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Read the poem below and answer the questions that follow.

      

Read the poem below and answer the questions that follow.

OUT-CAST

They met by accident He proposed the idea
She gave her consent All the way to the altar
The casualty was male
And his pigment was pale
Unlike his alleged sire
Who was black with ire
The recourse was legitimate
He disclaimed responsibility So they had to separate
The boy remains illegitimate
Last month, not long ago
They both took their go Coincidentally by accident
No will, no estate
Nothing to inherit
The poor boy is hardly ten
And knows no next-of-kin
He roams the streets of town Like a wind-sown out-cast

G. Gathemia

a) Briefly explain what the poem is about. (4 marks)

b) Describe two characters traits of the mother in the poem (4 marks)

c) Explain the meaning of the following as used in the poem. (3 marks)

(i) Disclaimed.

(ii) Unlike his alleged sire who was black with ire

d) Identify and explain one instance of irony in the poem (3 marks)

e) What is the persona’s attitude towards the boy in the poem?

  

Answers


Martin
a) (N.B.: This may take two approaches: The plot approach and the thematic approach)

The Plot Approach

i) They meet and marry

ii) A pale child is born

iii) The man denies responsibility

iv) They separate/divorce
v) They both die
vi) The child is left with no inheritance/there is no next-of-kin/the boy roams the streets

(Any 4 points each 1 mk = 4 marks)

The Thematic Approach

i) Immorality

ii) Deception

iii) Irresponsibility

iv) Promiscuity

v) The plight of street children

(Identification of theme = 2 marks, Illustration = 2 mks, two illustrations per theme each 1 mark =2 marks or 1 illustration and 1 explanation = 2 marks)

b) The mother is unreliable/unreliable/untrustworthy/immoral/unfaithful/deceitful/dishonest/promiscuous/treacherous/traitorous
She wants the man to accept responsibility for a child that he obviously has not fathered. The man is black while the child is
white.

- She is secretive

- She is irresponsible/uncaring/unconcerned - \she leaves no inheritance for the child. She has not introduced the child to any of his kin.
- Calculating/cunning/scheming - makes the man think he is the father until the child is born
(1mark for identification, 1mark for illustration. Any two traits =4marks)

c) i. disclaimed - denied/refused/disagreed/did not agree/disowned (1mk)

ii. The mother?s husband is not the biological father of the child. This infuriated him for being cheated. (1mk)

d) i. We have a pale child from a black father (3 mks)

ii. An illegitimate child from a legitimate marriage

iii. The birth of a child should consolidate a marriage but this one leads to a break up.

iv. The child who has done no wrong is declared an out-cast (Any 1 point each 3 marks = 3 marks.)

e) Attitude - Pities/pitying/sympathetic/piteous/compassionate.
The persona recognizes that the poor boy suffers because of other people's mistakes. He refers to the boy as a ,'poor child',
'casualty' and says he is ''hardly ten'.

f) - All that glitters is not gold (2 mks)
- hurry hurry has no blessing(s) (2 mks)
- Look before you leap (2 mks)
- Marry in haste, repent at leisure (2 mks)
- when two bulls fight, it is the grass that suffers (2 mks)
- As you make your bed, so must you lie on it. (2 mks)
marto answered the question on April 9, 2019 at 05:49


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    babies with translucent skins
    faint in line
    and the lioness of a nurse
    Commanding tersely
    "Get up or leave the line".
    Didn't I hear it rumoured that
    the man with the white mane
    and black robes
    whose mouth stores the justice of the land
    ushered a rape case out of court
    because the seven year old
    failed to testify?
    Anyway, I only remember these things
    when I drink
    they are indeed tipsy explosions.
    ["Crazy Peter Prattles" by Susan Nalugwa Kiguli in Echoes Across the valley: Ed. Auther I. Luvai and Kwamchetsi Makokha]
    a) What problems are highlighted in the poem about the state of health care?
    (2 mks)

    b) What is the significance of the rhetorical question in the first stanza?
    (3 mks)

    c) Pick out any two images in this poem and explain their significance.
    (4 mks)

    d) i) Identify the problem that the fifth stanza deals with (2 mks)

    ii) How does this connect with the problems in the previous stanzas?
    (3 mks)

    e) Explain the meaning of the following words a they are used in the poem
    (3 mks)

    (i) oozed
    (ii) emaciated
    (iii) translucent

    f) What is the significance of the last stanza (3 mks)

    Date posted: April 2, 2019.  Answers (1)

  • Read the following poem and answer the questions that follow.(Solved)

    Read the following poem and answer the questions that follow.
    My little sister likes to try my shoes,
    to strut in them
    admire her spindle- thin twelve- year old legs
    In this season's styles.
    She says they fit perfectly,
    But wobbles
    On their high heels, they're
    hard to balance
    I like to watch my little sister
    playing hopscotch, admire the
    neat hops-and -skips of her,
    their quick peck,
    never missing their mark, not
    over-stepping the line
    She is competent at peever.
    I try to warn my little sister
    about unsuitable shoes,
    Point out my own distorted feet, the callouses,
    Odd patches of hard skin.
    I should not like to see her
    In my shoes
    I wish she would stay
    Sure footed
    Sensible shod
    (By Liz Lochhead in poem 1, ed. Celeste flower. Singapore: Longman, 1995.)

    a) Why does the little sister try the persona's shoes? (3 mks)

    b) How do we know from the first stanza that the shoes don't fit? (1 mk)

    c) Why does the persona like watching her younger sister play hopscotch?
    (4 mks)

    d) In the third stanza, the persona gives us new reasons why her little sister should not wear her shoes. What are these reasons? (2 mks)

    e) What is the message of this poem? (5 mks)

    f) Describe the tone of the poem? (3 mks)

    g) Explain the meaning of the following lines; I should not like to see her in my shoes (2 mks)

    Date posted: April 2, 2019.  Answers (1)