English

Monday 11 May 2015

Poetry from Understanding and Appreciating Poetry 2011

DULCE et DECORUM EST

Theme: The theme of the poem is the subject with which the poet deals. It is the central idea around which the event or experiences revolve. In this poem, the central idea is the “horrors of war”. The ghastly image of war, the torture to which soldiers are subjected, reflect the theme –

“the haunting flares”, “gas shells dropping”

“froth corrupted lungs” are evidence of the atrocities of war.

INTENTION OF THE POET What does the poet hope to achieve?

The poet here, wishes to convey a universal message to the reader, that one should not believe that it is noble to die for one’s country, because of the untold miseries which soldiers experience.

To the poet, neither fame nor glory can compensate for the immense suffering that war inflicts on humanity.

MOOD The mood conveyed in the poem is one of anger, revulsion and disgust.

The impact of the incident in which the soldier is caught in an explosion and the agony he suffers is one of loathing and revulsion.

“I saw him drowning”

“guttering, choking, drowning” shows the immense suffering of a dying soldier.

THE MAIN INCIDENT The traumatic experience of a soldier who is caught in a sudden explosion while returning to his camp.

IMAGERY The poet achieves his purpose or intention through his use of intense language and vivid imagery.

These are the similes used by the poet to make the images interesting and meaningful.

1. “Bent double, like old beggars under sacks.”

Here the soldiers returning from the battle field look like old beggars, bent with age and exhaustion, carrying their sacks on their backs. The comparison is appropriate as it appeals to the visual sense and brings the readers face to face with the exhausted soldiers.

2. “knock-kneed, coughing like hags”

The image of the knock-kneed soldiers coughing like hags, shows the terrible effect of the smell of gun powder, and gun shots. It appeals to the auditory sense and reminds the reader of the sounds of old people coughing.

3. “And floundering like a man in fire or lime”

The image presents the soldier in a state of panic, unable to move in any fixed direction as he is trapped in the fire.

The reader can see the movements of the soldier, like a blind man floundering and fumbling to find his way.

4. His hanging face, like a devil’s sick of sin”

The comparison vividly describes the look of the soldier in agony and pain during the final moments of his death.

LANGUAGE OF THE POEM These are some examples of the poet’s use of emotive and intense language

“We cursed through sludge”

“limped on blood-shod

“Drunk with fatigue”

“He plunges at me, guttering, choking, drowning”

“White eyes writhing in his face”

“Froth-corrupted lungs”

The language used is both appropriate and effective and evokes the sympathy of the reader.

THIS IS THE DARK TIME, MY LOVE

The theme of this poem is about a people whose dreams of a better life have been

threatened by the destructive power of the ‘strange invader’.

The atmosphere of the poem is one of tension, fear, anxiety.

“Everywhere the faces of men are strained and anxious.” This is because of the presence of soldiers: “all around the land brown beetles crawl about.”

Even nature is sympathetic to the cause of the people as expressed in the line “red flowers bend their heads in awful sorrow.”

The poet’s mood is one of lamentation for the misery of his people, the instability and sorrow brought about by the strange invader.

Imagery: The images appeal to the sense of sight and sound. They present visual pictures that are striking.

The picture of the soldiers, “all around the land brown beetles crawl about”, in their thick armoury, the hard covering on their backs is like beetles.

Here you hear the tramping of soldiers “whose boots of steel tramp down the slender grass”. You can also see the slender grass trampled upon and looking withered

Figurative Language Metaphor: All around the land brown beetles crawl about.” The soldiers are compared to brown beetles.

Personification: “Red flowers bend their heads in awful sorrow.” The poet gives the flower qualities of a human being - the emotion of sorrow.

Irony: “It is the festival of guns, the carnival of misery.” The words “festival” and “carnival” are indicative of joyous celebrations but what the country is really experiencing is sorrow, not joy.

The Woman Speaks to the Man who has employed Her Son In this poem, a mother expresses her deep affection for her son. She reflects on the unfortunate circumstances of her life as a single parent.

She is now concerned about the welfare of her son.

This woman is seen as one, whose deep devotion and dedication to her son make her transcend her difficulties. Her responsibility to her son takes priority.

But what shatters her now, is the fact that her son is employed by someone who appears to be engaged in shady activities. To her, the gun he carries is a symbol of destructiveness and criminal activities.

The conversational style of the poem makes the reader empathize with the thoughts and feelings of the mother. The reader discerns in the mother, fortitude, resilience and spiritual strength which inform her actions.

1. What is the theme of the poem?

2. The mood of the poem is one of

(a) disgust and anger

(b) optimism and hope

3. Which of these words describe the tone of the poem? formal, conversational, angry, serious? 4. What do the lines “a metallic tide, rising in her mouth each morning” suggest about the mother? 5. “He treated all his children With equal and unbiased indifference.” What do the above lines suggest about the father? 6. Why do you think that the mother is upset about the job her son has taken? 7. What do the “black cloth” and “veiled hat” symbolize? 8. Select the line which expresses the mother’s helplessness. 9. Why does she allude to the “thief on the left side of the cross”? 10. How do you feel as you read the poem?

ORCHIDS

In this poem, the writer is about to relocate and is sending her material belongings “to fill the empty spaces of her future life”. One thing that cannot be boxed is the sentiment she feels for the orchids. The orchids belong to her emotional and spiritual world. The purple colour is a symbol of the blood of Christ on the Cross.

