Pamphlet Literature (1)

LITERARY TERMS AND DEVICES
1. PLOT
The series of related events that make up a story. Plot tells “what happens” in a short story,
novel, play, or narrate poem. Most plots are built on these bare bones: An introduction tells us
who the characters are and what their conflicts, or problems, are complications arise as the
characters take steps to resolve their conflicts. Eventually, the plot reaches a climax, the most
exciting moment in the story, when the outcome of the conflict decided one way or another. The
final part of the story is the resolution. This is when the characters problems are solved and the
story is closed.
2. THEME
An idea about life revealed in a work of literature. A theme is not the same as a subject. a subject
can usually be ex-pressed in a word or two ___love, childhood, death. A theme is the idea the
writer wishes to reveal about that subject. Theme has to be expressed in a full sentence. A work
can have more than one theme. A theme is usually not stated directly in the work. Instead, the
reader has to think about all the elements of the work and then make an inference, or educated
guess, about what they all mean, one theme of the secret garden,” we can not like ourselves until
we learn to respect and care about others”
e.g- in animal farm there are themes of dictatorship, propaganda, deception and tyranny.
In the concubine we find themes of village life tragic deaths and beliefs.
3. SATIRE
Writing that ridicules something often in order to bring about change. Satire may poke fun
at a person, a group of people, an attitude, a social institution, even all of humanity. Writers use
satire to convince us of a point of view or persuade us to follow a course of action.
e.g- the animal farm uses satire to reduce or make fun of the government in order to correct the
situation he uses pigs(which are believed to be dirty. Clumsy and not clever) to lead the rest of
the animals and for sure nothing good comes out of it.
4. TRAGEDY
A play, novel, or other narrative in which the main character comes to an unhappy end. A
tragedy depicts serious and important events. Its hero achieves wisdom or self-knowledge but
suffers a great deal-perhaps even dies. A tragic hero is usually dignified and courageous and
often high ranking. The hero’s downfall may be caused by tragic flaw (a serious character
weakness) or by external forces beyond his or her control. The daily of Anne frank and
Shakespeare’s hamlet are tragedies.
e.g the tragic end of Okonkwo the main character in Things Fall Apart, Ekwueme in the
concubine
5. CHARACTER
A person or an animal in a story, play, or other literary work. In some work, such as the tales told
by African Americans when they labored as slaves, animal are characters. In other works, such
LITERATURE IN ENGLISH NOTES AND EXAMINATION QUESTIONS PLUS ANSWERS 1

as fairly tales, a fantastic creature like a dragon is a character (see “dragon, dragon”
e.g Squealer in animal farm,
6. CHARACTERIZATION
A writer can reveal character in six ways:
1) By describing how the character looks and dresses.
2) By letting us hear the character speak.
3) By showing us how the character acts.
4) By letting us know the character’s inner thoughts and feelings.
5) By revealing what other people in the story think or say about the character.
6) By telling us directly what the character’s personality is like ( cruel, kind, sneaky, brave
and so on)
7. CONFLICT
A straggle or clash between opposing characters or between opposing forces. In an external
conflict, a character struggles against some outside force. This outside force might be another
character a society as a whole, or a natural force like bitter cold weather or a ferocious shark. An
internal conflict on the other hand, takes place within the character’s own mind. A character
with an internal conflict might be struggling against fear or loneness or even being s sore loser.
e.g internal_ conflict –Okonkwo straggles in making a decision of taking part in Ikemefuna’s
ritual killing-he does not want but he just has to prove his Malines.
External conflict__ Ihuoma falls to act freely because of the good will because of the good will.
She enjoyed from he society.
8. METAPHOR
A comparison between two unlike things in which one thing becomes another thing. A metaphor
is an important type of figure of speech. Metaphors are used in all forms of writing and are
common in ordinary speech. When you say about your grumpy friend, he’s such a bear today
you do not mean that he is growing bushy black fur. You mean that he is in a bad mood and
taking his feelings out on everybody else.
Metaphor differ from similes, which use specific word to make their comparisons (words such as
like, as, then, and resembles). “He is behaving like a bear” would be a simile.
The following famous poem compares fame to an insect:
Fame is a bee
It has a song _
It has a sting _
Ah, too, it has a wing
e.g Mary is a flower-(beautiful)
-Esther Phiri is a star-(famous)
-Mulenga is a snake –can’t be trusted.

9. SIMILE
A comparison between two unlike things, using a word such as like, as, resembles, or than. The
simile is an important type of figure of speech. “Her voice is as loud as a trumpet” and “Her eyes
are like the blue sky” are both similes. In the following poem, the poet uses a simile to help us
see a winter scene in a new way:
Scene
Little trees like pencil strokes
Okonkwo was as slippery as a fish in water
Maduka vanished into the compound like lightening
10. IRONY
A contrast between what appears to be true and what is really true, or a contrast between
expectation and reality. Iron can create powerful effects, from humor to horror. Here are some
examples of situations that would make us feel irony:
1) We would feel irony if the shoemaker goes around with holes in his shoes.
11. PERSONIFICATION
A special kind of metaphor in which a non-human thing or quality is talked about as if it were
human. You are using personification if you say, “ The clouds raced across the open skies.”
12. SETTING
The time and place of a play. The setting can help create mod or atmosphere in a story. Some
examples of vivid setting are the bleak and spooky mansion in the secret garden, the empty, vast
tundra in Julie of the wolves, the deserted wilderness in hatchet, and the crumbing fad gin house
“in Nancy”
Things fall apart has its setting in Nigeria at the time when Africa come into contact with
western culture.
13. DRAMA
A story written to be acted in front of an audience (a drama can also be appreciated and enjoyed
in written form however.) The action of a drama is usually written by a character who wants
something very much, who takes step to go it and who then meets with complications.
Drama comes from a Greek word ‘Dram’ which means ‘to act’. Therefore drama is about
acting. The actual performance on stage is called Theatre. Drama can therefore be said to be the
script to be acted while theatre is the actual performance on stage.
FORMS OF DRAMA
There are basically three (3) forms of drama and these are:
 TRAGEDY – is a form of drama which deals with serious and important actions which
turn to be disastrous for the protagonist. Pity is the emotion that the audience will have on
the main character.
 COMEDY- involves matters that are not serious or matters that are humorous. Comedy
is a piece of work in which materials are selected and managed primarily in order to

interest and amuse the audience. Comedy is centered on entertainment.
 TRAGICOMEDY- involves issues that are serious and put in a humorous way. It is the
combination of both tragedy and comedy.
DIFFERENCES BETWEEN TRAGEDY AND COMEDY

 Tragedy deals with serious issues while comedy deals with lighthearted matters
 Tragedy reveals the nobility of human beings while comedy portrays human beings as
foolish, stupid, irrational, naïve and silly.
 Comedies have happy endings while tragedies have sad endings.
 In tragedy, the protagonist gains our sympathy for what they go through while in comedy
a protagonist attracts our ridicule.
ELEMENTS OF MODERN DRAMA
 The Text- provides guidelines and direction for performance of the play
 Dialogue – this is a conversation between two or among all characters in a play.
 Monologue – is spoken by a single character on stage or the character speaks to
her/himself. This is done in order for the audience to know what he or she is thinking
about.
 Plot – arrangement of events in a play.
STRUCTURE OF A PLAY
 Exposition or the introduction

 Complication
 Rising Action or the development
 Climax
 Falling Action
 Resolution or catastrophe. It is also known as the conclusion
 Foreshadowing- this is the giving of hints about the events to come in the plot. The
purpose is to ensure that certain things don’t come out of the blue for the audience’s sake
to know.
THE THREE UNITS IN A PLAY
 THE UNIT OF TIME: this refers to the fact that events in a play should be completed in
a period of 24 hours.
 THE UNIT OF ACTION: this refers to the fact that the various actions that constitute a
play are interrelated. None of them can be removed or changed without changing the key
content.
 THE UNIT OF PLACE: all the action in a play usually occurs in one place or on the
same set.
ELEMENTS OF TRAGEDY
 Tragic hero- is the main character in the play.

 Hubris- is the excessive pride that the tragic hero shows and this usually leads to
his downfall.
Catharsis- this means the purgation of emotions. This is the pity and fear the audience develops
for the tragic hero because of the terrible
14. POETRY
a kind of rhythmic, compressed language that uses figures of speech and imagery to appeal to
our emotions and imaginations. Poetry often has a regular rhyme pattern of rhythm or rhyme.
15. NOVEL
A long fictional story, whose length is normally somewhere between one hundred and five
hundred book pages. A novel uses all the elements of storytelling –plot, character, setting, theme,
and point of view. Because of its length, a novel usually has a more complex plot and more
characters, settings, and themes than a short story has.
e.g: Things Fall Apart, Concubine
16. FABLE
A story brief story in prose or verse that teaches a moral or a practical lesson about how to
succeed in life. The characters of most fable are animals that behave and speak like human
beings. Some of the most popular fables are those supposedly told by Aesop, who was a slave in
ancient Greece. You may have heard his fable about the sly fox who praises the crow for her
beautiful voice. The fox begs the crow to sing for him, which she does. But when the crow opens
her mouth, she lets fall the piece of cheese in her break that the fox had been after the whole
time.
e.g. when you want to tell an elderly person that even a young person can advise you, a Bemba
Fable about ‘Kalulu ne Nsofu’ can be used.
17. BELIEF
e.g in the concubine it was believed that mini wenku stream could liquidate evil people.
In things fall apart, snake was called a stream for fear that it could hear.
18. PROVERB
A literary device which is a popular saying memorably expressed.
e.g. when a lion runs out of meat, it turns to grass
19. ANTAGONIST
e.g. Malinga in uneasy joke is an antagonist as he works against Mathews who is a
protagonist.
20. PROTAGONIST
The main character in a literary piece of work. The protagonist is involved in the work’s central
conflict. If there is another character opposing the protagonist, that character is called the
antagonist. E.g: The protagonist Okonkwo in Things Fall Apart , Ekwueme in The Concubine

21. ONOMATOPOEIA
The use of words whole sounds imitates or suggests its meaning. Onomatopoeis is so natural to
use that we begin using it at a very early age. Boom, bang, sniffle, rumble, hush, ding, and snort
are all examples of onomatopoeia. Onomatopoeia helps create the music of poetry, in the
following poem, the poet had a lot of fun using onomatopoeia:
Our washing machine
Our washing machine went whistity whirr whisity whisity whisity whirr one day at noon it went
whisity click whisity whisity whisity click click grr click grr clic
Call the repairman
Fix it ……..quick
e.g. ‘go – di – di – go – go – di – go’ went the Ekwe – Things fall apart.
22. MYTH
A story that usually explains some things about the world and involved gods and other
supernature beings. Myths are deeply connected to the traditions and religious beliefs of the
culture that produced them. A myth often explain certain aspects of life, comes from or why
people die. Creation myths explain how the world came to exist. Most myths are very old and
were handed down orally for many centuries before being put in writing. The story of the hero
pursues on is a famous Greek myth. ‘Quetzalcoatl
l’ is a Mexican myth, and Glooscap Fights the water monster’ is a popular native American
myth.
23. HYPERBOLE
A literary device consisting of an extravagant statement or exaggeration. It is used to emphasize
the importance or extent of something.
e.g. “there are so many people that if you threw up a grain of sand if not find a way to fall to
earth again” Things fall apart pg 100.
24. COMEDY
In general, a story that ends happily for its main characters. The hero or heroine usually
overcomes a series of obstacles to get what he or she wants. (In contrast, the main character in a
tragedy comes to an unhappy end.) The work comedy is not a synonym for humor. Some
comedies are humorous; other are not.
25. FLASH BACK
Interruption in the present action of a plot to flash backward and tell what happened at an earlier
time. A flashback breaks the normal chronological movement of a narrative. A flashback can be
placed anywhere in a story, even at the very beginning. There it usually gives background
information. The secret Garden is almost one entire flashback. Although it starts out in the
present when the main character is an adult, it soon flashes back to her childhood.
26. CLIMAX
The point in a story that creates the greatest suspense or interest. At the climax something
happens that reveals how the conflict will turn out.
e.g: this fall apart for example reaches climax when six leaders are release from prison what
next?
When Ekwe end his father are about to offer sacrifice to but the sea king – readers are left in
suspense and are interested to know what next
27. IMAGERY
Language that appeals to the senses. Most images are visual – that is, they create picture in our
minds by appealing to our sense of sight. Images can also appeal to our senses of hearing, tough,
taste, or smell. Images can appeal to several senses at once. While imagery is an element in all
types of writing, it is especially important in poetry. The following poem is full of rainy images
e.g. as one need, One is able.
28. SYMBOLISM
This is the representation of ideas and emotions by suggestion rather than by direct impression of
imagery.
29. FOLKTALE
Is a story that has no specific author that originally was passed on from one generation to another
by word of mouth. Folktales generally differ from myths in that they are not about gods and they
were never connected with religion or belief. E.g: Kalulu and Hyena
30. FICTION
A prose account that is basically made – up rather that factually true. The term usually referee to
novels and short stories.
e. things fall apart, the concubine
31. PROSE
Any writing that is not poetry, essays, short stories, novels, news articles and letter are all usually
written in prose.
32. LITERATURE
It is a department of language in poetry or prose, written and unwritten, of accepted quality
whose main aim is to express life in its wholeness. It is both an art and a trade that aims at
enriching mankind with all aspects of life and living.
e.g. the study of human society and its elements (culture, beliefs, politics).
33. LEGEND
A story of extraordinary deeds that is handed down from one generation to the next. Legends are
based to some extent on fact. For example, George Washington did exist, but he did not chop
down his father’s cherry tree when he was a boy.
34. STYLE
The way a writer uses language. Style results from diction (word choice), sentence structure, and
tone. One writer may use many figures of speech, for example: another writer may prefer
straightforward language with few figures of speech.
35. POINT OF VIEW

The vantage point from which a story is told is called the Point of View. Two common points of
view are the omniscient and the first person.
1. In the omniscient, or “all –knowing ´point of view, the narrator knows everything about
the characters and their problems. This all knowing narrator can tell us about the past, the
present, and the future. Below is an example of omniscient point of view:
Once upon a time, in a small village, there were three houses bult by three brothers pigs.
One was made of straw, one was made of twigs, and one was made of brick. Each pig
thought his house was the best and the strongest. A wolf – a very hungry wolf – lived just
blowing techniques and rying to decide which pig’s house was the wakest.
2. In the first – person point of view, one of the characters is telling the story, using the
personal pronoun. We become very familiar with this narrator, but we can only know
what this character knows. We can observe only what this character observes. All our
information about the story must come from this one narrator. In some cases the
information this narrator gives us is not correct.
As soon as I found out some new pigs had moved into the neighborhood, I started to
practice my blowing. I like to blow down house and eat whoever is inside. The little pigs
have built their houses out of different materials – but I know I can blow ‘em down in no
time. That brick house looks especially week.
36. TONE
The attitude a writer takes toward an audience, a subject, or a character. Tone is conveyed
through the writer’s choice of words and details. A tone can be light and humorous,
serious and sad, friendly or hostile toward a character, and so forth. The poem “The
Snitches” is light and humorous in tone. The excerpt from sounder has a serious tone.
e.g. The tone of George Orwell in annual farm makes readers sympathize with boxers and
develop hatred from Napoleon and Squealer
37. PROPAGANDA
A method of convincing others of the truth of your arguments
e.g: Squealer in annual form is a progandist as he mixes her with half truth in order to
convince the other animals – indeed; he is able to turn black into white.
38. TYRANNY
Wrong use of one’s power or leadership to mistreat others or supreme them
e.g. the pigs in annual form treat others with cruelty
39. SARCASM
An offensive remark with the sole intention inflicting pain into someone
40. STANZA
A group of consecutive lines in a poem that form a single unit. A stanza in a poem is something
like a paragraph in prose: it often expresses a unit of thought. a stanza may consist of any
number of lines; it may even consist of a single line. The word stanza is an Italian word for
“stopping place” or place to rest”. In some poems, each stanza has same rhyme scheme.
 A simile is a figure of speech which compares two things which are different in all

