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Ali Mahfouz is the main character in the short story "Almost Home".
He faces an imminent deportation from Ireland. He exhibits a lot of traits as he attempts to fight back against the deportation. The writer paints Ali as deceitful. He tells people that he is a medical student and even puts a picture on face book that shows him at the surgeons' college with college books yet the books are only telephone directories. He only does menial jobs in Ireland for survival but he has not gone to study medicine.
In addition he walks with little white buds in his ears as if he is listening to music from the iPod yet he doesn't even know how to load the gadget with music.
Ali is Hardworking as he does all kinds of jobs in Ireland to cater his upkeep. For instance he slices kebab meat; while working for tw
Egyptian brothers, also he power-washes cars, scrubs pots and wipes tables.
When he just arrives in Ireland, Ali makes many friends. He is quite charming and sociable. He Makes Slattery to laugh all the time despite being in a serious situation this brings
Ali is Stubborn, He has been warned by Tarrant not to cause any problem while they travel yet he attempts to escape twice.
Furthermore, the government has tried to deport him twice, where every time he is disruptive on the plane threatening of blowing up the plane with a bomb in his possession. Despite all these he still lives in Ireland.
With all the attempts to be deported from Ireland, Ali tries all means to prevent it from happening- He threatens to blow up the plane twice; he attempts to escape from Slattery and Tarrant in
France and Spain. As a last resort he decides to drown himself in sea provided it is a way to escape from being deported. This brings out his determined nature. Ali Observes keenly enough to note that
Slattery has good French. Ali also notes that Slattery has no wedding band despite him being in mid-thirties and handsome.
Ali loses hope with life in his country, he is disillusioned, and this is what makes him to opt and go to Ireland and seek a better life. Because of poverty, his family is cramped together in the apartment'
Ali imagines of life in prison, lack of food, clothing and having to pay bribes. This shame and fear causes him to jump into the sea.
Ali manages to stay in Ireland as an illegal migrant due to his deceitful nature, and he determinedly avoids being deported
Musyoxx answered the question on February 28, 2018 at 15:56
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HUNGER
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And hold on to the rafters
It...(Solved)
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HUNGER
Hunger makes a person climb up to the ceiling
And hold on to the rafters
It makes a person lie down.
But not feel at rest.
It makes a person lie down
And count the rafters.
When the Moslem is not hungry, he says:
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When Ibrahim is hungry, he eats baboon!
When hunger beats the woman in the Koinange,
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“It is not every day my grandchildren – all of them, come to see me; and I am a farmer; I have plenty of food – fresh from the garden, not like that frozen tasteless stuff you people eat in the city.”
“Agreed! Agreed!” answered her eldest son waving a juicy looking drumstick in the air. She noticed with motherly approval that he had started to fill out and his eyes were happy and settled. For a while, she had feared that this particular son was headed for trouble. But that had been long ago in his boyhood. She had been mistaken – happy mistake. She noted with concern, however, that Wandia seemed to have little to say. Something was a miss.
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“Yes tell me. Is he giving you a hard time or something?” Elizabeth asked and Wandia looked at her startled.
“No! No! I mean – gosh – am I so obvious?”
“ I can read you like a book, my girl.”
“I have a scholarship to study in America for a year.”
“And he is against it?”
“No! He is not. In fact he is all for it. But how can I leave him with five children?”
“Don’t worry about him. You see if you don’t go, it is something that will haunt you – a lost chance is very hard to live with. We will all chip in to give him a hand with the children. Mary is also there in Nairobi with absolutely no responsibility whatsoever. They will be OK. Just organize your affairs and go do what you have to do.
“Oh, thank you so much! Now I can tell the good news to my own family. I didn’t want to have to disappoint them.” The two women looked at each other with understanding. The leaving and cleaving was always more difficult for a woman who has to tear herself from so much, and give so much – which almost always went unnoticed.
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“Yes. I am a lucky man. She does a wonderful job with the kids – Becky’s as well as ours. How about you Tony?
How’s the priesthood? Are you happy?”
“Absolutely. It is my life and it fulfills me completely. You know the priesthood is quiet like medicine.