What is evident in the poem is that some experiences in life can never be forgotten. Even though you may wish to suppress them, like a stubborn orchid, they bloom and blossom.

For the poet, the orchid is an inspiration to the creative instinct. It sends a message, tells a story that reaches poetic dimensions. Even though the pressed orchids become “thin and dried transparency”, she believes that they still are a stimulus for poetic thought.

In the poem, the material world is pitted against the world of nature. The world of nature is constant and eternal.

1. What is the theme of the poem?

(a) relocating to a new home

(b) nurturing a spray of orchids

2. What is the mood of the poem?

3. From where did the poet get the orchids?

4. What effect have the purple petals on the poet?

6. What was peculiar about the orchids?

7. (a) Explain the meaning of “their thin dried transparency”.

(b) Of what value is the “thin dried transparency” to the poet?

SOUTH

Motivated by a deep sense of longing to return to the islands, the poet recaptures in his memory delightful scenes of his native land. He recalls the bright beaches, the fishermen’s houses and the sound of the sea which heralded his birth.

The poet has journeyed from the islands to distant lands where his experiences have been different from those in the islands. He has visited stormy cities, felt the sharp slanting sleet and hail and the oppressive shadows of the forest. These are opposed to the warmth of the islands, and the salty brine of the sea.

To the poet, the ocean that surrounds the islands is a symbol of adventure, the freedom of the spirit and the limitless possibilities which reside in its vastness.

In his view, the rivers that form part of his present environs remind him of a life that lacks purpose – he feels resentment for the rivers.

He recalls the refreshing memories of the sea which reflect the harmony between man and nature. He sees the shells, the fishermen’s houses, the pebbled path, the fish and the gulls and the white sails. These are the treasures of the islands which he recaptures in the poem. These are the treasures which make him forget the pains, the sorrows and the hatred.

1. State briefly what the poem is about.

2. Where is the experience taking place?

3. Select two images in the poem.

To which sense does each appeal?

4. Select those expressions which show the poet’s experiences of hardship.

5. Which literary device does the poet use in each of the following?

‘bright beaches blue’

‘sharp slanting sleet’

‘their flowing runs on like our longing’

‘splash’

‘white sails slanted seaward’

6. What is the mood or feeling of the poet?

EPITAPH, DREAMING BLACK BOY, THEME for ENGLISH B.

The poems ‘Epitaph’, ‘Dreaming Black Boy’ and ‘Theme for English B’ have similar themes.

They express discrimination and intolerance in human relationships and reflect the denial of the basic human rights of recognition, justice, equality and freedom. The three poems are treated differently.

You will observe that in the poem “Epitaph” the image is vivid, stark and gruesome. Amidst the beauty of the “falling sunlight” and the swaying cane”, the dead body of the slave hung. The image evokes in the reader anger against human brutality and compassion for the fate of the slave. Through the sad tale, the poet achieves his intention of giving the reader insights into the brutality meted out to slaves in their days of enslavement.

The poem is a tribute to the dead slave, and is melancholic in mood and tone.

Epitaph 1. Describe the image presented in stanza one of the poem.

2. Which of the following best defines the feelings evoked by the image?

(a) elation and despair

(b) compassion and anger

(d) disappointment and disbelief

3. Identify words and expressions which describe the morning’s atmosphere.

4. The poet compares the swinging body to “a black apostrophe to pain”, most likely because “the swung body”

(a) resembled an apostrophe mark.

(b) was prominently positioned as a mark symbolizing pain.

(d) was the cause of much agony and pain.

5. Explain the meaning of each of the following expressions:

(a) punctuate our island tale

(b) brutal sentences

6. Do you think that the title of the poem is appropriate?

Give a reason to support your answer.

7. Which of the following best expresses the theme of the poem?

(a) a sorrowful tale

(b) man’s inhumanity to man

(d) a blot on our history

8. What is the mood experienced throughout the poem?

Dreaming Black Boy

In the poem ‘Dreaming Black Boy’, the boy expresses his thoughts and emotions in abstract images. He dreams and wishes for the rights that should be accorded to all human beings - recognition and love, and the freedom of movement and speech. These images appeal to the emotions and the reader empathizes with the boy who is being denied these rights.

The poem is written in blank verse. This makes the tone of the poem conversational.

1. What is the theme of the poem?

(a) disappointment (b) relationships (c) alienation (d) injustice

2. Why do you think the “black boy” has dreams and wishes?

3. What does the boy wish according to stanza one (1) of the poem?

(a) opportunity to compete

(b) recognition and warmth

(d) to forget his ancestors

4. Why does the boy wish for an opportunity to be educated?

5. Identify two pieces of evidence which show the boy’s feeling of rejection.

6. Identify the lines in which the boy feels that his freedom of movement and speech have been suppressed.

7. Who are the “torch throwers” and the “plotters in pyjamas” alluded to in stanza four (4)?

8. What do you think is the tone of the poem?

9. (a) What terrible burden does the boy suffer?

(b) What is his attitude to suffering?

Theme for English B

In the poem “Theme for English B” the poet deals with a student’s feeling of frustration and disappointment in the society. The thoughts which he expresses on the “page” echo the issues that confront him in an environment of whites. The mind of the student is confused. Though he was born and bred in a society of white people, and educated in a school among whites, yet he feels a sense of alienation.