aspects except one. E.g He runs as fast as a bullet
 A metaphor is a figure of speech which directly compares two things which are different
in all aspects except one. E.g She is an angel
 Personification is a figure of speech which treats things, animals or objects as if they
were human beings. E.g The tree is bleeding
 Hyperbole is a figure of speech which aims at exaggerating things or overstating. E.g she
applied so much make-up that her mother could not recognize her
 Meiosis is a figure of speech which aims at understating. E.g 200 people came to the
wedding and one says only 20 people came to the wedding
 Irony is a figure of speech which aims at contrasting or contrast or conveys the opposite.
E.g He always works harder and doesn’t pass the exam
 Didactic is a type of literature that is informative. E.g The Bible because it offers
guidance in moral and religious matters
 Non- Didactic is the type of literature that is for entertainment. E.g novels are there for
entertainment. Novels like the ticklish sensation
 Mortif is a re-occurring concept, structure of objects in a book and maybe two
contrasting elements in a book. E.g In the bible in the book of Genesis God separates
light from darkness, also Abraham is separated from the people as the chosen one
 Allusion is association with; a reference to some other experience outside what is under
discussion. E.g The death of Jesus Christ on the cross is associated with the salvation of
mankind
 Symbols are objects or words that stand for other words or objects. E.g In the bible in the
book of Genesis in the story of Adam and Eve, the apple they ate stood for sin or
symbolized sin.
 Symbolism is the representation of ideas and emotions by suggestion rather than by
direct impression of imagery
 Euphemism is a literary technique in which an accurate but explicit word is substituted
with a gentler and less distasteful term or word. E.g Instead of saying I am going to the
toilet you say I have gone to powder my nose.
 Adrenalin is a chemical substance that pours into a person’s blood stream when he is
angry, anxious or excited. It increases the level of commitment in a person
 Amphibian is a creature that can live both in water and on land. E.g A Crocodile
 Ambiguity is a statement said to have double meaning or an expression capable of more
than one meaning. E.g When you ask do you drink? In Zambia most people will answer
no because they feel you are asking about drinking alcohol
 Aesthetic is the beauty of literary works; it is connected with the appreciation or criticism
of the beautiful. E.g Telling someone that you look beautiful when you are crying
 Altruism is the desire to end an argument not necessarily that a consensus or an
agreement has been reached but to preserve peace.
 Belief is a feeling of certainty that something is right, wrong, exists or doesn’t exist. E.g
Christians believe Jesus Christ will come again to get the righteous
 Charlatan is an impostor; an empty pretender to knowledge or skills.
 Connotation is the secondary or implied meaning of a word or an expression. E.g the

heart the connotative meaning is that it connotes feelings of love or heartache
 Denotation is the primary or basic or dictionary meaning of the word or expression. E.g
The heart the denotative meaning is that it is an organ that circulates blood throughout
the body
 Dope is a strong drug taken for reasons other than medicinal; a strong stimulant often
banned for public use. E.g marijuana is banned for public use
 Electorates these are voters
 Epistemology is the study of knowledge
1. LITERARY TERMINOLOGIES AND DEVICES
Read the following conversation and answer questions that follow.
Ijimere: Imprisonment of Obatala
Obatala: Ten years have passed, since we settled the quarrel between
heaven and earth. For the tenth year now the, the earth has
been pregnant with the sperms of heaven.
Ten years since Shango, owner of the palace met me at Ife
to plead with the earth. How we rejoiced when vulture rose
to heaven carrying earth’s sacrifice. And rain poured once
more after a long drought. Famine was over.
The yam sprouted from its mounds creeping up the sticks.

Corn combs appeared with rows and rows of gleaming
teeth. And Cassava, with a rough skin on its back, swelled
up in the earth, red as camwood.
Yemanja: Oh how we celebrated then! Shango’s belly got round and

round with yam like that of a pregnant woman. Nobody can
eat like Shango! When he has liver ache, he eats six pots of
pounded yam with bean soup.
Obatala: This yam is no less creamy than last year’s yet it sticks in
my throat like yesterday’s stale fufu. The meat of grass
cutter, is every bit as sweet and yet it goes gristly into my
tongue like an old bull. I wish Shango was here to
celebrate with us! Shango, my fiery friend, the owner of the

palace, who spits fire from his mouth, who darts fire from
his eyes
Yemanja: My lord, you keep longing for your fierce friend because
you know how to handle him. But we fear this man who
rides fire like a horse. This man, who has water, yet takes
blood to wash. He covers himself with the cloth of death.
He shaves his children’s heads with lightening!
Obatala: A friend is precious like a child. You cannot buy a friend in

the market. Two hundred needles do not amount to an axe.
One thousand stars do not shine like the sun. The loyalty
of two thousand servants does not compensate for the
absence of a friend.
(i) What literary term describes the conversation between Obatala and Yemanja?[2]
(ii) What literary term is used for the expression, ‘… the earth has been pregnant
with the sperm of heaven.’ [2]
(iii) What is a simile? Identify two similes used in the excerpt above.
[4]
(iv) Identify two imageries used in the excerpt. [4]
(v) ‘He shaves his children’s heads with lightening’. What literary term describes
this expression? [2]
(vi) Identify two proverbs used in the conversation. [4]
[TOTAL: 20]
1. LITERARY TERMINOLOGIES AND DEVICES.
Read the passage carefully and answer as concisely as possible the questions that follow:
“Mama is a Sunrise”
By Evelyn Tooley-Hunt
When she comes slip-footing through the door
she kindles us
like lump coal lighted
and we wake up glowing
She puts a spark even in Papa’s eyes
and turns out all our darkness.

When she comes sweet-talking in the room she warms us
like grits and gravy and we rise up shining
Even at night time Mama is a sunrise
that promised tomorrow and tomorrow.
1. The poem is mainly in free verse. Briefly explain what free verse is (1 mark)
2. Define rhyme and cite an example from the poem (2 marks)
3. Who is the speaker or narrator in the poem? What attitude do they portray? (2 marks)
4. State what a simile is and pick two examples from the extract. (3 marks)
5. “Even at night time Mama is a Sunrise

a. What term is used for such a statement? (1 mark)
b. Give three other examples of the same type from the poem (3 marks)
6. What is imagery? Briefly state the image that permeates the poem (3 marks)
7. Define personification and provide an example from the poem (3 marks)
8. What is a stanza and how many does this poem contain? (2 marks)
20 marks]
ANSWERS
LITERARY TERMINOLOGIES AND DEVICES (20 MARKS)
1. Dialogue
2. Personification
3. Comparison of two unlike things often using words such as like or as….as
- Shango’s belly got round and round with yam like a pregnant woman.
- This yam sticks in my throat like yesterday’s stale fufu.
- A friend is precious like a child
- This man who rides fire like a horse
4. - it sticks in my throat
- The meat of grass cutter, is every bit as sweet

- Cassava, with a rough skin on its back
5. Hyperbole
6. - Two hundred needles do not amount to an axe.
One thousand stars do not shine like
2. LITERARY TERMINOLOGIES AND DEVICES.

Mama is a Sunrise
1. It is a poem not written in patterns of sounds such as rhyme and alliteration [1]
2. It is the ending of two lines with same sounds. E.g: eyes & sunrise, grits & gravy [2]
3. A Child/ Son / Daughter. Who is appreciative of his or her mother’s influence in their
home [2]
4. A comparison between two unlike things using a comparing word such as ‘like’, ‘as’ or
‘resembles’
-she kindles us like lump coal lighted
-she warms us like grits and gravy [3]
5. A metaphor [1]
- she warms us
-she kindles us
-we wake up glowing
- and we rise up shining [3]
6. -It is the use of words, simple or clearer stories or well known things
-use of mental images to describe a situation
-language that appeals to the senses
-the image is that of the sun and its positive effects. [3]
7. A statement in which non-human subject is given human characteristics
-“…..a sunrise that promises tomorrow and tomorrow.” [3]
8. A group of lines/ verse that form a division of a poem
-two [2]

KONGI’S HARVEST
Plot summary
Kongi’s Harvest is to be the official start of the five-plan. Kongi is the president of Isma. He has
the spiritual leader king Danlola under ‘preventive detention’ (PD). Kongi has insisted that
Danlola should be seen by the people at the festival to bring him the new yam with his own
hands. Kongi has been increasingly involving in image building, before the festival comes to a
shattering climax. (Kongi’s harvest)
Hemlock
There is a heavy, somber and pessimistic mood as the play begins. The king is endangered. The
omniscience in the narration depicts that nothing good will come out of Kongi’s leadership over
the land of Isma. According to the superintendent, one of Kongi’s right hand men, Danlola’s
supporters have been gathering to desecrate the national anthem of the land. Consequently,
Sarumi and Danlola are in detention. By so detaining them, the king has been deprived of his
traditional power and sovereignty, hence conflicting with the president.
A mock prostration from Danlola to Kongi scares the superintendent, who is spite of his new
loyalty to Kongi still maintains a positive respect for the King. This can attract a traditional
curse, and there is a danger of over thrown.
Then action of the play takes place on the eve and the day of the national celebration of Isma.
First Part
The reformed Aweri Fraternity is in deliberation, to get an image, in formal disputation. This
means that they are looking for a new identity and assertion their true place or relevance to the
people. We see Segi and her drinking habits.
Secretary joins the planning session of the Aweris image for the next five years development
plan whose key word was harmony. In this matter, another of Kongi’s men called the secretary
observes, ‘’All we want is some way of persuading king Danlola to bring the new yam for Kongi
with his own hands… the king should perform all his customary (and) spiritual functions to
Kongi’’. This, satirically, is called by the Aweris: an inevitable stage in the process of power
revisionism. Meanwhile, there is clear civil unrest among the masses. A bomb of which no one
has claimed responsibility has been thrown somewhere. The Aweri are visibly nervous and
apprehensive of imminent coup d’ etat
Kongi’s Harvest of intrigue and Hate
The clash is enacted between the modern and the traditional force in an emergent modern
African society is a very familiar concern in all genres of African literature. Wole Soyinka is

therefore not out of place in his preoccupation with it in Kongi’s Harvest. This clash is enacted
between the Oba [the traditional head] and the President, Kongi [the modernist and constitutional
head] though a constitutional head Kongi is essentially a dictator. In essence his modern
dictatorship strives to absorb within itself and traditional system so as to destroy it as a
contending power as well as capture its legitimacy, dignity, appeal, and power. This clash
manifests itself the very start in the Hemlock section. There the roll of drums and the anthem
suggest the struggle of two opposing camps for supremacy. The traditional forces are being
stifled out of life by the propaganda and the paraphernalia accompanying Kongi’s dictatorship.
They have been rejected as rotten waste, for:
Ism to ism for ism is ism

Of isms and isms on absolute ism
To demonstrate the tree of life
Is sprung for broken peat
And we the rotted bark, spurned
When the tree swells its pot
The mucus that is snorted out
When Kongi’s new race blows
Kongi’s forces have thus scored one against the Oba’s. They have confined the forces of
tradition, The Oba and his retinue to waste the rest of their years in prison. Though the clash
continues, the struggle is at a lower plane. Since they cannot meet Kongi and his force head-on
they are relegated top battling with a junior representative, the superintendent of prison. This
eclipsing of the forces of tradition is what is being mourned for by the opening dirge in
‘Hemlock’. The king’s umbrella can no longer shade them and this is seen as signaling the end,
for as the Ogbo Aweri lament:
This is the last
That we shall dance together

This is the last the hairs
Will lift on our skin
And draw together
When the dgedu rouses
The dead in oshugbo
For though the end of traditional ruler’s public role has been effected, it is by no means the end
of the struggle. He still has mystical powers, dignity, and symbolic values all of which Kongi
and his henchmen could give anything to get. Their complaint about the loyal canopy taking too
much silk and that the first of the new yams melted/Melted first in an Oba’s mouth’ is
symptomatic of the greed if not envy leading leaders on to capturing all the titles and prestigious
roles and have them bestowed upon themselves. This is what Kongi is poised to do. He wants to
be the spirit of harvest and to get a public show of the Oba’s capitulation of power to him. But
Oba Danlola maintains an uncompromising position and thus refuses to perform the ritual

handing over of the first yam to him. As a result we are promised a protracted struggle between
the two as is suggested in these string of proverbs:
The pot that will eat fat

The bottom must be scorched
The squirrel that will long crack nuts
Its footpad must be sore
The sweetest wine has flowed down
The tapper’s shattered show
Kongi’s wrong-headed conviction of the superiority of western civilization leads him to
senselessly replacing traditional institutions by the former. His transformation of traditional
institutions to absurd modern versions is lunatic, for no thought is given to the superficially that
will possibly results.
Kongi demonstrates a paranoiac distrust of almost everyone around him. Through coercion, he
buys all authority and traditional legitimacy all of which he then ungrudgingly bestows on
himself. He thus develops himself to the central repository of all powers. The traditional ruler,
Danlola, it is therefore compelled to present him personally with the New Yam. This will
publicly acknowledge his supremacy and enable him to stamp his image on every mind as a
charismatic and legitimate ruler. Even his opponents are thus constrained to beg for forgiveness.
A dictatorship is thus exposed as a fragile, hollow, fake and weak institution that lacks beliefs on
itself.
It is therefore has to loan on the legitimacy of the traditional power it seeks to destroy but since
they are afraid of its strength to survive. As the results, the traditional is being strangulated by
the propaganda and paraphernalia of Kongi’s dictatorship. A flurry from broken peat; and that
Danlola and his forces of tradition are only its waste products [p61]. Amidst the strident
trumpeting of propaganda, the people became as useless as putrid waste matter. Words are
bandied in total defiance of them. For in the words of Danlola and his retinue’s song:
…there is a harvest of words

In a penny newspaper
They say it all on the silent skulls
But who cares? Who but a lunatic
Will bandy words with boxes
With government rediffusion sets
Which talk and talk and never
Take a lone on with in reply. [P61]
The presentation of Kongi and his Henchmen is the beating satire of the modern dictators in
Africa as well as elsewhere. The composite picture is almost that of a madman. For after all, all
dictatorship border on madness. The dictator, Kongi maintains total control over all the
instruments of coercion that are in fact the lifeblood and modus opera and of all modern