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The Guilty of Giving
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The Guilty of Giving
You've seen that heap of rags
That pollutes the air-conditioned
City Centre
That louse that creeps about
In the clean core of sophistication;
Youve seen him waylay his betters
And make them start
Especially when they have no change
You recall the day you came upon him
And were startled by his silent presence
Intruding into you preoccupation:
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Which missed the mark
And rolled into the gutter
Where he groped for it
With a chilling grotesque gratitude
That followed you down the street
You dived into the nearest shop
To escape the stare
Of the scandalized crowd
That found you guilty
Of recalling attention
To the impenetrable patience
They had learnt not to see.
Laban Erapu
(a) Who is the Persona in this poem
(b) Paraphrase the subject matter of this poem
(c) Explain the title of the poem by discussing three different ' guilts'
(d) Identify three poetic devices used by the poet.
(e) What is the tone of this poem?
(f) Explain the meaning of the following lines:
And make them start
Which missed the mark
To escape the stare
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Read the excerpt below and answer the questions that follow.
The boy's name was Waiyaki, the only son of Chege. He was quite young; not of Kamau or Kinuthia's age. He had not even gone through his second birth, Waiyaki was however, already tall for his age. He had a well-built athletic body. His hair was tough and dry with kinks that finished in a clear outline on the forehead. Just above the left eye was a slightly curved scar. He had got it from
a wild goat. The goat had run after one of the herds boys. Seeing this, Waiyaki had taken a stick and run after the goat shouting. The goat had turned on him and jabbed him with its horns, tearing the flesh to the bone. His father arrived in time to save him. That was along while ago. The wound had healed leaving him a hero among the boys although he had run after the goat for sheer fun and enjoyment of the scene. That, however, was not the sole reason why the other boys, young and old promptly followed him.
Chege, his father, was a well known elder in Kameno. He had now only one wife, who had borne him many daughters but only one son. The other two wives had died during the great famine, without any children. The famine had been preceded by a very rich harvest. Then locusts and worms and a blond drought came to bring death to many. Chege had barely survived. His daughters were now well married, apart from one, who had died early. The other elders feared and respected him. For he knew more than any other person, the ways of the land and the hidden things of the tribe. He knew the meaning of every ritual and every signs. So, he was at the head of every important ceremony.
Many stories ran around him. Some people said that he had the gift of magic. Others said that he was a seer and Murungu often spoke to him. And so they said that he could see visions of the future like Mugo wa Kibiro, who along time back prophesied the invasion of the Gikuyu country by the white man. Some even said that Chege was actually related to Mugo. Nobody knew this for sure Chege himself claimed nothing. Ever since he had warned people against Siriana Missionary Centre and they had refused to hear his voice, he had talked little, keeping all thought to himself. Chege had told the people of the ridges what had happened to the people of Murang'a, Nyeri, and Kiambu. He told them of Tumutumu, Gikuyu, Limuru and Kijabe. They doubted his voice saying:
How do you know?
“See them the butterflies.
“Butterflies? You have never left the ridges!
They are there, beyond the ridges, putting up many houses and some taking the land.
How could you have seen the light beyond?
Fools, fools, he muttered to himself in despair.
Nairobi was already flourishing and the railway was moving across the country in the land beyond where not many from the ridges had been. And they lowered their voices and whispered together:
“The white man cannot speak the language of the hills.And knows not the ways of the land.
But the white man had come to Siriana and Joshua and Kabonyi had been converted. They had abandoned the ways of the ridges and followed the new faith. Still, people shrugged their shoulders and went on with their work, whispering:
Who from the outside can make his way into hills?
However, he remembered something in his old age, a light shone in his eyes, a flicker of hope. He would guard it and divulge the knowledge to none but the right one.
(a) What happens just before this excerpt?
(b) What circumstances cause the ordeal above?
(c)Who are butterflies? Illustrate.
(d)Describe the peoples attitude towards Chege
(e)What is the irony in Chege's warning about Siriana Missionary Centre.
(f) How could you have seen the light beyond?(Rewrite in reported speech)
(g)Discuss the role of Waiyaki as evident in this excerpt.
h) Discuss one major theme in this extract.
(i) Who is right one' and what knowledge will Chege divulge to him?
Date posted: February 16, 2018. Answers (1)