In the page that he writes, he is justifying his right to acceptance and equality, on the basis that all people share a common natural heritage of instincts, emotions and tastes. He firmly believes that each race impacts on the other and learns from each other.

Perhaps he is questioning whether discrimination should give way to harmony among the races.

1. What does the word “true” in line four (4) -“Then, it will be true”, imply?

(a) authenticity (b) reality (c) credibility (d) integrity

2. Identify the aspects of the student’s life which seem to make the assignment difficult.

3. The student’s page would be based on

(a) life at the college

(b) his instincts and emotions

(d) the Harlem experience

4. What does the student wish to say by listing the things he likes?

5. What makes the student and the instructor part of each other?

6. According to the student’s page, which of the following statements are True? (a) The page on which the student writes is coloured. (b) Feelings, natural instincts and tastes are manifested by all people. (c) Sometimes whites and coloured cannot tolerate each other. (d) All people are not born equal. (e) Each race impacts on the other and learns from each other.

7. Which words best describe the character of the student? impulsive, rational, obstinate, compromising, intelligent, outspoken, unbalanced.

8. The poem is written in Blank Verse form. What does this lend to the style and tone of the poem?

Test Match Sabina Park 1. What is the theme of the poem?

(a) Fall from glory (b) An exciting cricket match (c) Reflections of a spectator (d) Failed batsmen 2. Which line in the poem tells that the crowd lacked the spirited response to the match?

3. The speaker is critical of the English batting

Quote the lines in support of the criticism.

4. Why is the poet’s rationale for a dull game not convincing even to himself?

5. What is the “tarnished rosette” which the writer mentions in the last stanza?

Why is it tarnished?

6. The tone of the poem is

(a) sarcastic (b) formal (c) conversational (d) harsh

7. What does the native language of the folk lend to the poem?

8. In this poem you hear two voices.

Whose voices are they?

9. What is meant by the line “Proudly wearing the rosette of my skin”?

10. What insights do you get of the relationship between the English and the native folk from the expression, “Eh white bwoy”?

Once upon a Time

Read the poem and discuss the questions based on it.

1. What do you think is the theme of the poem?

(a) Behavioural patterns in human relationships.

(b) Attitudes of people in a modern age.

(d) How people lived long ago.

2. What difference is there in how people laughed long ago and how they laugh now?

3. Give one piece of evidence that shows how people deceive others.

4. Why, do you think, that the poet wears different faces in different contexts?

5. Provide evidence to show that the poet is influenced by the behaviour and attitudes of the new age.

6. Does the poet like the changes in behaviour?

Give reasons to support your answer.

7. Which of the following best expresses the mood of the poet?

(a) melancholy (b) disappointment

8. What can you infer about the character of the poet?

9. Which of the following lessons can one learn from this poem?

(a) Pattern your lives to please others

(b) Appearances are often deceptive

(d) Be yourself at all times.

(e) Honesty, love and consideration should guide your actions.

Forgive my Guilt

1. What is the theme of the poem?

a) An accident

b) A plea for forgiveness

c) Two injured birds

d) A confused mind

2. What incident is the poet recalling?

3. Where and when did the incident take place?

4. Identify two contrasting images of the birds, before and after the incident occurred.

5. Select images that appeal to the sense of

(a) sight (b) sound

Explain each and say whether it is appropriate or not.

6. Identify two similes in the poem.

Explain each and say whether it is appropriate or not.

7. What mood does the poem evoke in the reader?

8. What are your feelings towards the poet?

9. State the qualities of the poet which you discern in the poem.

It is the Constant Image of Your Face

In this poem, the poet experiences a deep feeling of guilt and remorse.

The poet has framed an image of his beloved whose face is constantly before him, while he is engrossed in a world of his own; a world in which thoughts are like knives, hurling accusations at him. These accusations cut deeply into the poet’s consciousness and remind him of his treachery to his native country.

Apparently, the poet has left his native home, having been captivated by the beauty and assurances of his beloved. However, deep in his heart he knows that no other love can lay claim to his loyalty but his homeland which is above all other loves.

Feelings of remorse and guilt plague the thoughts of the poet. To him, leaving his country is like an act of treason and treachery. Although he prizes his beloved, he pleads for forgiveness from his country whose tenderness matches or surpasses that of the beloved.

1. What do you think is the theme of the poem?

(a) The guilt and remorse of a poet

(b) Alienation from one’s own country

2. Describe the mood which the poet experiences throughout the poem. Give suitable quotations in support of your answer.

3. (a) Select one image in the poem.

(b) To which sense does it appeal?

4. (a) What is the meaning of “my world of knives”?

(b) What effect does this world have on the poet?

5. Quote two expressions which show that the poet’s love for his country surpasses all other loves.

6. What qualities of the poet’s character are revealed in the poem?

West Indies, U.S.A.

In this poem, the poet records his impressions of the Islands from a view, thirty thousand feet above. He sees some of the islands as more prominent than others. Some are more culturally and economically developed as can be seen in his impression of Puerto Rico, with “silver linings in the clouds” and the glitter of San Juan. But to him, each country has its own distinctive features and characteristics, which are highlighted at its terminal.