dictatorship. These instruments of coercion are well established and manifested in the mallet-
swinging carpenters Brigade and in the superintendent who tyrannizes over the Oba. Their
repressiveness is a constant source of concern for the Oba as is evident in his speech here:
But with stamp and a pad of violet ink
And their arms make omelet of
Their Yam is pounded, not with pestles
Stubborn heads, Via police truncheons. [p109]
And this is confirmed in the words of their anthem:
We spread the creed of Kongism
To every son and daughter
And heads too slow to lean it
Will feel our mallets’ weight
On stage they are supposed to be dehumanized being with stiff mallet- wielding arms piston in
gun in the Nazi-salute. They are in this way presented as the coercive instrument of a totalitarian
regime such as Kongi’s that perpetuates its rule mainly through the use of sheer force. Its
repressiveness has become to entrench in the society that when on his return from prison, Oba
Danlola finds the outside world worse than even prison frequent incidents of bomb throwing thus
became the normal fare… And as is characteristic of all dictatorships, the culprits or suspects are
quickly apprehended in readiness to be hanged.
The reformed Aweri are the instruments of intellectual as well as spiritual repression, thus
fulfilling the rule of propaganda machinery geared toward imprisoning the minds of the citizens
into seeing things the administration’s way. The one address of the information system had
already been hinted at in the
‘Hemlock’ section:
Who but a lunatic
Will bandy words with boxes
With government rediffusion sets
Which talk and talk and never
Take a lone word in reply
Such as propaganda machinery is as indisputable to the dictatorship’s survival as are the
instruments of coercion. Though the propaganda in its final form gets channeled through
newspapers and the radio, they originate from a close arm of the doctoral system, the reformed
Aweri fraternity. A closer glimpse at their emptiness is in the first part of the play. We hear them
expressing their commitment to manufacturing an image to dress up and cover the regime’s ugly
face. But indeed their effort looks most ridiculous. For they appear as a pack of jokers throwing
jibs at modern parliaments. All they are preoccupied with is in selling out platitude that is
pleasant to the ears of those in power. This in effect exposes the big gulf between the image
African dictatorships present of themselves from what they are in real fact. When not lying or
deceiving the public they are engaged in inanities and superficialities. It is thus amusing to see an
Aweri regretting that the four and a half hour speech he had written had been surpassed by a
neighboring President’s seven hour speech.
Kongi parodies modern megalomanias who having been addicted to the irresistible taste of
power and its accompanying stature and prestige start monopolizing all its symbols and roles.
This attains such heights bordering on deification at a reformed Aweri session; Members propose
that they be recognized as the magi as that would lead automatically to Kongi’s apotheosis. That
is likening himself to Christ. Kongi wants his name along with the forthcoming harvest festival
to mark the beginning of a new calendar with everything else dating from it. His quest for
monopolizing everything in the state leads him to equating himself to God. For he wants his
name to mark the beginning of a new calendar, in the way Christ does in the Christian calendar.
State bodies therefore work hard towards elevating their leader to the godhead. The reformed
Aweri therefore propose as a first step their recognition as the magi. And the praise song of the
carpenter’s Brigade compares Kongi to Christ by calling him a savior whom they will sweat
endlessly for:
For Kongi is our father
And Kongi is our man
Kongi is our mother
Kongi is our man
And Kongi is our savior
Redeemer, prince of power
For isms and for Kongi
We’re proud to live or die! [p116]
So much does it become that Danlola cries out in disgust:
Will there not be six times
At the least when we must up and bow
To Kongi? [p107]
Kongi’s image boosting is directed at impressing the outside world. He thus creates an attractive
coat to hide his monstrous form inside. In it he poses in a wide range of postures for the foreign
correspondents to paint a glowing portrait of him abroad. Such captivating captions all add up
into the desired effect:
A leader’s temptation… Agoni on the
Mountains… The loneliness of the pure... The
Uneasy Head… a saint at twilight…
The spirit of the harvest… the face
Benevolence…the giver of life… [P93]
An image of a pensive and devoted is thus sold out. But no one at home is fooled. Even in
granting reprieve he resorts to propaganda. For this much emphasize is on the timing and pacing.
…. We must make it a last-minute reprieve. It will look better that way don’t you think? [p 117]
Kongi’s act of clemency remains a confidential until a quarter of an hour before hanging.
The propaganda machine works as efficiently and effectively as the network of coercion to keep
everyone in line. They execute their job with reckless abandon. The carpenter’s brigade thus
spits fire on all opponents. For they have sworn to die in spreading the creed of kongism. For
those too slow to accept Kongi and his government have their heads crushed with their heavy
mallets as we saw from Mugabe recently.
Even those enforcing Kongi’s hold on power are not exempt from his wrath or suspicion. The
organizing secretary fearing falling foul of him take scrupulous care in organizing the harvest
ceremony-with twelve long month spent on going continuously through every single step. For he
is haunted that ‘anything goes wrong/He’ll have my head’ [p117] When Dauodu, Segi and their
followers surge in, in protest, foreseeing the brute justice awaiting him, he exclaims : ‘I’ m done
for, I know it. I’m heading for the border while there is time. Oh there is going to be such a
clamp down after this… [129]. No one is then free from fear. Under such a situation, it only
takes a little slip for one to lose one’s life, one’s freedom or a visible part of one’s body. Danlola
therefore warns the little boy Dende to be wary of talking openly. For just a hint is serious
enough to land oneself in detention.
There’s also Kongi’s pervasive spy network which Danlola often sees sneaking in through the
broken wall of his backyard many times in just one day.
The big ear of a man himself
Has knocked twice on my palace gates –
Twice in one morning- and his spies
Have sneaked in through the broken wall
Of my backyard were women throw their piss
As many times today [p102]
Imprisonment and death are also available to repress those who fail to understand and behave
themselves. New offences are continually being created. Charges such as treason and
communism are easily framed up against whosoever they desire to bring them up against. Those
present at Segi’s and Dauodu’s protest are therefore easily liable to being charged with treason
for ‘to be there at all at that disgraceful / Exhibition is to be guilty with of treasonable /
Conspiracy et cetera, et cetera’ [p133]. The jail is thus one step towards the grave. For an ignoble
death is an ultimate fate of every detainee. One’s struggle to hold on to life, by escaping through
the prison walls, lead therefore to a life pension being offered to the one who bring him back
dead or alive:
And the radio has put out a prize
Upon his head. A life pension
For his dead. A life pension
For his body dead or alive. That
Dear child is a new way to grant
Reprieve. Alive, the radio blared,
If possible; and if not, DEAD! [p113]
The secretary and the fifth Aweri further substantiate the regime’s denial of life:
Secretary: you don’t know how he hates those
Men. He wants them dead- you’ve
No idea how desperately.
Fifth Aweri: I do. But tell him he can kill them later in detention.
Kongi perpetuates his glorious image of a leader totally committed and engaged in the country’s
development thus justifying his clamping down on his detractors:
The spirit of harvest has smitten the enemies of Kongi
The justice of earth has prevailed over traitors and conspirators.
There is divine blessing on the second five-year development plan
Clearly formulated the articulated programs are then in short supply. March more attention is
given to make belief and banding absurd and ridiculous idea as we find in the session of the
Aweri’s were a motif-the youthful elders of the state- is used as an image of their regime. Such
mindless fascination for superficialities makes them lose sight of the underlying meanings of
words.
Meaningless phrases thus dominate their pronouncements and deliberations. The content and
quality of the speech is therefore far less concern to Kongi than its length – lasting four and a
half hour. But then the sooner he hears of the seven hour speech of the neighboring president, he
west no time in discarding his corruption, another feature of contemporary society is portrayed.
The organizing secretary displays much ease and skill in operating in the code of the corrupt.
Though at first he appears as quit a dutiful and upright executive, one of the Aweri’s later reports
his abuses of the privileges of his office. In exchange for money, he gives detainees under his
charge all comfort. He receives as well huge bribes from visitors to the president, and much
financial gain through his organization of the harvest. This is all part of a syndicate to part of a
SYNDICATE TO WHICH THE Aweri’s themselves are a party as seen in the first Aweri’s
eagerness to have his own share: ‘Has anyone been accepting money on my behalf / All I ask is
my cut’ [p25].
Kongi could be seen as representing the modern paranoid dictator. Instead of being a procreative
force he endangers and spreads destruction, decapitating his opponents and showing no interest
in the fertility rate of the soil and the flesh. Thus in Hemlock he is regarded as a monster which
should have been scorched before it achieved its full destructive proportions. Kongi thus clearly
demonstrates his repugnance towards creating a better future for his people. He rather creates an
illusion of personal as well as national well-being to the outside world and the gullible fools
within. Through biting satire Soyinka registers his distaste for such ugly aspects of modern
societies in Africa.
The ending of the play leaves no hope in us for the purging of such societies. The struggle by
Dauodu and others to overcome Kongi’s destruction is doomed. This futility of action is first
hinted in the proverbs from ‘Hemlock’ earlier quoted. Even Dauodu and Segi who are the only
one courageous enough to openly condemn Kongi’s rule, are in the end victims of predicted
general clampdown indicated by the iron grating that clamp on the ground at the end of the play.
They had not been able to mobilize the necessary support to counter Kongi’s regimented and
well established instruments of power. This acquiescence and inaction are pictured in the timid
withdrawal and uncommitted apathy of the various inmates of the night club when the organizing
secretary enters.
QUESTIONS
1 SOYINKA: Kongi’s Harvest
KONGI: I am the spirit of Harvest.
SECRETARY: Of course my Leader, the matter is not in dispute.
KONGI: I am the SPIRIT of Harvest
SECRETARY: Of course my Leader.
KONGI: I am the Spirit HAAR-VEST!
SECRETARY: Of course my Leader. And a benevolent Spirit of Harvest. This

year shall be known as the year of Kongi’s Harvest. Everything
shall date from it.
KONGI: (Stops suddenly): who thought that up?
SECRETARY: It is among the surprise gifts we have planned for our beloved
Leader. I shouldn’t have let it slip out...
KONGI: (Rapt in the idea); you mean, things like 200 K.H?
SECRETARY: A.H. my Leader, After the Harvest, in a thousand year, 1000

A.H. And last year should be referred to as IB.H. There will be
only one harvest worth remembering
(i) What does Kongi mean when he says “I am Spirit of Harvest”?

[2]
(ii) The secretary says; “Of course my Leader, the matter is not in dispute”. What
matter is the secretary referring to in the above excerpt?
[4]
(iii) State two expressions that show the secretary is exaggerating his respect for
Kongi?
[2]
(iv) Kongi and the Secretary are making reference to Christian concepts. What two
Christian concepts are being referred to in the excerpt?
[4]
(v) “There will be only one Harvest worth remembering” Why will there be only
one Harvest worth remembering?
[4]
(vi) A little later in the text, Kongi uses sarcastic words to a group of people. State

the sarcastic words that Kongi uses?
[4]
[Total: 20]
SUPERITENDENT: I say you desecrate our Nation Anthem. I have to do something
about it. And stop that unholy noise. (Seizes the lead drummer by the
wrist. Everything stops. Complete silence.)
DANLOLA: (Slowly). You stopped the royal drums.
SUPERITENDENT: I shall speak to the secretary about this…….
DANLOLA: (suddenly relaxed). No, it is nothing new. Your betters stopped the drums a
Long time ago and you the slave in khaki and brass buttons now lick your
masters’ spit and boast, we chew the same tobacco.
SUPERITENDENT: (turning to Sarumi) Look, you better warn him
(i) Where are the Superintendent and Danlola and why is Danlola there? How long has
Danlola been there?
[4]
(ii) The ‘unholy noise’ the Superintendent is referring to begins with three sayings which
show that man has to pass through difficulty before he can enjoy. Give these three
sayings. [3]
(iii) ‘I say you desecrate our National Anthem. ’What country’s National Anthem is
desecrated? Which other two things does Danlola desecrate during this episode and in
what way does he desecrate them? [6]
(iv)What is the full title of the Secretary to whom the Superintendent is referring? Who
accompanies the secretary the first time he appears in the play? [3]
(v) Who else apart from the drummers and Sarumi is with the superintendent and Danlola
during this encounter? [4]
[TOTAL: 20]
SECRETARY: That doesn’t stop him from messing me about. It

only gives him an alibi.

DAODU: Hadn’t you better turn him loose then?
SECRETARY: I might do that. Yes, I might do that. Hm Looks

slowly round. Does that woman have to keep
looking at me like that?
DAODU: Does she bother you?
SECRETARY: Isn’t there anywhere we can go? I need to

concentrate
DAODU: I can ask her to go in if you like.
SECRETARY: Nonsense. Leave her where she is. I just wish she’d
…. what do they sing about her? What are they
saying?
(i) Who is the Secretary referring to when he says “That doesn’t stop him from messing
me about….” and what “only gives him an alibi.” [3]
(ii) Where is this conversation taking place and why does the secretary go there? [3]
(iii) Who accompanies the Secretary to this place and what happens to them? What is
their role? [5]
(iv) At this meeting the Secretary seems distracted and finds it difficult to concentrate
prompting Dauodu to suggest an alternative place for the meeting which the
Secretary turns down. What distracts the attention of the Secretary?
[2]
(v) What does the Secretary say about the song after the excerpt? [2]
(vi) From what happens and is said just before and after this excerpt, what is your
opinion of the Secretary?
[3] Total:
20]
ANSWERS
1. SOYINKA: Kongi’s Harvest

i. He has triumphed over the leadership wrangles he has with Oba Danlola
and hence he sees himself as the most important man in Ismaland. [2]
ii. The assuming of leadership of Ismaland by President Kongi and the
defeat of Oba Danlola who flees to another country together with the
secretary. [4]
iii. “Of course my Leader” and “And a benevolent Spirit of Harvest”.
[2]

iv. Rapture, Resurrection,
v. This particular harvest is the only harvest that will be remembered because
of what happens…. Oba Danlola is ironically defeated by Kongi but soon
tides change when Kongi receives the copper salver with the head of an
old man in it. The secretary sides with Oba Danlola.
[4]
vi. Curses, vilifies, excommunicates, execrates, a demonic mass of sweat and
foam at the lips. [4]
[Total:20Marks]
- Prison /detention camp
-Has been detained /imprisoned [or subversion]
The pot that will eat fat, its bottom must be scorched
-the squirrel that will long nut, its food pad must be sure
-the sweetest wine has flowed down the tappers shattered shins
–Isma
-the reformed Aweri fraternity
-the flag
- Says the [fraternity] has a big name for little heads
-uses the flag for a wrapper
- Organizing secretary to the leader.
- the night /and left ears of state

- Junior Oba/Kings
-We do not hear the jackals call
-when the father speaks
–Wuraola/Danlola’s favourite wife
-Ogbo Aweri
-Dende
-and buglers
3. SOYINKA Kongi’s Harvest
1. - Oba Danlola
- That he has been in detention for nearly one year.

2. -Segi’s club
-He goes to find out from Dauodu whether Danlola is ready for new the yam festival where he is
to present the new yam to president Kongi
3. -The Right and Left Ears of the state/ the carpenters brigade
- they are inside the club while Dauodu and the secretary hold a private talk (They are
entertained by Segi’s women)
-provide security, gather secret information that compromises the security of the state.
4. Segi
5. - very elegant
-fond of music
-but has little time for it
- will not wish to be found in a place like that
6. -one full of himself
-but gets distracted easily
Plot Summary
Kenya is under British colonialism which is steadily encroaching into the interior of the country.
The interior is dominated by two ridges, Makuyu and Kameno. In-between the ridges
flows Honia River, which both separates and unites the people of the ridges. It separates them
physically because they stay on either side of it. It unites them because they fetch water from it.
Their animals drink from it and circumcision ceremonies are held on one side of its banks. With
the advent of colonialism and its colonial institutions, such as Christianity and Education,
represented by Siriana Mission; Administration (Government Post), the people of the ridges are
now divided; with some of them, especially some residents of Makuyu who have embraced
Christianity. In the process they have rejected their indigenous cultural practices and rituals, such
as female circumcision. This group is represented by Joshua and his family. Kameno has
remained wholly unchanged and thus becomes the stronghold of the ‘traditionalists’. This group
is represented by Chege and his family. There is thus a deep division within the tribe.
Before he dies, Chege informs his son, Waiyaki, the novel’s hero, of an ancient prophesy
concerning a leader who will rise and liberate the people of the ridges. Such a leader will come
from his line, which makes Waiyaki the obvious candidate as his only son. Only one other
person, Kabonyi, knows about this prophesy. Meantime, Chege sends Waiyaki to Siriana
Mission to learn the wisdom of the colonialist. Such wisdom will help him gain insight into the

ways of the white man and thus equip him for the future struggle against the colonial inversion.
However, Waiyaki must ensure that he does not ‘contaminate’ himself with the colonialist’s
‘vices’.
The division between Makuyu and Kameno is deepened by the hostilities caused by the fact that
some people embrace Christianity while others remain true to their indigenous ways, with female
circumcision constituting the focal point of the conflict. Tempers reach boiling point when
Joshua’s younger daughter, Muthoni, rebels against her father and submits herself to
circumcision so to attain full womanhood. Muthoni’s demise from her wound does not help
matters. Siriana launches a frontal attack on this practice by expelling children whose parents
still uphold it.
Being among those forced out of Siriana, Waiyaki takes up the challenge of building self-help
schools for such children. His exact leadership role having never been fully explained by his
father who is now dead, he sees it as that of ensuring that the ridges get an education (the white
man’s wisdom). Too preoccupied with his mission to educate the ridges, he loses sight of the
people’s other needs, such as fighting to regain their lost land and dignity. There is also the
widening gap between the Christian converts (or Joshua’s followers) and the traditionalists. The
latter have even formed a secret organization, the Kiama, whose goal is to ensure the purity of
the tribe.
Kabonyi manipulates the division to destroy Waiyaki whom he passionately hates. His hatred is
further fuelled by Waiyaki’s growing popularity. Having earlier (and rather thoughtlessly) taken
the oath of purity and loyalty to the tribe administered by the Kiama, Waiyaki finds himself
vulnerable to Kabonyi’s schemes. This is due to a number of reasons. The first is that Waiyaki
does not really wish to see the division deepening; instead he wants to heal it. But the
traditionalists want to have nothing to do with the traitorous Christians; the Christians also want
nothing to do with the people of the “people of darkness”. Waiyaki blames himself for having
failed to address the issue of unity in time. Secondly, Waiyaki falls in love with Joshua’s
uncircumcised daughter, Nyambura. As someone who has taken the oath of purity, this is a
violation of that oath. The novel ends ominously with both Waiyaki and Nyambura in the hands
of the Kiama which is to decide their fate.
Characters:
Waiyaki, the protagonist or main character; he is the main character because the novel’s major
plot or events focus on him. He is viewed as the messiah for whom the tribe has been awaiting.
He himself defines his messianic role as that of bringing enlightenment to the tribe through
education. He works tirelessly to achieve this goal. He notices the growing division, is disturbed
by it, but is too preoccupied with education such that by the time he calls for unity it is too late.
Waiyaki is the novel’s protagonist or tragic hero in the classical Greek or Shakespearean sense:
He is an admirable character as he is popular with many of the people. He shows exceptional
dedication in helping his people. They consider him their leader, their Teacher, but as with all
tragic heroes, he has a tragic flaw or weakness which will bring about his downfall. He fails to
take note of his enemies and appreciate the depth of their hatred. His friend, Kinuthia, tries to
warn him but he brushes his warnings aside, confident that his good works will prove too strong

