piece suit
And the tie
That beautifully strangled my neck.
On my left hand hang
My beaded knobkerrie
On my right clutched
My rusty inter-Nation begging Bowl
On my face I wore humility and need
And of course dignity.
Sir, the dearth of food
Has rendered by people thin
And hungry
Scoop us a little
You know,
Just a little,
To keep them till next rains’
‘But Sir, beggars
In three piece
Are a rare sight
But your suit is beautiful
- Honestly
Now my suit
Which cost me a fortune
In a Parisian Textile
Has denied me a fortune
And my countrymen, lie.
L.O. Sunkuli
Questions
a) Who is the persona in this poem?
b) What is the subject matter of this poem?
c) Explain the satire in this poem and comment on its effectiveness.
d) Describe the tone of the poem.
e) Explain what the last stanza implies.
f) Explain the meaning of the following lines as used in the poem.
i) My Jumbo
Shots its way
Across the sky
ii) That beautifully strangled my neck.
iii) To keep them till next rains.
Date posted: March 16, 2018. Answers (1)
- COMPREHENSION
Read the passage below and answer the questions that follow.
A boy learns from his father without even realizing that he is learning. He...(Solved)
COMPREHENSION
Read the passage below and answer the questions that follow.
A boy learns from his father without even realizing that he is learning. He associates with his father’s masculinity and learns what it entails.
Children are always making decisions. They watch what happens around them and decide what to do to find belonging and connection. They do not automatically mimic the behavior and values of their parents as they are thinking and feeling people who decide for themselves what works.
A father’s role in raising children has changed dramatically with modernization of the society. In past generations, sons were groomed to follow their father’s footsteps, apprenticing at work and adopting their outlook to life.
Nowadays, fathers go out to work wherever their skills take them or where work can be found. Many boys grow up yearning for the closeness with their fathers.
The father is someone who comes to eat, sometimes looks over homework, hears about the son’s infractions of the day and watches television then goes to bed.
Parenting has become a mother’s business while father is out there eking a living. Research shows that fathers are an integral part of their son’s healthy emotional, physical and cognitive growth.
Boys whose fathers love them can demonstrate that love in consistent caring ways, have fewer problems later in life with their peers or in their studies and do not display delinquent behavior.
But teaching a young man how to become a man involves more than just being there. It is a conscious process of mentoring, training and connection that creates a desire for a boy to become the kind of a man we hope he will become.
Many factors come into play, especially in the boy’s formative stage. Recently, I was speaking to a gentleman who in retrospect ascribes his violent behavior to anger brought about by the ill treatment of his mother by his father.
One of the most important influences a father can have on his son is largely through the quality of relationship with the mother. A father who relates well with the mother of his children is more likely to have sons who are psychologically and emotionally healthier. Fathers who treat the mother of their sons with respect and deal with any conflict within the relationship in an appropriate manner are more likely to have boys who understand how women should be treated. They are less likely to be aggressive towards women.
Children with involved, caring fathers have better education outcomes. Fathers often push for achievement, while mothers stress on the boy’s well-being, both of which are important for healthy development.
A study of children of school-going age found that boys with involved fathers have fewer social behaviour problems and are likely to have good emotional health, to be high achievers and avoid drug use, violence and delinquent behavior.
(Adapted from the Standard Sunday Magazine 29th June, 2014)
a) Mention any two things that show that a father’s presence is important in a boy’s life.
b) How does a boy learn from his father?
c) How do children find belonging and connection?
d) Make notes on the ways in which a father can positively influence his son.
e) Many factors come to play (Supply a question tag)
f) Nowadays many fathers go to work wherever their skills take them.
(Rewrite in the present perfect continuous tense)
g) What does teaching a young man involve?
h) Give the meaning of the following words as used in the passage.
1) Mimic
2) Masculinity
3) Groomed
4) Retrospect
i) Supply a suitable title for the passage.
Date posted: March 16, 2018. Answers (1)
- Read the extract below then answer the questions that follow.
“Father! Mother! Come quickly! Tony is dying! He burst into their room throwing his manners...(Solved)
Read the extract below then answer the questions that follow.
“Father! Mother! Come quickly! Tony is dying! He burst into their room throwing his manners completely to the wind. Elizabeth was already on her way across the room. Like all mothers she slept without sleeping and Tony’s screams had brought her to consciousness and to her feet before Aoro started out of the room. Mark struggled to wake up and saw his wife streaking out of the room.