Against these islands, the poet sees the influence of the United States on Puerto Rico: he sees Puerto Rico as a representation of the United States - “America’s backyard”. Stringent laws are enforced at its terminal to prevent passengersfrom entering without legal documentation. The fear of foreigners who sneak into the island and tarnish the image of the land is well noted by the poet.

He notes the influence of American culture and lifestyle in Puerto Rico. The glitter of the cities pulsating with life is well captured in the “polished Cadillacs” and “Micro chips”.

1. What is the theme of the poem?

2. (a) Select the simile in the first two lines of the poem. (b) Explain why the poet makes the comparison, (c) Do you find it interesting and original? Why?

3. What is the distinctive feature of each of the following terminals?

(a) Port au Prince (b) Piarco (c) Vere Bird

4. Why are all passengers other than those embarking at San Juan, required to stay on the plane?

5. What do you think is “that vaunted sanctuary”? Why is it considered a vaunted sanctuary?

6. Select three pieces of evidence which show America’s influence on the lifestyle of Puerto Rico.

7. What do you think is the mood of the poem?

8. What is the tone of the poet?

Composed Upon Westminster Bridge

The poet records his impressions of the scene at early dawn when no mechanized activity is going on and the air is clean and devoid of smoke. He is touched by the beauty and splendour of the city. Only those whose souls are dull would not be touched by the awe-inspiring scene; the greatness is majestic.

All objects natural or otherwise are now visible because of the glitter of the morning sun which spreads over the landscape. Never before has the poet witnessed such beauty which the splendour of the sun radiates over valley, rock or hills. Not only is the beauty enchanting, but also the peace and calm which the scene has on the mind of the poet: In such an atmosphere even the houses seem asleep and all is still.

In the scene there is no activity. The air is smokeless because the truckers havenot started to pour their emissions into the atmosphere. The poet is deeply impressed and stunned at the calm and beauty of the morning. His exclamation, “Dear God!” tells us that his response has reached spiritual and divine dimension.

1. What is the theme of the poem?

2. Where and when is the experience taking place?

3. What is the mood of the poet?

4. Select the figure of speech in the first five lines of the poem.

With what does the poet compare the city?

5. Why is the air smokeless?

6. Select lines which show that there is an absence of noise in the scene.

7. What does the poet mean by “the very houses seem asleep”?

8. From the poet’s impressions of the scene, what can you tell of his character?

9. Do you like the poem? Give reasons to support your answer.

A Contemplation Upon Flowers

The poet sees in the flowers a calm and willing acceptance of death – brave and harmless, humble and modest, the flowers are born of the earth and to the earth they return with no resistance.

Unlike the poet, the flowers subject themselves to the natural order and pattern of the universe. They bloom in a particular season and then fall to earth. The poet wishes his life to be perpetually in spring for he fears the winter, the harbinger of death. His pride, vanity and fear make him unwilling to succumb to death.

However, the poet longs to be like the flowers, to smile and look cheerfully at death. He needs to accept death without fear and to make peace with the

inevitable. The wreaths of flowers brighten and sweeten the atmosphere in times of death. The poet wishes to be like the flowers, that his breath will sweeten and perfume his death. Enslaved by pride, vanity and fear, the poet struggles to come to terms with the experience of death.

The poet represents humanity in his fear of death. The flowers represent Nature and its willing acceptance of death.

1. What do you think is the theme of the poem?

2. Select the qualities in the flowers that the poet admires.

3. What does the expression “that I could gallant it like you” mean?

4. “Embroidered garments” suggest (a) the flowers are very beautiful (b) even the most beautiful are subject to death (c) Nature produces colorful things (d) the petals of the flowers are adorned with a pattern

5. Why does the poet wish his life would be always spring?

6. What two lessons can the flowers teach the poet?

7. What makes it difficult for the poet to accept death?

8. The word which best describes the mood of the poet is (a) joyful (b) sorrowful (c) pensive (d) angry

Things Fall Apart

Why do things fall apart?

Failure and success
Okonkwo despises his father for his laziness and weakness and lack of possessions and title. He thinks that these represent failure, so he strives to be the opposite in all ways. He is presented as one of the ‘great men’ of Umuofia, yet he is disgraced by his exile and final act of suicide. Are these two qualities what they seem to Okonkwo, and what are the consequences of his pursuit of ‘success’?

Powerful emotions which Okonkwo finds it difficult to understand and express
Okonkwo loves his son Nwoye but treats him very harshly when Nwoye disappoints him. He thinks highly of Ikemefuna but will not express his feelings or admit them to himself. What does his part in the killing of Ikemefuna (which he is told he does not have to be involved in) tell us about this inner conflict?

Personal ambition which exceeds loyalty to the traditions of Umuofian culture
Okonkwo beats Ojuiugo, his second wife, in the week of peace: a blasphemous act; he joins Ikemefuna’s killing party; he is responsible for his own exile by the accidental shooting of Ezeudu’s son.

The ambiguous place of women in Umuofian culture
They are treated as the inferiors and servants of the men and yet have a central place in the religious beliefs of the Ibo.

The effects of Okonkwo’s exile from his homeland which intensify his wish to return but also detach him from the way it develops in his absence
How would Okonkwo have dealt with the arrival of the white men in Part Two of the novel if he had been in Umuofia, not in exile?

The double standards which the white men demonstrate to the native Ibo
Does Okonkwo’s behaviour at the end of the story, culminating in his killing of the messenger, have any of its roots in the behaviour of (some of) the white men?