for his enemies and his people will always be on his side. He also fails to appreciate the gravity
of the oath he takes, that it has the ominous potential of being used by his enemies to destroy
him. For a tragic hero to fall there must be anantagonist: Kabonyi is that antagonist who brings
about Waiyaki’s downfall. He is assisted by his son, Kamau who also hates Waiyaki and is his
bitter rival for Nyambura’s love.
Other major characters include Joshua, the Christian convert of Makuyu and a fierce adherent to
the Christian faith. He is Muthoni and Nyambura’s father. His wife is Miriamu, who is one of
the minor characters. There is alsoKabonyi and his son, Kamau, a minor character. Chege,
Waiyaki’s aged father, is also a minor character as he dies very early in the novel. There are two
major incidents in which he appears: he reveals the prophecy to Waiyaki before his death; the
other incident is when he decides to take Waiyaki to Siriana Mission.
There are opposites or polarities in Ngugi’s portrayal of characters, achieved at a number of

levels. First, at the community or tribal level, there are the traditionalists on one side and
the Christian converts on the other side. The traditionalists are portrayed positively while the
Christians are caricatured (made to appear ridiculous). At the level of individuals, there are the
positively portrayed characters such as Waiyaki, Kinuthia, Chege, Muthoni, Nyambura and
Miriamu; there are also the negatively portrayed characters such as Kabonyi, his son Kamau and
Joshua. It is through this polarised revelation of character that the author’s standpoint in relation
to the issues he raises, such as female circumcision, is discerned.
Themes
Change brought about by colonialism and the accompanying division and culture conflict
What to choose from what the colonialist offers
The destruction of a people’s way of life
Call for unity through healing the division and conflicts
Land alienation and the degradation of a people reduced to labourers on their stolen lands
How love transcends all barriers
Defence of a people’s culture or way of life, etc
Ngugi shows that colonialism brought about change in Kenya (and Africa at large). Before the
advent of colonialism the people were one, united by a common culture and its rites. But with the
advent of colonialism, there was conflict: some people accepted the new religion, Christianity,
which condemned the indigenous culture, especially female circumcision as barbaric. This
caused a bitter strife among the people or ‘tribe’. On the whole, the people are shown accepting
education as seen in their sending their children to Siriana mission to attain the ‘white man’s
wisdom’. When Siriana decides to bar pupils from unchristian families, the tribe is delighted
when Waiyaki begins establishing self-help schools.
How the themes unfold
Both the identified themes as well as a number of other minor themes are advanced through the
interplay of event and character, the agents of the novel’s action. After introducing us to the
setting (Chapter one), next the novelsymbolically launches the theme of conflict through

fighting scene (Chapter two). Kinuthia and Kamau are introduced in the novel engaged in a
fierce fight and Waiyaki, the prospective leader, stops the fight, calling for unity: “Didn’t we
swear that we of the hills were comrades?” (The River Between.1978: 5. Page references are
from this edition.)
Story and myth intertwine in Ngugi’s narration. Some sections or even some whole chapters are
devoted to tracing the origins of the Gikuyu tribe. It mentions its mythical
forebears, Gikuyu and Mumbi, the father and mother of the Gikuyu tribe and their nine
daughters. (Chapter one) There is also Mugo wa Kibiro, a seer or prophet; Kamiri, a powerful
magician; Wachiori, a great warrior; Demi na Mathathi, giants of the tribe. These are invoked
here to show that the ridges had a history and that their existence dated back to antiquity. They
also had a religion as they worshipedMurungu, their god or ‘supreme being’ who dwelled at the
unreachable snow-capped top of Mount Kenya, Kerinyagain Kikuyu). In this way, Ngugi
advances a defence of the Gikuyu culture (Gikuyus being one of the dominant ethnic groups of
Kenya; Ngugi himself was a Gikuyu and so was the first president of Kenya, Mze Jomo
Kenyatha, and its present president, Mwai Kibaki). The initial chapters also touch on the tribe’s
rituals such as the second birth which comes before the actual circumcision of males. The second
birth constitutes the severing of the bond of babyhood linking the boy to his mother. This is done
through the severing of the symbolic umbilical cord: he is no longer a baby but a big boy ready
to be initiated into manhood during circumcision.
In Chapter four we see Chege taking Waiyaki on a journey to the hills to show him the sacred
grove. Chege feels the time has come for Waiyaki to learn of the sacred secrets of the tribe and to
be made aware of his role in them. As they trudge on, Waiyaki is receiving his education, such as
on the medicinal qualities of some trees: “The bark of that tree is good for a fresh wound. The
roots of this plant are good. When your stomach bites you, you boil them in water. Drink the
liquid.” (p14) He also receives instruction on the mythological history of the ridges: “Long ago
women used to rule this land and its men. They were harsh and men began to resent their hard
hand. So when all the women were pregnant, men came together and overthrew them.” (p15)
In Chapter five, as they stand atop the hill, commanding the view of the whole land, dominated
by its two principal ridges, Chege then discusses the significance of their pilgrimage, so to
speak. He informs Waiyaki that Gikuyu land belongs to the people of the ridges, the Gikuyu.
He, Waiyaki, is its destined messiah who should rescue the land and its people from the clutches
of the colonialists. Waiyaki is its destined messiah because he belongs to the lineage of the great
Gikuyu men, such as Mugo wa Kibiro, the great seer who foretold of the coming of the whites
and of the messiah who will liberate the ridges:
“It was before Agu; in the beginning of things. Murungu brought the man and woman here and
again showed them the whole vastness of the land. He gave the country to them and their
children and the children of the children, tena na tene, world without end. …
“That is a blessed and sacred place. There, where Mumbi’s feet stood, grew up that tree. So you
see, it is Kameno that supported the father and mother of the tribe. From here, Murungu took
them and put them under Mukuruwe wa Gathanga in Muranga. There our father and mother [i.e.
Gikuyu na Mumbi] had nine daughters who bore more children. The children spread all over the

country. Some came to the ridges to keep and guard the ancient rites…”
“You have heard of Mugo wa Kibiro?”

“Yes.”
“He was a seer…he saw things…the future unfolded before his eyes…
“Mugo was born and grew un in Kameno before he went to tell the people what he saw. For he
saw many butterflies, of many colours, flying about over the land, disrupting the peace and the
ordered life of the country. Then he cried aloud and said: “There shall come a people with
clothes like butterflies….”
“We are his offspring. His blood flows in your veins.”…

“You are the last in our line.” (pp18-19)
When sending Waiyaki to Siriana, Chege utters these words: “Arise. Heed the prophecy. Go to
the Mission place. Learn all the wisdom and all the secrets of the white man. But do not follow
his vices. Be true to your people and the ancient rites.” (p20)
His words show his appreciation of the importance of the “white man’s education”.
Chapter six introduces us to new characters and a new scenario. We move over from Kameno to
Makuyu, to Joshua’s household. We first meet Joshua’s two daughters, Nyambura and Muthoni.
They have been strictly raised as Christians by their zealous father. However, while Nyambura
has accepted her father’s teachings, not so Muthoni who wants to be circumcised:
“I have thought and thought again about it. I have not been able to eat or sleep properly. My
thoughts terrify me. But I think now I have come to a decision… Nyambura, I want to be
circumcised.” (p24)
Muthoni’s reasons are that she wants to be initiated into womanhood through the ways of the
tribe. Muthoni thus wants to bring together (or integrate/ marry) in her person the two clashing
cultures: indigenous and acquired. Nyambura who has admitted to some inner guilt over the
issue of circumcision (p23) tries to dissuade her sister to no avail:
“But Father will not allow it. He will be very cross with you. And how can you think of it …
Besides…you are a Christian. You and I are now wise in the ways of the white people…
“Why do you want this? You know this is the devil’s work. You know how he tempts people. You
and I are Christians. Were we not baptised long ago? Are you not now saved from sin?”
“…Look, please, I – I want to be a woman. I want to be a real girl, a real woman, knowing all
the ways of the hills and ridges…
“…it is beautiful, oh so beautiful to be initiated into womanhood. You learn the ways of the
tribe…” (pp25-6)

Further on in Chapter nine Muthoni will echo the same words and sentiments to Waiyaki. In his
portrayal of Muthoni, we see Ngugi showing the culture conflict at the individual level. He uses
the two girls’ conversation or dialogue to dramatise it and show how it is product of the co-
existence of two cultures. Where Nyambura is inwardly guilty for not participating in this yearly
ritual and is remorseful over her “wicked reverie” Muthoni openly expresses her dilemma, “…
the white man’s God’s does not quite satisfy me. I want, I need something more.” (p26)
In Chapter Seven we meet Joshua himself who represents those who have turned their backs on
the ways of the hills and ridges and embraced the new religion and its values. Ngugi uses a
number of devices to indicate the contrast between Joshua and the rest of the people: First he
describes Joshua’s house which is different from the rest: “Joshua’s house was different. His was
a tin-roofed rectangular building standing quite distinctly by itself on the ridge.” (p28)
Ngugi also uses the description of Joshua’s house to symbolically capture the strife that is about
to engulf it because of Muthoni’s rebellion: “The tin roof was already decaying and let in rain
freely, so on top of the roof could be seen little scraps of sacking that covered the very bad
parts.” (p28)
Through this description of rotting and porous roofing Ngugi indicates that all is not well in
Joshua’s house and that something is threatening to explode. He also indicates that the
conversion to Christianity was based on patchy knowledge “scraps of sacking that covered the
very bad parts”. In his portrayal of Joshua’s zeal for Christianity, Ngugi uses irony or its extreme
form, sarcasm, as an effective tool. In this way, Joshua emerges as a caricature, a character who
is mocked to invoke laughter from the reader. The chapter also prepares the ground for the shock
waves that Muthoni’s rebellion will send, a rebellion against such a staunch adherent (Joshua) to
the new faith.
Chapter Eight describes Muthoni’s disappearance from home and Joshua’s reaction to it: “All
right. Let her go back toEgypt. Yes. Let her go back. He, Joshua, would travel on, on to the new
Jerusalem.” (p36)
Chapter Nine shifts to Waiyaki who, soon after the visit to the sacred grove and his second
birth, leaves Kameno for Siriana where he is “equipping himself to come and fight for the tribe”.
(p 38) The chapter focuses on the time when Waiyaki’s return to Kameno coincides with his
participation in the circumcision rites. Muthoni also takes part in this particular circumcision and
is seen defending her rebellion to Waiyaki:
“No one will understand. I say I am a Christian and my father and mother have followed the new
faith. I have not run away from that. But I also want to be initiated into the ways of the tribe…I
want to be a woman. Father and Mother are circumcised. But why are they stopping me, why do
they deny me this? How could I be outside the tribe, when all the girls born with me at the same
time have left me?
“…I want to be a woman made beautiful in the tribe.”
The chapter also describes the week-long activities which culminate with the actual circumcision

rite - the dances and the suggestively erotic songs – “this talk of forbidden things”; “this mad
intoxication of ecstasy and pleasure” - which are part of the initiation into womanhood and
manhood. While Muthoni, despite her isolation from the life of the ridges, exuberantly
participates in all these activities; Waiyaki experiences a degree of estrangement. He doesn’t like
the provocatively erotic songs and dances, the result of the alienating influence of Siriana. But he
has no problem with the actual circumcision as the narrator points out: “…he looked forward to
it. It was his boy’s ambition to test his courage at the ceremony”. (p 39) Waiyaki appreciates the
symbolic aspect of circumcision as a passage from boyhood to manhood, achieved through a
display of manly courage.
Chapter Ten focuses on the actual initiation and the pain the initiates endure. But Muthoni
develops complications. Her illness sharpens the division of the ridges. In order to undergo the
ceremony, she has crossed over to Kameno to live with her estranged aunt. The people of
Kameno see her illness from the wound which has refused to heal as a “father’s curse”. (p 46)
Initially, Muthoni endures her excruciating pain away from the consoling and comforting
presence of her mother and sister as Joshua would not permit them to come and see her. Later
Nyambura secretly visits her after Waiyaki has intervened.
Chapter Eleven describes Muthoni’s death and the different reactions it elicits. First there is
Joshua. Having disowned her when she rebelled – “Tell Muthoni to come back. If she agrees we
shall forget everything. If she does not, then tell her that she ceases to be my daughter.” (p36) –
Joshua receives the news of his daughter’s death “without a sign of emotion on the face.” The
narrator continues to observe:
A slight tremor in the voice when he spoke was the only thing that betrayed him. He did not ask
Miriamu when she died or how Miriamu had learnt of the facts… To him, Muthoni had ceased to
exist on the very day that she had sold herself to the devil. Muthoni had turned her head and
longed for the cursed land. Lot’s wife had done the same thing and she had been turned to stone,
a rock of salt, to be forever a stern warning to others…Anything cursed here on earth would also
be cursed in heaven. Let that be a warning to those who rebelled against their parents and the
laws of God. (p 53)
This lack of emotion together with the condemnatory tone is a contradiction to the true
Christianity of Jesus which taught a doctrine of compassion and restraint from judging others.
Chapter twelve continues to show the different reactions to Muthoni’s death and to highlight the
resultant deepening division:
Like their leader, Joshua’s followers are equally relentless in their condemnation of Muthoni:
“Muthoni was an evil spirit sent to try the faithful. It was now clear to all that nothing but evil
would come out of adherence to tribal customs.” (p 58)
On the other hand, the traditionalists see Muthoni’s death as a curse and a warning to Joshua
along with all those who have deserted their ancestral ways for the new faith :“The death of
Muthoni had clearly shown that nothing but evil would come out of any association with the new
faith”. (p 58)

We are also shown Chege in thought:
Had he not foreseen this drama? Had he not seen the estrangement between father
and daughter, son and father, because of the new faith? This was a punishment to Joshua. It was
also a punishment to the hills. It was a warning to all, to stick to the ways of the ridges, to the
ancient wisdom of the land, to its ritual and song.
Would Joshua listen? Would Kabonyi hearken to the voice of angry Murungu? Chege feared for
them. He feared for those who had embraced strange gods. (54)
These unsympathetic reactions show the deep division in the society. People are no longer
brought close together by tragedy; instead, it pushes them further apart.
There is also the white Siriana missionary and educator, Livingstone, who for him the “death of
Muthoni for ever confirmed the barbarity of Gikuyu customs”. The reason for this is that “these
people seemed only interested in education, while they paid lip service to salvation” (p 55)
Muthoni’s death therefore brings to the fore the simmering tension. It is followed by further
fragmentation:
First, there is a defection among Joshua’s followers when Kabonyi and “many others” break
away amid high-pitched hostilities. Secondly, Siriana Mission expels the “children of those who
defied the laws of the Church and continued with their tribal customs,” and passes the ruling that
“no child of a pagan would again be allowed into school unless the child was a refugee. Even
then the child would have to renounce circumcision”. (p60)
That is when Waiyaki is also forced to leave Siriana.
In Chapter thirteen we see Waiyaki already embarked on the project of self-help schools. The
buildings are simple grass-thatched structures which offer little or short-term protection against
inclement weather. The chapter also depicts the growing tension due to the people’s resentment
against colonial imposition and injustice, felt more keenly in the loss of their ancestral land to the
colonialists. Kinuthia, one of Waiyaki’s two fellow-teachers (the other being Kamau, Kabonyi’s
son) outlines the colonial issue in allegorical or symbolic terms:
Suppose another man …comes in and we offer him hospitality. Suppose after a time he deposes
my father and makes himself the head of the family with a right to control our property. Do you
think he has any right to it …And do you think I am bound by any consideration to obey him?
And if conditions become intolerable, it lies with me to rebel, not only against him but also
against all that is harsh, unfair and unjust. (p64)
It is around this time that the traditionalists form a secret organization, the Kiama, whose
mandate is “to preserve the purity of [our] tribal customs and [our] way of life”. (p65) The action
in this chapter is described against the backdrop of heavy rain, a real downpour or deluge, which

to Waiyaki may assume contradictory roles, for it “could be a blessing or a curse”. (p66) In its
negative aspect, the rain symbolises the loss of the ancestral land to the colonial invaders. The
meaning is conveyed through the rain’s erosive action of washing away the soil.
Chapter fourteen briefly comments on Waiyaki’s growing popularity as a teacher and also the
people’s desire for their children to learn. The events are filtered through Waiyaki’s
consciousness or thoughts. His thoughts touch on such subjects as his reaction to his father
Chege’s death, the role of circumcision in uniting the tribe and defining manhood, “It …was a
something that gave meaning to a man’s life. End the custom and the spiritual basis of the tribe’s
cohesion and integration would be no more”. (p68) Waiyaki also ponders over the pervasive
division in the ridges and of where he himself fits in. The narrator observes that he “felt himself
standing outside all this”. (p69).
The chapter moves on to introduce the love theme wherein Waiyaki is, despite his achievements
as a teacher, shown dissatisfied somehow and restlessness: “He still felt hungry and yearned for
something that would fill him whole, a thing that would take possession of the whole of
himself.” (69)
There is a gaping void which needs to be filled.
The next chapter, Chapter fifteen, pursues the same subject of Waiyaki’s vague longing. For
example, he reflects: “Was life all yearning and no satisfaction?” (p73) He is still in thought,
thinking about a number of subjects such as Muthoni’s death, dying while trying to resolve her
conflicting needs brought about by the co-existence of two cultures. It is now during night and he
is unable to sleep until he decides to take a walk in the moonlit night. His undefined longing or
yearning makes him restless. It is during this moonlit walk towards Honia River that he meets
with Nyambura who is also out walking as she too tries to deal with her own disquieting
thoughts and vague longing. The chapter ends with the two of them making an appointment for
Nyambura to visit Waiyaki’s school.
The reader is left with the feeling that a great romance is about to unfold. At the same time,
though, there is a tragic note struck by the fact that they belong to two sworn enemy camps and
their love may be doomed.
The tragic note is underscored in Chapter sixteen when Kinuthia warns Waiyaki to be careful of
Kabonyi who seems to hate and resent him. Meantime, Kabonyi’s son, Kamau, seems to be
spying on him. These two, father and son, will combine forces to bring Waiyaki down.
Chapter seventeen takes us back to Joshua and his church. Waiyaki is at Joshua’s church and is
listening to the latter’s passionate sermon. Joshua is preaching a powerful and condemnatory
sermon in keeping with his portrayal as a zealous Christian, but without the tender mercies which
should mark out a mature Christian. For example, earlier on in the story when he hears of
Muthoni’s death, he shows very little emotion. In its aftermath, he shows no sign of pain at her
loss; if anything, the narrator comments: “To him she never existed. What had a man of God to
do with the children of the evil one?” (p84)