“What the heck is going on?” He asked the empty room. There was of course no answer, but the panicked sounds in the boys’ room were enough to direct him.
Tony was writhing on the floor; clearly the boy was very sick. Mark rushed to the neighbours to ask for transport. Those were the days before people learned to barricade themselves behind their doors for fear of thugs masquerading as people in distress. The neighbour who owned a VW rushed the sick boy who held on his mother’s lap in the front seat with his father in the back, to the general hospital.
Doctors who stare death in the face on daily basis are never in as much a hurry as relatives would like them to be, but eventually the boy was seen and a diagnosis of acute appendicitis was made. He was scheduled for an emergency operation, but since there was one apparently more serious case before him, it wasn’t until the early hours of the morning that they took him to the theatre, where an ugly inflamed appendix was incised and removed.
Back at home, Aoro was climbing walls with fear and worry. His sisters with the death like slumber of the young had managed to sleep throughout the whole commotion. At dawn he decided enough was enough so he went to their room and shook them awake.
“What is it?” She asked alarmed.
“Tony is sick. He was rushed to hospital at night and they haven’t come back.” He could not add the unspeakable – the fear that his brother was dying or dead.
“Why didn’t you wake us up you idiot?” Asked Vera annoyed such a thing could have happened without her knowing it; so she took it out on her brother. Becky continued to lie in her bed. Few things bored her as much as sickness, suffering and death. She simply could not identify with them. At sixteen she was a breathtaking beauty and had a horde of admirers and aspiring boyfriends none of whom she had yet shown interest in. She did not believe in wasting time. Besides, her sister was always with her and she knew her parents would not take kindly to such goings on. She stretched luxuriously in bed, enjoying the feel of her young lithe body. Aoro, tired of being called names retired back to his room. Vera looked questioningly at her sister, and went to the kitchen to make breakfast. She was beginning to have doubts about the young lady.
Questions
a) What had happened shortly before the excerpt?
b) Father! Mother! Come quickly! Tony is dying. (Rewrite in reported speech)
c) How does Tony’s sickness and treatment affect Aoro’s future life?
d) Contrast the characters of Becky and Vera according to their reaction towards their brother’s sickness.
e) Why had Becky not shown interest in any of her boyfriend?
f) Identify and illustrate any evident theme in the extract.
g) What in the extract shows that Elizabeth is a caring mother?
h) Identify and illustrate any evident style in the extract.
i) Give any two phrasal verbs used in the extract.
j) Explain the meaning of the following words as used in the extract.
1) Writhing
2) Masquerading
3) Appendicitis
4) Incised
5) Commotion
Date posted: March 16, 2018. Answers (1)
- Read the poem below and then answer the questions that follow.
Follower
My father worked with a horse plough
His shoulders globed like a full...(Solved)
Read the poem below and then answer the questions that follow.
Follower
My father worked with a horse plough
His shoulders globed like a full sail strung
Between the shafts and the furrow
The horses strained at his clicking tongue.
An expert. He would set the wing
And fit the bright steel-pointed sock
The sod rolled heading, with single pluck
Of reins, the sweating team turned round
And back into the land. His eye
Narrowed and angled at the ground,
Mapping the furrow exactly.
I stumbled in his hobnailed wake
Fell sometimes on the polished sod
Sometimes he rode me on his back
Dipping and rising to his plod.
I wanted to grow up a plough,
To close one eye, stiffen my arm,
All I did was follow
In his broad shadow around the farm.
I was a nuisance, tripping, falling,
Yapping always. But today
It is my father who keeps stumbling
Behind me, and will not go away.
Questions
a) Describe what the poem is about.
b) What is the persona’s attitude towards his father?
c) Identify and illustrate any two literary devices used.
d) What is the mood of the poem?
e) Describe two character traits of the father.
f) What is the irony in the last stanza?
g) Which word can replace ‘yapping’?
h) Identify the two different aspects of the title ‘follower’.
Date posted: March 16, 2018. Answers (1)
- Jussup represents hypocrisy that bedevils the society. Justify this statement with reference to Caucasian Chalk Circle(Solved)
Jussup represents hypocrisy that bedevils the society. Justify this statement with reference to Caucasian Chalk Circle.
Date posted: March 15, 2018. Answers (1)