Style
An important feature of Achebe’s style is his use of proverbs. These come from an oral tradition of story telling, but are told in the language of the white men who trigger the falling apart at the centre of the story. Achebe is writing in the English that Nwoye would have learnt at his teacher-training college

Structure
How do the three sections of the story connect and interrelate? How does this structure support the issues of theme and character we have already looked at? Some points to think about:
The opening section is the longest and gives an account of many aspects of the Ibo culture prior to the arrival of the white men. Look back at the previous sections of these Notes to see how clearly and firmly the culture is presented. Many key aspects of culture are highlighted and questioned:

The role of the family and the place and status of individuals within the family.
The differences in gender roles, both literally and symbolically.
The concept of heroism and the purpose and function of war and fighting.
The concept and purpose of justice.
Relationships between parents and children.

The second section concerns Okonkwo’s exile. He is exiled because his killing of Ezeudu’s son is a female crime: it is accidental, committed in a society which is obsessed with masculinity. As a result Okonkwo is limited by his incapacity to do anything other than attend to his family’s needs, and hence to the nurture of his basic sense of himself as the ‘hunter-gatherer’ Ibo man.
Because Okonkwo has been uprooted from his homeland, we focus on his second-hand responses to the news of the white man’s arrival. He is consumed with anger and hatred at what he hears (is there any evidence of fear here, also?). Increasingly he finds himself in conflict with the society he has left behind. He accuses his fellow tribesmen of being no longer men but old women: the very reason for which he has been exiled from his homeland. What follows is the inevitable consequence of this contradiction.

The third section, therefore, charts the inevitable consequences of the contrasts of the first two sections. It is brief, clear cut and predictable. Okonkwo commits suicide because he has failed to recognise and respond to the way his community is changing. His eldest son has changed sides: the head messenger becomes the personification of Nwoye. Okonkwo and the white missionaries and bureaucrats are equally ruthless and intransigent. We are left to judge the niceties of this comparison for ourselves

GCSE English and English Literature for OCR

A Different Cultures Text Things Fall Apart – Chinua Achebe

Summary of Things Fall Apart by GCSE English and English Literature for OCR

Synopsis

Things Fall Apart – Chinua Achebe

This is the story of Okonkwo, a great man of the village of Umuofia who, by his own efforts has risen to be one of the village’s most admired inhabitants and ‘lords of the clan’.

Part One

The novel begins with a retrospective account of the life and character (twenty years since) of Okonkwo’s father Unoka, whom he despised for his poverty, laziness and weakness. The rival villagers of Mbaino settle a dispute with those of Umuofia by giving two hostages rather than going to war. The male hostage, Ikemefuna, becomes Okonkwo’s ward; he is eventually adopted. Okonkwo becomes increasingly fond of him, in contrast with his feelings for his eldest son, Nwoye. He attempts to repress these feelings as he does generally with emotions, regarding them as a sign of weakness. Okonkwo beats his youngest wife, Ojiugo, in the week of peace and is punished for this blasphemy; he shoots at, but misses, his second and most beloved wife, Ekwefi. The oracle decrees the death of Ikemefuna. Despite being told not to join the killing party, Okonkwo does so and completes a botched killing. Nwoye is deeply upset, feeling about this as he does over twins, who are all ogbanje children inhabited by evil spirits and are thrown away in pots. Ekwefi’s daughter, Ezinma, is cured of malaria by traditional medicine. At the funeral of Ezeudo, the oldest elder, the ceremonial gunfire is punctuated by the accidental explosion of Okonkwo’s ancient gun, which kills the man’s son. Okonkwo is banished for seven years to Mbanta, his mother’s native village.

Part Two

At the house of his exile, Okonkwo’s uncle Uchendu preaches the supremacy of motherhood, even in such a male-dominated society as this. Two years later Okonkwo’s best friend Oberieka brings news from Umuofia that white men have arrived. One has been killed on the orders of the oracle, to deter others; but later half the tribe have been massacred by more white men in an act of revenge. Another two years pass: Oberieka brings news that Nwoye has become a convert to the white men’s religion. The power of the traditional gods is challenged by the survival of the missionary hut in the ‘evil forest’ to which the ogbanje children are consigned. Okonkwo is devastated and advocates the violent expulsion of the white men.

Part Three

After seven years Okonkwo plans to re-establish himself in Umuofia. Uchendu presides over a farewell feast in which he condemns the new religion for its destruction of the principle of kinship and authority of tradition as the supremely cohesive forces of their society. Okonkwo returns to a society in which some Umuofians have been converted to Christianity and are the servants of the colonial rulers. Resistance is not possible because it would mean civil war. There is a dramatic contrast between the first missionary priest, Mr Brown, who appears reasonable and respectful: and the second, Mr Smith, who is intolerant and zealous and prompts the unmasking of an egwugwu, one of the village spirits, impersonated by the elders. Smith’s church is burnt down. The ringleaders are arrested but are promised release on the payment of a large fine. They are released and the villagers meet, demanding war as an act of revenge for their humiliation. A head messenger arrives with others to stop the meeting; Okonkwo decapitates him with his machete, but the others are allowed to escape and he realises that there will be no further resistance. He commits suicide: an unpardonable act. The novel closes on the downbeat irony of the minimalisation of the incident by the District Commissioner.