As Waiyaki listens to Joshua’s preaching, especially its condemnatory aspects –“He talked of
those who had found the light yet now walked not in the light…of those who wanted to walk
their feet on two roads at the same time…[mixing] the two ways” (p86) – Wiayaki wonders
about his own position. His wish is to unite the warring ridges but seemingly, “there was no half-
way house between Makuyu and Kameno”. (p86) At the same time, Waiyaki’s presence in
Joshua’s church stands in contradiction to his father Chege’s injunction that he should “be true to
the tribe and the ancient rites”. (p86) Waiyaki has also been made a member of the Kiama as its
clerk. Its goal is to fight for the preservation of the same “ancient rites” by upholding the “purity
of the tribe and the ridges”. (p87) All these considerations make Waiyaki feel constrained, as if
he is not in control of his own life. What he needs most is freedom to act the way he feels. Most
importantly he needs freedom to pursue his vision of education and unity:
With the little knowledge that he had he would uplift the tribe, yes, give it the white man’s
learning and his tools, so that in the end the tribe would be strong enough, wise enough, to chase
away the settlers and the missionaries. And Waiyaki saw a tribe great with many educated sons
and daughters, all living together, tilling the land of their ancestors in perpetual serenity,
pursuing their rituals and beautiful customs…(p87)
The mention of Kamau shows that Waiyaki’s enemy is following him, noting his every
movement and action which he and his father Kabonyi will use to bring him (Waiyaki) down.
Love for Nyambura will be Waiyaki’s Achilles heels, his weakness or vulnerability, which the
enemy will exploit to full advantage.
In the next chapter, Chapter eighteen, Waiyaki’s vision for unity is outlined:
Every day he was becoming convinced of the need for unity between Kameno and Makuyu. The
ancient rivalry would cripple his efforts in education. He also wanted a reconciliation between
Joshua’s followers and the others. The gulf between them was widening and Waiyaki wanted to
be the instrument of their coming together. (p91)
The chapter also brings together the people of the ridges who converge
to Marioshoni School during parents’ day. It is a day of triumph for Waiyaki who has come to
assume the title of Teacher. But this is also the day when his enemy Kabonyi unmasks himself.
Waiyaki addresses the parents and stresses the importance of education and the need for more
schools. But Kabonyi, incensed by Waiyaki’s growing popularity, stands up to offer a different
vision:
A moment too soon Kabonyi was on his feet. He did not smile but looked defiantly around him.
The battle was on…
He reminded them of the poverty of the land. The dry months had left the people with nothing to
eat…He touched on the land taken by the white man. He talked of the new taxes being imposed
on the people by the Government Post now in their midst. And instead of Waiyaki leading people
against these more immediate ills, he was talking of more buildings. Were people going to be
burdened with more buildings? With more teachers? And was the white man’s education really
necessary? Surely there was another way out. It was better to drive away the white man from the
hills altogether…

“Or do you think the education of our tribe, the education and wisdom which you all received, is
in any way below that of the white man?” (95)
“Do not be led by a youth. Did the tail ever lead the head, the child the father or the cubs the
lion?” (p96)
Kabonyi touches a sore point, the people’s land which has been stolen by the colonial invaders.
In a subtle way he invites the people choose between Waiyaki and himself. However, the people
embrace Waiyaki’s vision and express their absolute trust in him “The Teacher! The Teacher!
We want the Teacher! … Our children must learn. Show us the way. We will follow.” (p96-7)
Kabonyi is of course incensed. That is why he confides in his son, “I could kill him.” (p 97)
Towards the end of the chapter, there is an ominous note, warning of troubles ahead for the now
popular Waiyaki:
If Waiyaki had been fully aware of this faith in him, he might have feared. But he was not. The
idea of education had now come to him like a demon, urging him to go on, do more. Even when
later he was forced by the Kiama in their extravagant enthusiasm to take an oath of allegiance
to the Purity and Togetherness of the tribe, he did not stop to analyse if any danger lurked in
such a commitment. (p 98)
Ultimately, the oath will be invoked against him, to condemn him and bring him down.
In Chapter nineteen we are shown Joshua’s reaction to Waiyaki’s popularity. Since Waiyaki
has become popular through his education drive, Joshua fears that some of his followers might,
in their desire to educate their children, backtrack to the old ways, “the cursed things of the tribe
like circumcision”. To counter such a danger he also builds two schools, one in Makuyu and the
other in Ngenia, for the children of the Christian converts. Joshua also resolves to extend his
preaching and conversion drive to Kameno, “the stronghold of the devil”. (p100) With this open
challenge from Joshua and his followers, hostilities between the two ridges are bound to escalate.
Caught in-between are the lovers, Waiyaki and Nyambura. It is obvious they’re in love and yearn
for each other, but they can only meet secretly. Yet their secret rendezvous are always disturbed
by the secretive and ominous hovering presence of Kamau, Waiyaki’s rival in his love for
Nyambura. It is in this chapter that Waiyaki declares his love to Nyambura and proposes
marriage. But both are conscious of the impossibility of their ever openly coming together,
which leads to Nyambura rejecting Waiyaki’s marriage proposal but reciprocating his love.
Somehow, Waiyaki’s desire for the unity of the ridges, between Joshua’s followers and the
traditionalists, is partly inspired by his wish to have Nyambura.
In Chapter twenty we see the Kiama under Kabonyi’s leadership, assisted by his son Kamau
who has replaced Waiyaki as its clerk, becoming stronger and stronger. It is a movement which
runs parallel to Wiayaki’s call for education. The Kiama calls the people to fight for their land
and the purity of the tribe. It also insists on administering to its members the oath of “allegiance
to the purity of the tribe”. (p 109) To the people’s understanding, “Nobody could break this oath.
Nobody who had taken it would ever betray the tribe.” (pp 109-10) At this point Waiyaki’s

desire for unity, for reconciliation is at odds with the Kiama’s drive. Joshua is regarded as the
enemy because of his Christianity and his siding with the enemy white settler and the
missionary. Furthermore, Waiyaki’s being seen in Joshua’s church and with Joshua’s daughter
is fully exploited by his two sworn enemies to discredit him. At the same time, since the rest of
the people love their Teacher and know that he has taken the oath, they now make him the
symbol of the tribe’s purity. This can only spell disaster for Waiyaki as Kinuthia points out:
“Be careful, Waiyaki. You know the people look up to you. You are the symbol of the tribe, born
again with all its purity. They adore you. They worship you. You do not know about the new
oath. You have been too busy. But they are taking the new oath in your name. In the name of the
Teacher and the purity of the tribe…Your name will be your ruin.” (p 112)
The last statement is prophetic as it ultimately proves true.
In Chapter twenty-one the tension rises to dangerous levels when Joshua confronts Nyambura
about Waiyaki, calling him a “young devil” and threatening her with expulsion from his house.
In response, Nyambura is resentful and angry, for right now there’s a gaping void in her life
which only Waiyaki can fill.
In Chapter twenty-two we are shown the political tension that is building up in the ridges in
reaction to the various manifestations of colonial injustice. The tension is outlined through
Kinuthia’s thoughts:
Yet he wondered if Waiyaki knew that people wanted action now, that the new enthusiasm and
awareness embraced more than the mere desire for learning. People wanted to move forward.
They could not do so as long as their lands were taken, as long as their children were forced to
work in the settled ridges, as long as their women and men were forced to pay hut-tax. (p 118)
According to Kinuthia people are ready to fight for their independence from colonial rule. But
Waiyaki, too preoccupied with his education drive –“We must build schools … and a college, a
great big college…” –misses the people’s mood and this too is a dangerous omission for any
leader. But what really brings Waiyaki down is his love for Nyambura because by pursuing this
love, he unwittingly shows his disregard for the oath of purity which he took so casually without
weighing its dangers, as his mother warns just before being dragged before the Kiama: “Fear the
voice of the Kiama. It is the voice of the people. When the breath of the people turns against you,
it is the greatest curse you can ever get.” (p 123)
In Chapter twenty-three we see Waiyaki before the Kiama. Because his two powerful enemies
are there, we don’t expect him to emerge victorious. Waiyaki is accused of having compromised
the purity of the tribe by touching Muthoni, first a sick and then a dead person; he is also accused
of being a regular in Joshua’s church. His noble trip to Siriana in quest of teachers is also twisted
to be that of a traitor who is in league with the missionaries; his love for Nyambura, which he
considers a strictly private and personal matter is shown as one of the indicators of his being a
traitor, and so on. The chapter shows Waiyaki on the verge of his downfall. It ends with Waiyaki
futilely reiterating his vision:
“I too am concerned about the purity of the tribe. I am also concerned with the growth and
development of the ridges. We cannot do this through hatred. We must be united, Christians and
non-Christians, Makuyu or Kameno. For salvation of the hills lies in our hands.” (p127-8)

It is this vision of a united people, Christian and traditionalist, which propels him to go to
Makuyu to warn Joshua of an impending attack. But his warning falls on deaf ears as Joshua
regards Waiyaki as an enemy who must be resisted with force if necessary: “Go! Go! Out of my
house! So you would come back to entice the only daughter that is left to me. I have never
forgotten what you did to Muthoni.” (p133) Later he evicts Waiyaki with the words, “Get thee
behind me, Satan.” (p136)
Waiyaki is thus rejected by both camps as none wish for reconciliation. He finds the rejection
humiliating and he experiences extreme loneliness, the loneliness of a misunderstood visionary.
In this way he is like his seer ancestor, Mugo wa Kibiro, who too was rejected by his people. To
some extent his father Chege was also rejected. Joshua’s cruel rejection of Waiyaki, the man
Nyambura loves and longs for in the privacy of her inner life – “Joshua could control her body,
but he could not control her heart” – rouses Nyambura to rebellion. She departs with her “black
Messiah”. (p134)
Espied once again by Kamau, Waiyaki’s final destruction is imminent. Faced with his imminent
downfall and finding flight to Nairobi repugnant, Waiyaki tries to fight for his salvation. He
calls for an emergency meeting of the ridges in which he wants to defend his vision. He is thus
shown in Chapter twenty-five in deep reflection. He reflects on Kinuthia’s prophetic words,
“Your name will be your ruin”. (p140) He also reflects about the two contending religions and
mentally outlines his own stand. The narrator comments:
For Waiyaki knew that not all the ways of the white man were bad. Even his religion was not
essentially bad. Some good, some truth shone through it. But the religion, the faith, needed
washing, cleaning away all the dirt, leaving only the eternal. And that eternal that was the truth
had to be reconciled to the traditions of the people. A people’s traditions could not be swept
away overnight. That way lay disintegration. Such a tribe would have no roots, for a people’s
roots were in their traditions going back to the past, the very beginning, Gikuyu and Mumbi. A
religion that took no account of a people’s way of life, a religion that did not recognise spots of
beauty and truths in their way of life, was useless. It would not satisfy. It would not be a living
experience, a source of life and vitality. It would only main a man’s soul…(p141)
On Joshua’s brand of Christianity, Waiyaki continues to reflect:
Perhaps that was what was wrong with Joshua. He had clothed himself with a religion decorated
and smeared with everything white. He renounced his past and cut himself away from those life-
giving traditions of the tribe. And because he had nothing to rest upon, something rich and firm
on which to stand and grow, he had to cling with his hands to whatever the missionaries taught
him promised future. (p141)
On Muthoni’s attempt to reconcile the two ways of life, Christian and tribal, and its tragic
outcome Waiyaki further reflects:
Circumcision of women was not important as a physical operation. It was what it did inside a
person. It could not be stopped overnight. Patience, and, above all, education, were needed. If
the white man’s religion made you abandon a custom and then did not give you something else
of equal value, you became lost. An attempt at a resolution would only kill you as it did
Muthoni. (p142)
The final chapter, Chapter twenty-six, shows Waiyaki fighting a futile war to save himself, his
vision and Nyambura. Although he gets a rousing welcome from the people; although his speech
is enthusiastically applauded, his enemies hold the trump card: they have Nyambura as their
prisoner whom they will produce as evidence of Waiyaki’s betrayal of the tribe. The novel ends
with Waiyaki’s downfall. He and Nyambura are the Kiama’s prisoners, awaiting their sentence.