Background Information on Things Fall Apart

His Early Years

Chinua Achebe was born in 1930 in Eastern Nigeria. His father was Isaiah Achebe, an early Christian convert among the Ibo people. He taught in the Church Missionary Society’s Village School where Chinua was educated. Chinua went on to University College Ibadan and graduated in Literature, History and Modern Studies, having followed an essentially British education.

A Hugely Successful Writer, Politician and Literary Celebrity

A career with the Nigerian Broadcasting Corporation took him on journeys all over Nigeria, which gave him some of the material and inspiration to write about the history of the Ibo people. Things Fall Apart, written in 1958, ‘was an act of atonement with my past, the ritual return and homage of a prodigal son’. The massacre of the Ibos of Northern Nigeria in 1966 and the ensuing civil war, culminating in the attempt to form the independent state of Biafra, took him into politics. Later he became a university lecturer in Nigeria and, later, in the USA. He has published other novels, poetry and short stories, one of which, ‘Dead Men’s Path’, is to be found in the OCR anthology Opening Worlds.

Things Fall Apart

The novel is loosely based on events that took place in the time of Achebe’s grandfather, Okonkwo, on whom the central character in the novel is based. Its three parts describe: The life of the Ibo people before the arrival of white people: 13 short, largely selfcontained chapters, illustrating various aspects of the way of life of the Ibo people in a culture of tradition but also of questioning those traditions. Okonkwo’s seven years of exile and the arrival of the colonial culture of missionaries, bureaucracy and white officialdom; the effects of that arrival, including the conversion of Okonkwo’s son Nwoye and his subsequent alienation from his father. How the white people’s law, education, power and economics strangle and destroy the whole Ibo culture as described in the first section; Okonkwo’s return to Umuofia after his exile and his tragic end. This is the essential novel about the colonisation of Africa, written from the point of view of the indigenous African. It has been translated into over forty languages and is as widely read and admired today as when it was first published in 1958.

Achebe’s Cultural Background

The book sets out in absorbing and entertaining detail a whole culture which is likely to be quite different from anything within the experience of most people who set out to read and study the text for the purposes of examination, interest, or sheer pleasure. It goes on to show the gradual disintegration of this culture when it is attacked by another. Neither anti-colonial diatribe, nor sentimental attempt to rediscover a lost paradise, the novel maintains an objective and impartial view of a society going through a metamorphosis, with the goods and bads of the old and the new weighed in the balance for the reader to judge. It is a profit-and-loss account which is finely balanced and movingly portrayed.

Contrasting Cultures

Achebe said that Things Fall Apart was ‘an act of atonement with my past, the ritual return and homage of a prodigal son.’ He wished to teach his (African) readers that ‘their past … with all its imperfections … was not one long night of savagery from which the Europeans acting on God’s behalf delivered them’. In the novel, both the native Ibo culture and the white people’s culture have strengths and weaknesses. Achebe asks us to contemplate what it is in the former, perhaps as embodied in the portrait of Okonkwo we have just looked at, that contributes to its disintegration. The central idea of the novel, therefore, is neither to support nor condemn either of the rival cultures that are presented, but to hold up a mirror to its readers and challenge them with their own strengths and weaknesses and those of their way(s) of life. It is not about colonisation or the rival claims of coloniser and colonised: rather about the rival claims of individual self interest and expression versus the essential need for loyalty to the clan/tribe/nation. Where these come into irreconcilable (and at times only partly understood) conflict, things fall apart. Our mission is to understand Achebe’s analysis of how that happens in the Ibo society he delineates, which, to repeat, is embodied in the portrait of Okonkwo. The portrait of the white men at the end of the story, therefore, embodies a series of pressure points that serve to crack, uproot and destroy what has seemed to be a society in which there is a place for everything and everything is in its place. The Ibo culture at the heart of the novel offers some striking points of comparison with modern western European culture. For example:

The importance of ceremony in every aspect of life: eating, drinking, marriage, war, religion.
The way in which life is underpinned by the rhythm of the seasons, marked by festivals: ‘Peace week’, ‘The Feast of the Yam’ etc.
Rites of passage that are based on tradition: birth; initiation into adulthood; betrothal; marriage; death.
The overriding importance of kinship: extended family duties and responsibilities. The security and emotional attachments that kinship entails.
The all-pervasive influence of the gods, who on occasion ‘possess’ certain individuals to express their commands (the egwugwu, the priestess and so on).
The extraordinarily rich language: folk tales; proverbs; conversational formulae; vivid and varied use of metaphor.
The strictly observed conventions of war and peace within the nine settlements, which are rendered powerless by the arrival of the white people.
A society that appears to be male dominated, but worships an earth mother.
An economic system: based principally on barter.
A hierarchical system of respect based on a meritocratic system of rewarding the most successful, not the highest born; a rigid sense of justice and fairness; and total obedience to both human and spiritual authority

GCSE English and English Literature for OCR

A Different Cultures Text Things Fall Apart – Chinua Achebe

Glossary of Things Fall Apart

A GLOSSARY OF IBO WORDS AND PHRASES

agadi-nwayi: old woman.

Agbala: woman; also used of a man who has taken no title.