Note on characterization
As is apparent, this novel has two sets of characters –those that are positively portrayed and
those that are negatively portrayed, as earlier pointed out. Together with the protagonist Waiyaki,
the positively portrayed characters are used by the author as his mouthpiece. In other words it is
through such characters that Ngugi advances his outlook on the issues he raises in this novel.
That is why we need to pay close attention to Waiyaki’s pronouncements on education,
circumcision, Christianity, and so on. Ngugi comes out more clearly in chapter twenty-five
where he defends female circumcision by emphasizing its spiritual value, how it is the girl’s
gateway to womanhood. So that even if it is deemed wrong by others, it should not be changed
overnight. Ngugi is also not wholly against Christianity. Instead, he calls for selective adoption
from both the local culture and the adopted one, introduced through Christianity; he calls for the
recognition of ‘spots of beauty and truth’ in each culture. All this is filtered through Waiyaki’s
thoughts.
Through his portrayal of Joshua, he warns against what he terms the “maiming of a man’s soul”
(p141) as observed in Joshua’s reaction to his daughter’s rebellions. Instead of enriching his soul,
Joshua’s brand of Christianity, based on a superficial and rather crude understanding of the
Bible, has rendered him soul-less, so to speak. He opens his mouth only to condemn; instead of
seeking understanding. His wife Miriamu has managed to put up with him by hiding her true
feelings; instead she shows a superficial or outward conformity.
Some other aspects to note
The portrayal of River Honia: We see both Waiyaki and Nyambura going to this river each time
they experience restlessness. The river is shown to have a calming effect. The river is also
portrayed to emphasise the continuity of life, despite human squabbles, obstacles and so on, the
river goes on with its business of flowing -in the same pace. Life continues, no matter what.
The theme of change: brought about by the advent of colonialism. The change from traditional
to modernity was not smooth. It went through tragic moments, characterised by resistance by
some, acceptance by others, a desire for reconciling the two cultures by yet others, etc.
Use of oral folklore, such as myths, legends, idioms, songs, proverbs and depiction of
customs and rites –both enriches the narrative and legitimises the events-
Use of Biblical allusions –showing Ngugi’s familiarity with the Bible, especially the Old
Testament -
STRUCTURE -Quills of Desire
Divided in 15 Chapters
Divided in 3 parts
Part One- A Future and a Hope
Part Two- Welfare and Evil
Part Three- Light and Darkness

PART ONE (Chapter 1-6)
The novel opens with proverbs by Chambuleni the protagonist’s father. Wiza is being advised on
conduct. My son, life is like a queue. With patience your turn always comes. When that time
comes, you are free to pick what pleases you.
They say look after your neck; the beads to wear around it are as easy to find as the droppings of
a chicken.
These proverbs are central to the plot because all the events revolve around Wiza trying to
operate within the confines of these words, if not, his future and hope are nothing but a tragedy.
These words are not new to Wiza, they are being told for the third time to him.
He is a tall, intelligent, handsome and athletic looking young man in his prime.
Short tempered and his conduct is odd.
He is a Form Five going back to school for his second term of the final year after.
He is ruled by an ambition to be successful-
 A first-class engineering degree

 plus other post graduate professional qualifications
 an illustrious career
These are dreams dep rooted in him from childhood and he finds a role model in his older
brother Kocha. But, his fiery temper and controversial mind makes him prone to trouble.
At Kenneth Kaunda Secondary School (KK), He is generally a likable person.
While others saw Wiza as hardworking and intelligent and looked at his weaknesses as those
common in juveniles, others such as the headmaster and others saw him as a social misfit whose
academic performance was the only positive. Because of this, there are two camps in relation to
Wiza’s existence at the school.
His ach enemies at school thus are the Headteacher and Yona Sumbukeni a prefect
His allies are the Deputy Headteacher and Humphrey a prefect, the headboy and deputy.
HOW WIZA GAINS ENEMIES.
 Yona- over academic performance

 The Headteacher- Over embarrassing a visiting government official

HOW HE GAINS ALLIES
 Saving them in fights- Humphrey and Nonde

 Academic performance and originality of mind- The Deputy headteacher Mr. Stevenson
and class teachers.
 Participation in extra curricula activities- JETS and House maintenance
Wiza hangs on a thread of suspension in school and Yona finds chance to betray him- The Maize
field
His father after prolonged anger comes to his rescue.
PART TWO- Chapter 7- 10
On his return home he finds his father angry and gets news of the letter from the school
Time to reopen draws close but Chambuleni remains sullen and not talking to Wiza until the
results from the school comes.
Things change and Chambuleni who was to write an exculpatory letter together with his son opts
to go in person.
The matter is sorted with courage and determination and Wiza returns to class.
The announcement of the provincial JETS fair being held at KK by Mr. Wignbergen cheers the
mood in the school.
Wiza not interested and engrossed in school and moody as the father had sent him an emotional
letter.
Arrival of the 8th Wonder of the World, Evi.
 Yona declears love to Evi

 A dance at the concert
 Results of the final JETS Fare
 Evi 3rd Place in Biology category
 Wiza the 1st Grand prize with the Aricom
 The last ball dance
 Wiza entangled in the unforeseen with Evi
I. Yona
II. Patrick Sombo
III. Sister Magdalene
IV. The headteacher himself

Wiza expelled from school and lead out of school under police surveillance.
PART THREE (Chapter 11-15)
Wiza does not go back home to Senga Hills, instead, he goes to Lusaka hoping to find
Martin Thole and live there while waiting for Kocha’s return. Or find a job in a bank as a
clerk.
 He could not face his father
 He is guilty of the offence
 He vows to himself to only set his foot in the father’s compound upon completing
Form Five and obtaining a certificate.
However, upon arrival in Lusaka, he learns that Martin had gone abroad. He spends his nights at
intercity bus station where he is arrested during night patrols and spends 2 weeks in cells
He then starts befriending people from bars or restaurant and spend nights at their places
He languishes in the streets and with this kind of life, his physical appearance depreciates
He meets Humphrey in town who comes to study at the University of Zambia. Humphrey
accommodates him at the University for a month but he receives acceptance to go and study in
Spain and so ends the luxury of posing as a student and free meals at the school dining hall.
That is how he goes back into the street and in the squalor of the shanty compounds wandering
about and reflecting for two years four months until he finds a job as a bus conductor.
This was not his kind of life thus upon hearing from Kocha’s mates returning from England that
Kocha would not return that year because of suffering from tuberculosis, Wiza is left with no
option, it breaks him and decides to go back home before;
 Becomes material not fit for further education

 Goes insane
 All die in the city
A Thursday before pay day he visits his favourite places
 Restaurant ‘ No Sweet Without Sweat’

 Then Soweto Bar
He tells Amos the driver after just the first pay that he had stopped work
GOING HOME
His academic dreams still aglow
Received with open arms ‘ a child is like an axe, it will drop from your shoulder and cut your
flesh open but you still pick it up and hung it over your shoulder’ Pg. 119.
6 months after Wiza’s return, Chambuleni leaves the compound smartly dressed and when he
returns, he asks Wiza about his future plans in the presence of Milika. Wiza advances school but
Chambuleni has lost faith in that and proposes him marrying and settling.
Gelina (primary school drop-out)
Chambuleni promises to take care of all the costs and needs
When Wiza learns that his father without consent had sent a siukombe to Yandenge to pay the
nsalamu, the same night he flees. The mother weeps and his father remains moody for months.
He goes to Mpulungu where he lives among fishermen and owners of boats and earns a living
by selling fish. The live here was better that that in the city.
Here, he hopes to get news of Kocha’s return as it is near and often frequents Senga Hills to try
and get wind of Kocha’s return.
On one of his strolls, he meets his brother Chakonta who tells him two letters had come, one for
him (Wiza) and one for his father. He makes arrangement and Chakonta brings him the letter.
The letter shocks him, Kocha has done so well in the degree that the university had offred him a
scholarship for a Masters for two years, thereafter, he would only come for a week or two and go
back for his PhD for another three years.
He fails to write to Kocha as their father had advised all family members not to bother him and
to let him focus on school.
With this happening, Wiza’s life crumbles down and he begins missing home and his family.
Overcome by emotions, he writes a letter to his father telling him that he would be returning
home the next month; he tells the date of return too.
WIZA BACK HOME
When Wiza arrives he finds no one home but a not telling him where to find the keys and food.
When he peeps in the mother’s hut there are a lot of calabashes of Katata, Katubi and other
things. He assumes it could the coming of age of one of his sisters. The following day no one
goes for work and there is an air of festivity.
The next thing he sees are musical instruments, a lot of cooking utensils and the like. He goes to
sleep only to be woken by the laughter of some elderly women near the mothers hut. The air is
full of merry-making.
The his father approaches him looking serious. ‘ He looked sad like a man digging a grave’
Pg.135. Chambuleni hands over a parcel to Wiza, tells him to try it on and tells him ‘tomorrow
morning is your wedding’.
 He tells Wiza, he and Milika had spent sleepless preparing

 He had consulted the gods
 He needed to marry and settle
 Marry a woman like Gelina rooted in tradition and not the jokes of marriages in town.

 The marriage would bring him dignity
 There was no excuse as he was not in school
This development breaks Wiza. He is frustrated and confused but with no way out. He sees her
mother weeping pitifully in support of what his father had said.
Wiza finds himself in the counsel of a strict an no nonsense Siukombe known as Vipingo.
The wedding in progress but his mind failing to connect with reality but instead placing Evi at
the center. He only wakes from this stupor after being called by the Siukombe while at Yandenge
in the midst of lessons
 You sit on a newly curved chair

 The use of charms at weddings
He follows all this like a prisoner and admits everything that Vipingo says.
‘Would he allow things to happen to him that way’ Pgs144-5 ‘a pain stemmed from the back of
his head’
The wedding went as planned and to the happiness of his parents. The following day he was to
go and collect his wife GELINA. Wiza on the contrary is sad. That Sunday evening after the
wedding, unknown to him Kocha arrives, all the attention shifts to Kocha, the greetings inquiries
about this and that etc.
When they had settled, Kocha asks about Wiza. Chambuleni in the presence of Milika narrates
the full story about;
 How Wiza had gone to the city and returned after leaving school
 How and why he could not go back to school
 How he had advanced in age
 The need to help him settle
 The use of some force to get him married and the wedding which just ended yesterday
KOCHA’S REACTION
Kocha expresses pain and disappointment at this but Milika and Chambuleni emphasize the
significance of their decision to help him settle. The responsibility of a wife a children would
tame him.
Everyone is where Kocha is save Wiza, there is a little argument that he might have gone on a
stroll but this is cleared when the small boys Muzeya and Lunga go to his hut, they report that he
is there and no sooner had Kocha stood to go and greet him from the hut than he appeared
looking scruffy like one that had slept at a funeral.
He joins the group but merely exchanged greetings with Kocha and kept quiet. When the girls go

to prepare supper, shortly Wiza retires to bed saying he would not join them for supper and
would eat the following day.
Kocha and Chakonta would share a room, Wiza would not share a room with them as he was
now a married man. His wife would be joining him tomorrow.
KOCHA’S RESOLUTION
Kocha ponders over the matter and is determined to intervene, he would not go for the MPhil but
get a job, live with Wiza until he had completed school and the help him get to university after
which he would get a job and marry a woman of his choice.
When he wakes up in the morning, Wiza has hanged himself in the itanda. The family is in shock
at the turn of events. The body still hanging awaiting Saini Chundu a medicine man to come and
bring down the body. This is a taboo that the homestead had never witnessed.
Wiza is buried unceremoniously without morning openly as his death is a taboo. Alone, Kocha
goes to the hurriedly dag and buried grave to pay his last respects in deep sorrow.
He blames himself for not having seen it coming and focusing so much on his schooling and
neglecting his brother. The same evening, he packs his luggage and heads to Senga Hills.
THEMES
FEAR: CHAMBULENI FEARS FOR HIS SON. HE HIS HAUNTED BY FEAR OF FAILURE OF HIS
SON. WIZA ON THE OTHER HAND IS HAUNTED BY THE FEAR OF FAILURE AND OF
DISAPPOINTING HIS FATHER
SOCIAL CLASSES: THROUGHOUT THE NOVEL, THE AUTHOR BRINGS TO LIGHT THE ISSUE OF
SOCIAL CLASSES AS CAN BE SEEN FROM QUESTION DURING THE MINISTER’S PRESENTATION
WHY NON OF THE MINISTERS’ DAUGHTERS AND SONS ATTENDING SCHOOLS IN RURAL
AREAS.
BETRAYAL: WIZA ENDS UP TAKING HIS OWN LIFE BECAUSE HE FELT BEATRAYED BY HIS
OWN PEOPLE MORE ESPECIALLY HIS FATHER. WIZA FEELS HIS FATHER SHOULD HAVE
SUPPORTED HIM WHEN HE IS EXPELLED FROM SCHOOL.
AMBITION: WIZA IS AN AMBITIOUS YOUNG MAN AND HE IS DRIVEN BY THIS AMBITION TO

BE SUCCESSFUL. FAILURE TO ACHIEVE HIS AMBITION AND THE PRESSURE OF HIS
DEMANDING FATHER LEADS WIZA TAKING HIS LIFE.
JUVENILE DELINQUENCY- WIZA’S HOT-TEMPER LEAVES HIM VULNERABLE TO TROUBLE. HE

IS EXPELLED FROM SCHOOL BECAUSE OF HIS YOUTHFUL DECISION OF TAKING EVI OUT AND
NOT RETURNING IN GOOD TIME FOR THE ROLL CALL. WIZA AND EVI JUST SOWED SOME
“WILD OATS” MR DASGUPTA REFERS TO WIZA AS A SOCIAL MISFIT WHOSE GOOD ACADEMIC
PERFORMANCE IS JUST ENOUGH TO COMPENSATE FOR HIS DELINQUENCY.
FAILURE TO MANAGE EXPECTATIONS: WIZA TAKES HIS LIFE BECAUSE HE IS UNABLE TO

MANAGE THE WEIGHT OF EXPECTATIONS ON HIM. HE WANTS TO CONTINUE WITH

EDUCATION WHILE HIS FATHER EXPECTS HIM TO SETTLE AND MARRY GELINA. THE
DIFFERENCE IN POINT OF VIEWS LEADS TO WIZA TAKING HIS LIFE.
HATRED: WIZA HATES THE HEADTEACHER MR DASGUPTA AND THINKS HE EXPELLS HIM
BECAUSE HE DOES NOT LIKE HIM. YONA REPORTS WIZA TO THE SCHOOL AUTHORITIES THAT
HE IS THE ONE WITH EVI BECAUSE OF THE ILL RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE TWO. SAILASI
MUTONO ALSO HATES WIZA BECAUSE OF THE TREATMENT HE SUFFERS AT THE HANDS OF
WIZA AND HIS FRIENDS.
HOPE: WIZA’S TO EMAULATE HIS BROTHER KOCHA WHO IS STUDYING IN THE UNITED
KINGDOM. HIS FATHER CHAMBULENI HOPES THAT HIS SON WIZA WILL FOLLOW IN THE
FOOTSTEPS OF HIS ELDER BROTHER KOCHA. CHAMBULENI HOPES FOR THE BEST FOR HIS
CHILDREN. BECAUSE OF HIS GOOD ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE IN JUNIOR SECONDARY GIVES
HIM HOPE OF DOING EXACTLY LIKE WHAT HIS BROTHER KOCHA. HIS FATHER LOSES HOPE
WHEN HIS SON WIZA IS EXPELLED FROM SCHOOL. HE DECIDES MARRYING IS THE BEST FOR
WIZA.
Themes
I. Fear (motif)
II. Superstition
III. Killing that which you love
IV. Ambition
V. Fate
VI. Male Domination
VII. Betrayal
VIII. Racial Discrimination
IX. Alienation
The Government Inspector
PLOT SUMMARY
Act l
The play is set in a small town in provincial Russia, in the 1830s. Act 1 takes place in a room in
the governor’s house. The governor has called together the town’s leading officials—including
the judge, the superintendent of schools, the director of charities, the town doctor, and a local
police officer—to inform them that a government inspector is due to arrive from Saint

Petersburg. The governor explains that this government inspector is to arrive “incognito” with
“secret instructions” to assess the local government and administration of the town. The
governor, in a panic, instructs his officials to quickly cover up the many unethical practices and
general corruption of the local town authorities. The brothers Bobchinsky and Dobchinsky, two
local landowners, rush in to inform the governor and his officials that they have seen the
government inspector staying at the local inn. As the governor is leaving to greet the “Very
Important Person” at the inn, his wife and his daughter, Marya, enter, asking about the inspector.
Act 2
Act 2 takes place in Hlestakov’s room at the inn. Ossip, the middle-age servant of Hlestakov,
muses that his master, a young man of about twenty-three years, is a government clerk of the
lowest rank, who has lost all of his money gambling, and is unable to pay his bill for two weeks’
food and lodging at the inn. The governor enters, assuming that Hlestakov is indeed the
government inspector. He offers to show Hlestakov the local institutions, such as the prison,
whereupon Hlestakov thinks he is being arrested for not paying his bill. The confusion continues,
however, until the governor invites Hlestakov to stay at his home, and the young man goes along
with this apparent generosity without understanding that he is being mistaken for someone else.
Act 3
Act 3 takes place in the governor’s house. The governor’s wife and daughter are eagerly awaiting
the arrival of the government inspector. Hlestakov and the governor enter, the governor having
given him a tour of the hospital and a hearty meal. Finally catching on that he is being mistaken
for a high-ranking government official, Hlestakov launches into an elaborate fantasy of his
luxurious and privileged life in Saint Petersburg. When Hlestakov retires to his room in the
governor’s house, the governor’s wife and daughter bicker over which of them he was flirting
with.
Act 4
Act 4 also takes place in the governor’s house. The governor sends in each of his town officials
to give Hlestakov as much money as he asks of them. The governor hopes this bribe money will
keep Hlestakov from reporting them to the officials in Saint Petersburg. Hlestakov makes the
most of this opportunity, asking each man for increasingly extravagant amounts of money. When
they have all left, Hlestakov writes a letter to his friend, Tryapichkin, in Saint Petersburg,
describing the situation for the sake of amusement. A group of local shopkeepers arrive to speak
to Hlestakov regarding the extensive corruption and bribery that takes place on the part of the
governor. When they have left, Hlestakov proceeds to flirt with Marya, the governor’s daughter;
however, the minute she leaves the room, he flirts with the governor’s wife. But, when Marya
walks in to find Hlestakov pleading his love to the governor’s wife, he immediately proposes
marriage to her (Marya). When the governor enters, he does not initially believe Hlestakov has
proposed marriage to his daughter, but he is soon convinced. At this point, Ossip enters, having
made plans for Hlestakov to leave the town as quickly as possible, before his deception is
discovered. Hlestakov tells the governor and his wife and daughter that he is leaving town for
only a few days, but he will return soon to marry Marya.