Chi: personal god.

efukfu: worthless man.

egwugwu: a masquerader who impersonates one of the ancestral spirits of the village.

ekwe: a musical instrument; a type of drum made from wood.

eneke-nti-oba: a kind of bird.

eze-agadi-nwayi: the teeth of an old woman.

iba: fever.

ilo: the village green, where assemblies for sports, discussions, etc., take place.

inyanga: showing off, bragging.

isa-ifi: a ceremony. If a wife had been separated from her husband for some time and were then to be re-united with him, this ceremony would be held to ascertain that she had not been unfaithful to him during the time of their separation.

iyi-uwa: a special kind of stone which forms the link between an ogbanje and the spirit world. Only if the iyi-uwa were discovered and destroyed would the child not die.

jigida: a string of waist beads.

kotma: court messenger. The word is not of Ibo origin but is a corruption of "court messenger."

kwenu: a shout of approval and greeting.

ndichie: elders.

nna ayi: our father.

nno: welcome.

nso-ani: a religious offence of a kind abhorred by everyone, literally earth's taboo.

nza: a very small bird.

obi: the large living quarters of the head of the family.

obodo dike: the land of the brave.

ochu: murder or manslaughter.

ogbanje: a changeling,- a child who repeatedly dies and returns to its mother to be reborn. It is almost impossible to bring up an ogbanje child without it dying, unless its iyiuwa is first found and destroyed. ogene: a musical instrument; a kind of gong.

oji odu achu-ijiji-o: (cow i. e., the one that uses its tail to drive flies away). osu: outcast. Having been dedicated to a god, the osu was taboo and was not allowed to mix with the freeborn in any way.

Oye: the name of one of the four market days.

ozo: the name of one of the titles or ranks.

tufia: a curse or oath.

udu: a musical instrument; a type of drum made from pottery.

uli: a dye used by women for drawing patterns on the skin.

umuada: a family gathering of daughters, for which the female kinsfolk return to their village of origin.

umunna-: a wide group of kinsmen (the masculine form of the word umuada).

Uri: part of the betrothal ceremony when the dowry is paid

The Woman Speaks to the Man who has Employed Her Son by Lorna Goodison

The poem is a dramatic monologue. The speaker addresses silent auditors. The speaker is at an emotional/stressful point in his/her experience- examining a social issue exemplified by the situation of the Woman and the Man who employs her son. Note that the title implies that the persona is the “Woman” however, the persona/speaker is an observer of the woman’s situation. The emotion revealed by the speaker is one of muted outrage expressed through irony. He speaks on behalf of the “Woman”. The situation is the impending destruction of the life of the woman’s son. His life has been set on this destructive path by “the Man” who he trusted. The persona addresses the man’s betrayal of the boy’s trust and the exploitation of poor youth who are naïve enough to believe that there is a shortcut to wealth. The speaker traces the boy’s life from conception in the mother’s womb to his present circumstances of impending death. However, the focus of the poem rests on the woman and her powerlessness to alter her situation. The woman was poor, uneducated and powerless. Her only strategies for dealing with life are prayers and tears, these methods are presented as ineffective to combat the cruel exploitation of ‘the man’.

The poem addresses the human concerns of exploitation of the poor.

Sound pattern

[ Free verse therefore it is without a rhyme or steady rhythm pattern. The effect of this is to create the sense of conversation.

[ The poem is divided into six sections of eight lines each. The fifth section is marked by SIBBLIANC (s/ sh sound) which is associated with the whispering associated with praying but might also suggest the threatening tone used to the man. DICTION: Despite the seriousness of the theme the language is witty and often employs irony.

[ The language uses a mixture of English and Jamaica (Patois) speech which adds realism to this unusual Dramatic Monologue.

Literature Syllabus

OUTLINE OF ASSESSMENT: ENGLISH B

English B is assessed under three profile dimensions: Drama, Poetry and Prose Fiction.

1. Profile Dimension 1 – Drama

This profile dimension will emphasise the study, teaching, and understanding of drama as a discrete literary genre. Although, it shares literary elements with the other literary genres, it possesses elements that are unique to drama, for example:

(a) performance as its main vehicle;

(b) stage directions;

(d) spectacle;

(e) the development of character, theme, and atmosphere through elements such as lighting costuming, stage prop.

Such dramatic elements ought to be the primary focus of teaching and study.

2. Profile Dimension 2 – Poetry

This profile dimension will emphasise the study, teaching, and understanding of poetry as a discrete literary genre. Although, it shares literary elements with the two other literary genres, there are elements specific to poetry, such as:

(a) fixed forms, metre, rhythm and rhyme;

(b) the economy of language;

(d) the figurative language employed to give the poem levels of meaning.

Such elements ought to be the primary focus of the teaching and study of poetry.

3. Profile Dimension 3 – Prose Fiction

Prose Fiction is more often than not the most expansive and experimental of the literary genres and it is for many the most accessible. Following are some of the elements of prose fiction that must be studied, taught, and understood:

(a) narrative technique and the use of first-person and third-person narrators;

(b) structure, that is, the way in which a work of prose fiction is put together, for example, whether it is an unbroken narrative, or a narrative divided into chapters, or into larger sections or more than one narrative put together to form a longer narrative;

(d) the presentation of humankind in a social setting;

(e) characterisation;

(f) themes.

Such elements ought to be the primary focus of the teaching and study of the novel and the short story.

In each of the three literary genres the following skills will be tested:

1. Understanding

Knowledge of Text and Insight

(a) Relevance and adequacy of content

(b) Relevance and accuracy of examples

2. Expression

(a) Organisation of Response

(i) Structure and development of responses

(ii) Clear and logical argument

(b) Quality of Language

(i) Clarity and appropriateness of expression used

(ii) Mechanics of writing (sentence structure, grammar, punctuation, and spelling)

ASSESSMENT DETAILS

Paper 01 (1 hour 30 minutes - 36 % of Total Assessment)

1. Composition of Paper

All questions are compulsory. This paper will consist of three questions, one question from each genre – drama, poetry and prose fiction. In each question candidates will be required to give approximately 5-7 short answers.

2. Mark Allocation

(a) Twenty marks will be allocated for each question in this paper.

(b) The total number of marks available for this paper is 60.

3. Award of Marks

Marks will be awarded in each profile dimension for relevance and accuracy of content, relevance and accuracy of illustration, and quality and clarity of argument.

Paper 02 (2 hours – 64% of Total Assessment) – ( r e a d i n g t i m e – 1 0 m i n u t e s )

1. Composition of Paper

This paper is divided into the three sections:

(a) Section ONE – Drama (Shakespeare and Modern Drama). This section consists of four Type A questions, two from each text. Thirty five marks are allocated for each question. Candidates must answer one question from this section.

(b) Section TWO – Poetry (a selection of poems – two questions). This section consists of two Type B questions, one generic question allowing candidates to use two appropriate choices from the prescribed poems and one question based on two named poems from the prescribed list. Thirty-five marks are allocated for each question. Candidates must answer one question from this section.

(c) Section THREE – Prose Fiction (EITHER West Indian novel OR other novels in English OR West Indian short story and other short stories in English). This section consists of six questions: four Type A questions, two on each prescribed novel and two Type B questions, one generic question allowing candidates to use two appropriate choices from the prescribed short stories and one question based on two named short stories from the prescribed list. Thirty five marks are allocated for each question. Candidates must answer one question from this section.

2. Number of Questions

This paper consists of 12 optional extended-essay questions arranged under the three sections outlined above. There are two types of questions in this paper:

Type A - Questions that require knowledge and study of one text; Type B – Questions of comparison that require knowledge and study of two poems or short stories.

Candidates will be required to answer a total of THREE questions, one from EACH section.

3. Mark Allocation

Each question will be worth 35 marks. This paper is worth 105 marks.

4. Award of Marks

Candidates are expected to show knowledge, insight, quality of argument, and organisation of response.

Marks will be awarded for relevance and accuracy of content, relevance and accuracy of illustration and quality and clarity of argument. Marks will also be awarded for the structure and development of relevant ideas or points into coherent paragraphs, and for competence in the mechanics of writing.

Ol' Higue and 'le loupgarou' questions

Ol’ Higue

Many stories of strange supernatural characters derive from the cultural tradition of the folk. These characters form an important part of the folklore brought by the Africans to the West Indies. Some of these have been preserved in narratives and poems.

The character to which this poem ‘Ol’ Higue’ alludes is the ‘Soucoyant’ whose mission is to draw blood from human beings, especially babies.

Discuss the following questions.

1. What image of Ol’ Higue does the poet present in stanza one?

2. What complaint does Ol’ Higue make in stanza one? Quote the expressions which support your answer.

a. Why would Ol’ Higue be “Burning like a cane fire”?

b. Why does she have to count a thousand grains?

4. Why is the blood of babies attractive to Ol’ Higue?

5. How and when does she perform her “blood-sucking” task?

6. Give one reason why Ol’ Higue would love women giving birth.

7. Do you consider Ol’ Higue a mysterious character?

8. What feeling does Ol’ Higue evoke in you as you read the poem?

‘le loupgarou’

1. What is the “curious talk” allude to in line one of the poem?

a. What does the word “curious” suggest?

2. Who are greying women?

3. Why, do you think, Le Brun was “greeted by slowly shutting jalousies”?

4. Which word describes Le Brun’s dress?

5. What, do you think, is the bargain Le Brun made with the fiends?

6. What was responsible for Le Brun’s ruin?

7. How did people know that Le Brun had changed himself into a dog?

8. What literary device is used in line one?

“A curious tale that threaded through the town”.

9. How do you feel as you read the last two lines of the poem?

Comparison

· Both poems deal with supernatural

· Soucayant is the counterpart of the Le Loupgarou

· They both make a pact with the devil to engage in mysterious and fiendish dealings

· Both are greedy and are ruined through greed

· Both evoke fear in the people around them

In poems Le Loupgarou and Ol' Higue

1. describe the setting, state the predicament of the speaker

2. describe one feature which helps reader to understand this predicament

3. comment on use of dialect

Feature and Theme Grids

Feature Grid

Poem	Free Verse	Sonnet	Stanza	POV/perspective	Irony
Contemplation Upon Flowers		ü	ü	1^st	ü
Dreaming Black Boy	ü			1^st	ü
Epitaph	ü			3^rd
It’s a Dark Time, My Love		ü	ü	1^st	ü
‘le loupgarou’			ü	3^rd	ü

Themes Grid

	Race	Death	Desire	Gender	Nature	History	Religion	Supernatural
Contemplation Upon Flowers		ü	ü		ü		ü
Dreaming Black Boy	ü
Epitaph	ü					ü
It’s A Dark Time, My Love
‘le loupgarou’				ü				ü