Act 5
Act 5 continues in the governor’s house. The governor and his wife boast of the luxurious and
privileged life they will lead in Saint Petersburg once their daughter has married this high-
ranking official. The postmaster arrives, having intercepted and read Hlestakov’s letter to his
friend in Saint Petersburg, revealing that he has deceived the entire town, and cheated them out
of large sums of money. Calling himself an “idiot,” the governor wonders that he could have
been so foolish as to mistake the young man for “an illustrious personage.” At this point, the
governor turns to the theater audience and utters the famous line, “What are you laughing at?
You are laughing at yourselves.” Just then, a gendarme (a soldier who serves as an armed police
force) enters with the announcement that the real “inspector authorized by the Imperial
government” has arrived, and awaits the governor at the inn. The play ends with a famous
“tableau vivant,” in which each character remains frozen in a posture of surprise and fear upon
the announcement that the real government inspector has arrived.
CHARACTERS
Anna Andreyevna
Anna Andreyevna is the governor’s wife. In his notes on the characters, Gogol describes her as
“still tolerably young, and a provincial coquette,” who “displays now and then a vain
disposition.” Her concern with appearance is indicated by the stage direction that “she changes
her dress four times” during the play. The governor’s wife flirts shamelessly with Hlestakov.
When he informs her of his engagement to Marya, she approves, imagining the benefits she will
enjoy in Saint Petersburg as a result of the marriage.
Bobchinsky
Bobchinsky, along with his brother Dobchinsky, is a landowner in the town. In his notes
describing the characters, Gogol states that the brothers are “remarkably like each other.” They
are both “short, fat, and inquisitive. wear short waistcoats, and speak rapidly, with an excessive
amount of gesticulation.” Gogol distinguishes them by noting that “Dobchinsky is the taller and
steadier, Bobchinsky the more free and easy, of the pair.”
Dobchinsky
Dobchinsky, along with his brother Bobchinsky, is a landowner in the town. It is Bobchinsky and
Dobchinsky who first see Hlestakov at the inn and mistake him for the government inspector.
They immediately run to tell the governor that the government inspector has arrived, thus
initiating the case of mistaken identity that propels the entire play.
The Governor
The governor of the town has the most to fear from the arrival of the government inspector
because he has the most power of anyone in the town and is the most corrupt. In his notes on the
characters, Gogol describes the governor as “a man who
Has grown old in the state service,” who “wears an air of dignified respectability, but is by no
means incorruptible.” When Hlestakov announces that he has become engaged to the governor’s
daughter, the governor immediately indulges himself in fantasies of the luxurious, high status life
he will enjoy in Saint Petersburg as a result.
Hlestakov
Hlestakov, also spelled Khlestakov, is a young man of about twenty-three. He is a government

clerk of the lowest rank and is traveling through the small town accompanied by his servant,
Ossip. Hlestakov has lost all of his money gambling and is unable to pay his food and lodging
bill at the inn. The people of the town mistake him for the government inspector, who was set to
arrive there incognito to check up on the workings of the local government. Hlestakov at first
thinks the governor intends to arrest and imprison him for not paying his bill but eventually
realizes that he is being treated as an honored guest of the town. Hlestakov makes the most of
this opportunity, weaving elaborate lies about his life in Saint Petersburg, gorging himself at a
feast they have provided, milking the local government officials for all of the bribery money he
can, and offering a false proposal of marriage to the governor’s daughter. Hlestakov leaves town
just before a letter posted to his friend and revealing his chicanery is intercepted and read by the
town’s postmaster—who brings it before the governor. By this time, Hlestakov is far gone; he is
out of reach of any revenge that the townspeople may have wished to exact upon him. Gogol
insisted that the character of Hlestakov is not calculatingly deceitful but an opportunist, merely
making the most of the case of mistaken identity into which he has fallen.
Marya
Marya is the governor’s daughter. She and her mother rush to the inn to meet the reputed
government inspector. She responds to Hlestakov’s flirtations and accepts his marriage proposal.
Hlestakov, however, flees the town, telling her that he will return in several days to get her, but
he has no intention whatsoever of doing so or of following up on his proposal.
Ossip
Ossip is Hlestakov’s servant. Gogol describes him as a middle-aged man who “is fond of arguing
and lecturing his master.” Gogol notes that Ossip is cleverer than Hlestakov and “sees things
quicker.” Ossip muses aloud to himself, informing the audience of Hlestakov’s true identity and
destitute financial circumstances. Ossip wisely hurries Hlestakov out of the town as soon as
possible, fearing that his deception will soon be found out.
Postmaster
The postmaster is described as “an artless simpleton.” He abuses his station by opening and
reading the letters of others, occasionally keeping those that he finds most interesting. His role is
minor, but key to the plot, because he intercepts Hlestakov’s letter to his friend, which reveals
that Hlestakov is not the government inspector.

THEMES
Russian Bureaucracy
As was readily apparent to Gogol’s contemporaries, The Government Inspector is a satire of the
extensive bureaucracy of nineteenth-century Russian government. According to D. J. Campbell,
writing in the forward to the The Government Inspector, Gogol once stated that “In
the Government Inspector I tried to gather in one heap all that was bad in Russia.” Through the
regular practices of “bribery and extortion,” according to Beresford in his introduction to
Gogol’s The Government Inspector: A Comedy in Five Acts, most public officials “tyrannized
over the local population” of Russian towns. Beresford goes on to characterize Russia under the
yoke of this vast bureaucratic system: “The whole of this immense empire was strangled by red
tape, cramped by administrative fetters, and oppressed by a monstrous tyranny of paper over
people.” Nigel Brown in his Notes on Nikolai Gogol’s The Government Inspector states that,
in The Government Inspector, “Gogol was the first Russian writer to examine the realities of the
official world in literature, exposing it to hilarious satire.” In Gogol’s play, Hlestakov, the young
man mistaken for the government inspector, belongs to the lowest of fourteen possible levels
within the hierarchy of the Russian civil service. The fact that he successfully poses as a public
official occupying a much higher level in the bureaucracy thus demonstrates both the ignorance
of the townspeople he has duped, and his own sense of self-importance. The chaotic atmosphere
of the office of the governor in the opening scene immediately establishes the image of small
town Russian bureaucracy as ridiculously inefficient and unprofessional. Nothing of any value
seems to get accomplished by the masses of paper and the proliferation of characters holding
official government titles. The lack of communication between the small town and the
government center in Saint Petersburg also indicates that the Russian bureaucracy was so
geographically extensive there was no means of regulating the behavior of civil servants or the
effectiveness of local government offices.
Corruption
All of the public officials in the town are thoroughly corrupt. The judge “openly admits to taking
bribes”; the postmaster indiscriminately opens and reads letters addressed to others; and the
police are drunken, brawling, and given to flogging women. Most corrupt of all is the highest
ranking official of the town, the governor: he regularly takes bribes, spends money allotted to the
building of a church for his own purposes, and seizes money from the local shopkeepers. In
satirizing the corruption within the Russian bureaucracy, Gogol addressed more universal themes
of human corruption. Beresford asserts that the play is “an attack on all forms of moral depravity,
of which bribery and corruption are but examples.” Because of this universal theme, Beresford
insists that, “Gogol’s play is thus as relevant to the world of the twentieth century as it was to its
own time, and it points to a perennial evil of civilized societies.” In essence, according to
Deception and Self-deception
The Government Inspector is a story of deception and self-deception. The towns people deceive
themselves into believing that Hlestakov is the government inspector, whereupon Hlestakov
takes advantage of the case of mistaken identity, further extending the deception to his own

advantage. Hlestakov takes such a liking to his assumed role that he almost appears to be
convinced by his own deception, imagining himself to be the venerable high official he pretends
to be. The townspeople attempt to deceive the government inspector as to the true corruption
within the local government, but find that they have only deceived and cheated themselves in the
process. Beresford comments that Gogol made use of the plot motif of mistaken identity “to
reveal a fundamental state of chaos in human life.” Beresford continues,
It is no accident that the plot of most of his works hinges on a deception, because for him
deception was at the very heart of things. He saw human beings as enmeshed in a web of
confusion and deceptions, misled not only by appearances but also by their own delusions and
lies.
FOR PAPER TWO WHICH COVERS SEVEN (7) DIFFERENT TEXTS.

CANDIDATES NEED TO SHOW:
1. KNOWLEDGE OF THE TEXT
2. GOOD COMMAND OF THE LANGUAGE
3. SHAPE THEIR ANSWER TO THE DEMANDS OF THE QUESTION
HERE IS AN EXAMPLE OF A PAPER AND A MARKING SCHEME
1. There are seven questions in this paper

2. Each of the seven questions has two parts clearly indicated “either” and “or”. You will
answer only one indicated either (i) or (ii) and not both questions for each of the three
books
3. Answer only three questions from three different books.
INFORMATION FOR CANDIDATES
All questions in this paper carry equal marks. Each answer is marked out of 20.
Cell phones are not allowed in the examination room.
Notes, book summaries and textbooks are not allowed in or near the examination room.
1. NGUGI: The River Between
Either (i) Discuss the theme of ‘conflict’ in the text, “The River Between” at the level of
individuals.
Or (ii) Indeed River Honia is ‘The River Between.’ With evidence from the text, show the
validity of this statement.
LITERATUTRE IN ENGLISH PAPER TWO – 2011/2

MARKING SCHEME
Either
- There are a number of “conflict” in the novel candidates are restricted to individual
conflicts
- Individual level
- Candidates may cite the following:
The Conflict between Chege and Kabonyi
- Chege claimed to be the custodian of the history of the people and was in lineage of the
heroes and heroine of the people
- Waiyaki was the last of the seers
- Kabonyi has claim to this and he contends with Chege
- He even changes camps- going to the christian camp in trying to enhance his claim to
superiority over Chege
The claim to authority between Waiyaki and Kamau
- One has natural attributes to leadership and the other wants to assume power
- Kamau is defeated on two occasions by Waiyaki
- Further, Waiyaki even wins the heart of Nyambura whom Kamau admired
Joshua and Kabonyi
- One championed the views and values of the traditions of the Kiguyu (Kabonyi) and the
other (Joshua) the Christian faith. Candidates may cite Chege in this discussion
- Candidates may also cite the following conflicts
- Waiyaki and Kabonyi
- Waiyaki and Joshua
- Joshua and Nyambura
- Joshua and Muthoni
[Mark 7:7:7 or as a whole out of 20]
Or
- The River Honia is indeed the river between Makuyu and Kameno
- To start with, the River Honia separates the two ridges of Makuyu and Kameno
- The two ridges stand as two great ridges facing each other and ready to go to war
- Kameno is predominantly traditional and practices rituals such as second birth,
circumcision
- Circumcision takes place here and the residents feel proud of their ancestry – Gikuyu and
Mumbi
- Makuyu on the other hand has embraced Christianity and is the home of Christians
- This means both people and animals must cross the River Honia to get to the other ridge,

but it is important that the river also provides a life line for the two ridges
- The people of Makuyu and Kameno have the same ancestors Gikuyu and Mumbi
- They speak the same language
- If River Honia had not been there, there would have been only one village
- Because of this river, we have now two villages namely Makuyu and Kameno
- This river unites the two villages. They draw their water and perform circumcision rites
and baptism from this same river
- Apart from uniting them, it has also created some division. Because of this river the two
villages fight for leadership. Each village claims leadership belongs to them
- Even when Christianity is brought to these ridges, it does not bridge the gap, the
difference is very clear. Makuyu is predominantly Christian while Kameno is mainly
traditionalists
- Indeed Honia is the River Between
[Mark as a whole out of 20]
1. P’BITEK: Song of Lawino
Either (i) From your knowledge of the text ‘Song of Lawino give a
clear and precise character description of Ocol.
 Ocol is Lawino’s husband and a girlfriend Clementine
 He is educated and arrogant hence
 He follows western culture
 He overlooks and betrays his own culture
 Describes black people as primitive beings and
 Their ways are harmful and
 Dances performed by them are mortal sins.
 He says blacks are poor, ignorant and diseased
 He is an hypocritical politician as leader of the D.P
 He preaches unity but is in conflict with his brother for U.P.C party.
 He is a Christian who believes that African names are for pagans

Or (ii) In the last chapter of ‘Song of Lawino’, Lawino gives a piece
of advice to her husband Ocol on what to do in order to
retain his African dignity and personality which he has lost to
the western world. Clearly outline the steps that Lawino
advises Ocol to consider.
 Ocol needs treatment to get rid of his disease.
 She recommends physical remedies. The shyness he ate in church
must be-
 Cleaned out by traditional foods and herbs
 She advises her husband to buy Clementine clothes, beads and
perfumes.
 His ears blocked by the things he has heard from the teacher and the
priest must be cleaned.
 His eyes behind the dark glasses are blind and must be opened.
 His tongue is dirty with insults and must be cleaned.
 Ocol must beg for forgiveness from elders, ancestors and seek
blessings from elders.
Either (i) From your study of the text the River Between, discuss
reconciliation as one of the themes in the ‘River Between’ in
relation to Waiyaki and Nyambura’s vision.
 In a vision, he sees commitment and need for reconciliation.

 He discovers that evil is happening to him because he has delayed his
reconciliation with the people.
 To achieve reconciliation, Waiyaki visits the sacred grove of the hills.
 He realises he is fighting a sacred force he does not understand
 Not even Nyambura’s can make him happy.
 He notices that his efforts are unguided
 There is need to reconcile the region
 Nyambura’s hope for reconciliation begins with her earlier refusal to
marry Waiyaki -
 She makes up her mind
 She recognises the challenges of blind obedience
 She must escape and seek a religion of love and forgiveness
 She removes herself from the dehumanizing father
 She walks with Waiyaki in front of her father
Or (ii) Muthoni’s death is very significant to the development of the
book The River Between. Show to what extent Joshua is
responsible towards the death of Muthoni. In your opinion,
prove the level of barbarism of the traditional religion in the
River Between.
 Circumcision is viewed as the one of most important traditional rituals
 It is the circumcision of Muthoni that sparks up conflict among the
Christians in Sirriana school and those who follow traditional beliefs
 Muthoni decides to be circumcised by defying father’s orders

 She suffers complications after circumcision and eventually dies from
the wound
 Her death sparks calamity between Makuyu Christians and Kameno
rivals
 Sirriana school makes more strict denouncements
 Joshua shows no emotions at the death of her daughter on his face
 He feels Muthoni is cursed on earth and so she is in heaven
 The death of Muthoni deepens the rift further between the two rivals
 On the other hand, the Kikuyu people see the death as a punishment
from Murungu and hills
 Chege concludes that Muthoni’s death is due to Joshua’s betrayal of
the tribe
2. Arrow of God
Either (i)
Umuaro village in place of the Ulu cult.
 There is conflict in the Igbo culture leading to loss of confidence in the
traditional religion
 People don’t feel the protection and see Ulu’s intervention into their
suffering
 The Christian God of the white man is seen to be more powerful than
Ulu
 The sacred python cannot be worshiped as it is viewed as a creature
of curse by a Christian God according to the book of Genesis

 Ulu cult is generally seen as an evil religion
 Ezeulu’s refusal to announce the new yam festival and eat the first
pumpkin leaves give the Missionaries chance to denounce the
traditional gods
 Whites force the ceremony to be held under the name of god from
the Bible
 When no punishment is seen from Ulu after this act, confidence in the
traditional gods is greatly undermined.
Or (ii) Explore the theme of revenge in the text and its effects in the
land dispute as well as on Ezeulu the Chief priest of Ulu.
 Umuaro sends an emissary to Okperi with intent to start war
 The emissary ends in his own death
 When Okperi fails to send a courtesy message, Umuaro must respond
by starting the war
 Just as entire regions seek revenge, individuals also seek satisfaction
for real or perceived wrongs
 Ezeulu seeks revenge on people of Umuaro-
 Who fail to give him proper respect as the Priest of Ulu
 Ezeulu’s revenge results in famine
 Eventually it causes the demise of his own deity
3. SINYANGWE: Quills of Desire

Either (i) To what extent would you agree with the assertion that Wiza is
responsible for his own downfall?
 They are both envious of each other
 Both are temperamental i. e Yona books Wiza for being out of bounds
without consideration of his status in school
 Both are confrontational
 Wiza is very ambitious and highly intelligent while Yona is average
 Yona has growing hate which makes him less popular among his peers
 Wiza is compassionate
 Yona has a better bite of the cake
 He receives more support from most of the teachers than Wiza
 Yona is liked by the head teacher for the duties he performs
 Yona is full of self-praise and-
 He is very uncompromising
Or (ii) Mr. Chambuleni is one parent that every child dreams to have
yet he is not short of negative character traits. Show from your
understanding of the text Quills of Desire the negative and
positive aspects of the character of Mr. Chambuleni.
 Wiza's failure is in two fold. He and external forces contribute
 He makes unwise choices
 In early grades, he is expressing desire for girls as he proposes the
Head teachers daughter at Polo school

 The head teacher at Polo reports him to his father which creates a rift
between Wiza and his father
 He is into picking fights with those around him
 He is a source of complaints in the community and an embarrassment
to his father
 His relationship with the majority of his teachers is sour
 At Kenneth Kaunda Secondary School he angers the Minister with his
seemingly support for juvenile delinquency.
 The Minister resolves to have the boy punished through the school
Administration
 The encounter further deepens the rift between him and the Head
teacher
 At school, he also picks quarrels with prefects for example Yona
Sumbukeni who vows to teach him a lesson throughout his stay at
school
 He is caught in the free zone but hatefully Yona Sumbukeni reports him
to have in the School main field
 He caught with a girl in the Sickbay
 When he is expelled, he does not go to his father but opts to go to
Lusaka a decision which affects him because he ends up on the
streets
 While in Lusaka, he makes bad friends who further contribute to his
failure
 When life becomes unbearable in Lusaka, he goes to Mpulungu

where he interacts with fishermen who do value education
 He finally goes back to his father having lost hope of his brother’s
return
 His father forces him to marry
 He eventually commits suicide because of the marriage he has been
forced into
4. GOGOL: The Government Inspector
Either (i) When Hlestakov is invited to stay at the Mayor’s house, he tells
a few fibs. Give an account of the fibs that Hlestakov tells at
the Mayor’s house.
 The evil and moral corruption is practised by the mayor and his cronies
 They do crooked things when they hear that the government will
come incognito
 Hlestakov is another character who is corrupt and evil
 He charged large hot bills pretending to be the government inspector
when in fact-
 He is an impoverished civil servant
 He is treated with dignity and respect
 He accepts generous bribes from town officials
 He is given a house by Mayor and later proposes to the Mayor’s wife
Mary and Anna his daughter
 The postmaster is deceiving because he opens the mails and reads
them as form of entertainment.

 Mary is evil and corrupt because she flirts with Hlestakov thinking that
he has power and money
 Anna’s mind is corrupted because she thinks she will be married to a
high ranked government inspector
Or (ii) When the town officials learn of the visit of a government official
from Petersburg to inspect their town they grow cold feet
because of their little failings. Discuss the little failings which
these officials have which make them be scared to learn of
the visit of the Inspector General from Petersburg.
 We run about greed and selfish leaders
 Evil minded and corrupt town leaders are punished resulting in-
 The restoration of town’s neatness and cleanliness
 Everything has its own time. Evil doers will pay for their deeds at a
particular time
 The lives of people are certain to improve because there would be
equality
 With the arrival of the Government inspector, punitive measures are
taken on the evil official
 Leaders can abuse power through all vices like corruption, violation of
human rights but one day the long arm of the law will definitely visit
them
 It is better to be trusted and be prudent when performing duties as a
leader

 We also learn about the power of money to bribe and buy favours
from people
5. SHAKESPEAR: Romeo and Juliet
Either (i) Discuss the character of Romeo and his infatuation with
Rosaline. Does this weaken the credibility of the love he feels
for Juliet?
 In the feud of two great families, two of the Capulets servants are
ready to pick a quarrel-
 The very moment they meet two of Montague’s men
 They insult each other like children
 Sampson tells Abraham that he serves as a good master as Abraham
 He changes the statement when he notices a Capulet of fiery temper
approaching
 They begin to fight using swords
 As the fighting continues, one of the citizenry and an officer tries to
stop the fight
 Prince Escalus intervenes into the fight
 He commands all those fighting to quit
 He admits there have been several street fights between the Capulets
and Montagues.
 He threatens punishment of victims of such fights in future
Or (ii) Juliet's suitor Paris is compared throughout the play to Romeo.

Examine carefully the similarities and differences between
the two young men who love Juliet.
 The prince is shown the three bodies
 Lady Capulet is ready to die of sorrow as she sees her daughter newly
dead
 Montague’s wife has died in grieving for her son
 The Prince points out what punishment come upon Capulet and
Montague
 Their children who should have been the joy of their old age lie dead
 Capulet takes the hand of Montague, as he would have gladly joined
Juliet’s hand to Romeo
 Montague promises to build Juliet a statue
 Capulet also promises to pay a statue in gold for Romeo
 At last the feud is healed
7. GOLDING: Lord of the Flies
Either (i) Identify the most significant symbol in the novel and justify your
choice.
 Jack exploits the boys' fear of the beast to usurp leadership from Ralph-
 who stresses a rational approach to the presumed evil presence on the
island
 Within Jack's tribe, the beast continues to have a powerful –
 symbolic and political significance among the boys-

 Uniting them and ensuring their loyalty to Jack's leadership.
 When Jack first attempts to break away from Ralph's tribe-
 his authority is not recognized,
 but as the boys' fear of the beast increases, an increasing –
 Number defect from Ralph's group to Jack’s where the existence of the
beast is not only acknowledged but is a central fact of day-to-day life.
Or (ii) Compare and contrast Ralph and Simon. Both seem to be
good characters. Is there a difference in their goodness?
 The Cold War was primarily between the democratic U.S. and its allies on the
one hand,
 and the communist U.S.S.R. and its allies on the other hand.
 The initial events of the novel, following a group of boys in the aftermath of a
terrible nuclear war-
 reflect and capitalize on widespread anxiety about the arms race for
destructive atomic weapons.
 Ralph comes to represent the West and its values, while Jack comes to
QUESTIONS FROM PAPER ONE
SECTION A: Literary Terminologies and Devices.
Read the poem below carefully and answer as concisely as possible the questions
that follow.
Grey Hair’s Word
By

Sinyangwe Monde
Age is sign of generations as sweat is a sign of endurance,

Age sharpens experiences into knowledge and wisdom.
Grey hair is rare and not mere hair but a sign of eras gone,
Grey hair must have a foot in your life for you to live long.
When an old man says you are stepping on fire just listen,
Well educated or uneducated, age is pure just sheepishly listen,
The consequences of every action can be thwarted by this grey hair,
The grey hair is no novice but veteran and smells every end in the air.
An old man may miss his target with a stone but not a word,
An old man may miss his target with a stick but never a word,
An old man is as a seer and never misses when he says a word,
An old man can tell who will surely grow Grey hair, mark his word.
As slow as a snail with the face as wrinkled as corrugated iron sheets,
As humble as sheep but his words golden and older than the Earth,
Only a fool will despise the words of a sage and await misery on Earth,
Only a fool sees mediocrity in a sage as others see a shield of iron sheets.
1. Define a simile. Give three examples of similes from the poem above. [4]
 A simile is a comparison of two different things using phrases such as ‘as’
or ‘like’
Examples:
- As slow as a snail
- As humble as sheep
- face as wrinkled as corrugated iron sheets
2. What is the mood of the poem? [2]
 Sober

 Earnest
 Serious
3. One of the characteristics of poetry is repetition. Explain why poets use
repetition in poetry? [1]
 Repetition is used to emphasize a feeling or idea, create rhythm, and/or
develop a sense of urgency.
4. Define hyperbole and pick two examples from the poem. [3]
 Hyperbole, from a Greek word meaning "excess," is a figure of speech
that uses extreme exaggeration to make a point or show emphasis. It is
the opposite of understatement.
 In literature, hyperbole is often be used to show contrast or catch the
reader's attention.
 E.g. golden and older than the Earth,
- An old man may miss his target with a stone but not a word,
5. ‘When an old man says you are stepping on fire just listen’ this is a metaphorical
expression.
Explain what a metaphor is and identify two examples of metaphors from the
poem above? [3]
 A Metaphor is a figure of speech that makes an implicit, implied, or
hidden comparison between two things that are unrelated, but which
share some common characteristics.
 In other words, a resemblance of two contradictory or different objects is
made based on a single or some common characteristics.
 E.g.
- Age is a sign of generation

- Sweat is a sign of endurance.
6. In poetry explain what rhyme scheme is. What type of rhyme scheme is used in
stanza two? [3]
 A rhyme scheme is the pattern of rhymes at the end of each line of a
poem or song. It is usually referred to by using letters to indicate which
lines rhyme; lines designated with the same letter all rhyme with each
other.
 AA and BB
7. What is imagery and name the type of imagery used in line thirteen of this
poem? [3]
 Imagery is the use of concrete words that appeal to the five human
senses.
 Imagery of sight or visual
 Imagery of touch or tactile.
8. The poem above is made up of four stanzas. What is the poem made up of
four stanzas called? [1]
 A four line stanza is a quatrain, [and a five line stanza is a quintet. Two
other common lengths are a sestet, six lines; and an octave, eight lines.
For instance, you might break a fourteen line poem into three quatrains
and a couplet or into an octave and a sestet].
[Total: 20]
SECTION B: Context Questions [20 Marks]

SECRETARY: I have Kongi’s word. Now I want your uncle’s word that he will co
operate with us.
DAUDU: I shall obtain it. On those conditions, he cannot refuse me.
SECRETARY: And no one need lose face over it.
[He is once more expansive, calls for beer.] Who really cares for
the festival of new yam anyway? It is all a matter of face. The struggle began, involved others,
and no one dared give ground for the very stink of face. But I have devised a clean solution.
DAUDU: The new yam for the lives of five men. It’s a generous bargain.
SECRETARY: Four men. One is dead, hanged himself by the belt. Heard
about it on my way here. Publicly, we shall give out that, as part
of the Harvest amnesty, the government has been pleased to
release Oba Danlola and a few others, then, as a gesture of
reciprocity- the exact words of my official release- as a gesture
of reciprocity- the Oba will voluntarily surrender the first yam.
DAUDU: The enactment of it alone should appeal to him. Kabiyesi loves to
act roles. Like kingship. For him kingship is a role.
(1)Where is this conversation taking place? [1]
 Segi’s Club
(2) What kind of co-operation does the secretary expect from Daudu’s uncle? [3]
 Oba Danlola to present the yam to Kongi during the new yam festival.
(3)Why does the secretary want Daudu’s uncle to co-operate? [2]
 In order for Kongi to legitimize or cement his power.
(4)Who is Daudu’s uncle and what is his role in the book? [3]
 Oba Danlola- a traditional leader.

(5) What is the title given to the men who had accompanied the secretary and
where do they go during this conversation? [4]
 Right and Left ears of the state.
 They are taken by Segi’s friends to an unknown place.
(6) Later on in the play, Kongi changes his mind about the amnesty, what leads to
this change? [3]
 The escape of one of the prisoners/convicts.
(7) Earlier in the play, Kongi is referred to as a life giving spirit of Harvest, from the
excerpt above, show to what extent this reference is true? [4]
 He has declared an amnesty for the convicts at the new yam festival.Page 6 of 7
@MPRE/ME/G12 Literature in English/MS/ 2011/1/2019
 He orders the forgiveness of the prisoners with the insistence of the
secretary.
[Total: 20]
3. BETI: MISSION TO KALA
Just outside the village, a remarkable spectacle presented itself to my astonished gaze. It was not
the setting, which struck me, so much as the primitive savagery which animated every participant
in the business. There was a sports ground here, a very good one for a mere wattle-and –mud
village, and dotted round it were one or two biggish huts, their verandas crowded with spectators
anxious to get out of the sun. on the sports ground were about twenty big toughs, bare-legged
and bare-chested, engaged in a game whose warlike nature even the Spartans would have
recognized. I jumped off my bicycle and wheeled it as close as I could without anyone,
performer or spectator even noticing my presence
1. Who arrives in Kala and what time is it? [2]

2. What is the perception of Medza towards the villagers in Kala? [2]
3. What is the purpose of the mission to kala for Medza? [3]
4. Describe the scene in kala as he arrives [5]

5. Earlier, just before this excerpt, Medza is told of the people he is going to meet in kala.
Mention two characters he is going to meet and state the relationship between Medza and
Mama’s son [4]
6. In the novel Mission to Kala, compare the characters of Medza and Zambo. [4]
3 BETI: MISSION TO KALA
1. Medza
3 O’ clock (2 marks)
2. Primitive savagery (2 marks)
3. To secure the return of young woman who has fled her lazy, demanding husband
(3 marks )
4. - There is a sports ground
-mere wattle-and-mud village
-crowded verandas with spectators
-about twenty big toughs
-bare-legged and bare chested
-engaged in a game whose warlike (5 marks)
5. – Mama
-Zambo
- Medza and Zambo are cousins (4 marks)
6. - Medza is too proud and unsuccessful, impatient
-Zambo is respectful, self- assuredness and patience (4 marks)

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LITERARY TERMS AND DEVICES

LITERATURE IN ENGLISH NOTES AND EXAMINATION QUESTIONS PLUS ANSWERS 1

LITERATURE IN ENGLISH NOTES AND EXAMINATION QUESTIONS PLUS ANSWERS 2

LITERATURE IN ENGLISH NOTES AND EXAMINATION QUESTIONS PLUS ANSWERS 3

DIFFERENCES BETWEEN TRAGEDY AND COMEDY

 Exposition or the introduction

LITERATURE IN ENGLISH NOTES AND EXAMINATION QUESTIONS PLUS ANSWERS 4

LITERATURE IN ENGLISH NOTES AND EXAMINATION QUESTIONS PLUS ANSWERS 5

35. POINT OF VIEW

LITERATURE IN ENGLISH NOTES AND EXAMINATION QUESTIONS PLUS ANSWERS 8

LITERATURE IN ENGLISH NOTES AND EXAMINATION QUESTIONS PLUS ANSWERS 9

1. LITERARY TERMINOLOGIES AND DEVICES

Read the following conversation and answer questions that follow.

Ijimere: Imprisonment of Obatala

The yam sprouted from its mounds creeping up the sticks.

Yemanja: Oh how we celebrated then! Shango’s belly got round and

LITERATURE IN ENGLISH NOTES AND EXAMINATION QUESTIONS PLUS ANSWERS 10

Obatala: A friend is precious like a child. You cannot buy a friend in

When she comes slip-footing through the door

like lump coal lighted

and we wake up glowing

She puts a spark even in Papa’s eyes

and turns out all our darkness.

LITERATURE IN ENGLISH NOTES AND EXAMINATION QUESTIONS PLUS ANSWERS 11

like grits and gravy and we rise up shining

Even at night time Mama is a sunrise

that promised tomorrow and tomorrow.

2. Define rhyme and cite an example from the poem (2 marks)

5. “Even at night time Mama is a Sunrise

7. Define personification and provide an example from the poem (3 marks)

LITERARY TERMINOLOGIES AND DEVICES (20 MARKS)

LITERATURE IN ENGLISH NOTES AND EXAMINATION QUESTIONS PLUS ANSWERS 12

One thousand stars do not shine like

2. LITERARY TERMINOLOGIES AND DEVICES.

-we wake up glowing

- and we rise up shining [3]

-use of mental images to describe a situation

-language that appeals to the senses

7. A statement in which non-human subject is given human characteristics

-“…..a sunrise that promises tomorrow and tomorrow.” [3]

8. A group of lines/ verse that form a division of a poem

LITERATURE IN ENGLISH NOTES AND EXAMINATION QUESTIONS PLUS ANSWERS 13

Kongi’s Harvest of intrigue and Hate

LITERATURE IN ENGLISH NOTES AND EXAMINATION QUESTIONS PLUS ANSWERS 14

Ism to ism for ism is ism

This is the last

That we shall dance together

LITERATURE IN ENGLISH NOTES AND EXAMINATION QUESTIONS PLUS ANSWERS 15

The pot that will eat fat

…there is a harvest of words

LITERATURE IN ENGLISH NOTES AND EXAMINATION QUESTIONS PLUS ANSWERS 16

KONGI: I am the spirit of Harvest.

SECRETARY: Of course my Leader, the matter is not in dispute.

KONGI: I am the SPIRIT of Harvest

SECRETARY: Of course my Leader.

KONGI: I am the Spirit HAAR-VEST!

SECRETARY: Of course my Leader. And a benevolent Spirit of Harvest. This

KONGI: (Stops suddenly): who thought that up?