A SILENT SONG ESSAY QUESTION

1) Having too much power can easily lead to its misuse. Write an essay in support of this
statement citing illustrations from A Man of Awesome Power.

When someone is given too much power or control, they can become corrupt and misuse their power
for personal or selfish reasons. For example, they may mistreat others and this can lead to negative
consequences to the people they are supposed to serve. In A Man of Awesome Power by Naguib
Mahfouz, Tayyib al-Mahdi loses his power after misusing it.

Tayyib al-Mahdi uses his awesome power to punish the taxi driver who ignores him when he hails it.
Tayyib al-Mahdi tries to flag down the taxi but the driver ignores him disdainfully. This had happened
to him in the past. Unlike when this happened in the past, now Tayyib al-Mahdi is filled with greater
irritation. Power has corrupted him. In this moment of anger, he makes an impulsive decision to
punish the man. He considers that he could make the driver suffer an accident. He decides to shatter
the taxi's rear wheels instead. He knows that he should use his powers only for good but his anger
results in his cruelty. He stares at the taxi's rear wheels and both of them explode like a bomb. The taxi
driver is frustrated for losing two wheels at one time. As he walks by the helpless man, Tayyib al-
Mahdi gives him a meaningful look and offers to help him but his unknowing pupil glares at the
hapless man, resentful and enraged. He feels like he had taught the man a much needed lesson.
Initially, al-Mahdi had thoughtful dreams but after acquiring awesome power, he becomes corrupt and
abuses his power.

Secondly, Tayyib al-Mahdi hastily punishes the radio announcer only because he is annoyed by his
views. The announcer was expounding on promising developments expected in the future. This is after
Tayyib al-Mahdi's memorable services were mistaken for an awakening of the state or outright
renaissance. Tayyib al-Mahdi fills a gaping pothole, locks a dangerously hanging electrical box,
removes a pile of rubbish and drains a sewer using his awesome power. In the past, such promises
excited Tayyib only to leave him frustrated. Now that he has awesome power, Tayyib al-Mahdi is
infuriated by the announcer’s promises. He commands him to talk about what has been accomplished
not the future. Tayyib al-Mahdi is overcome with fury and thoughtlessly punishes the man with a bout
of incessant sneezing. He makes the man to sneeze massively without warning. Then he sneezes
abruptly - more emphatically. He sneezes uncontrollably until he could not complete a full sentence.
Sneezes keep waylaying him so he chooses to play a recorded song “Walk Around and See”. Al-
Mahdi plans to censor mass media by stopping any talk that annoys him. He would make speakers that
displease him to sneeze spontaneously, emit shrill cries like women at a wedding, or suffer
uncontrollable diarrhoea. Tayyib al-Mahdi is intoxicated with an intense feeling of happiness and
victory. He forgets his benevolent dreams. After acquiring power, he uses the power to bad effect by
mistreating others.

Tayyib al-Mahdi also misuses his awesome power when he uses it to charm the gorgeous woman at
the zoo at the expense of the righteous plans he has. Tayyib al-Mahdi visits the tea garden at the zoo
purposely to properly plan how to put his new powers to greater use. However, he instead uses it to
seduce a gorgeous and enticing woman that catches his eye. Tayyib al-Mahdi is filled with an
inexplicable desire - one that is not ordinary and his inappropriate since he has a tremendous burden
of proper planning and awareness of need. This woman does not take notice of Tayyib al-Mahdi. Her
large, round eyes are preoccupied with the the ducks floating in the green lake. Tayyib sends her a
hidden message using his awesome powers, instantly setting her head-over-heels. He decides to heal
himself before repairing the world. In one shared smile, Tayyib utterly forgets both his faith and his
life. He surrenders to his fate. This ill-advised move results in the loss of his powers and his
vibrant mood. The miracle disappears like a dream because of his selfish imprudence. He will be
haunted eternally by an awesome sadness. Before getting his awesome power, Tayyib was contented.
Now, he uses his powers to satisfy his selfish desires.

Lastly, Tayyib loses his power when he strikes the man on the bus with severe cramps. When an
argument between the man and the woman erupts, Tayyib could not hear but he studies the dimensions
of the argument carefully. He is shocked when the man suddenly slaps the woman. Tayyib focuses all
his anger on the man’s stomach. The brute doubles over and moans and screams in pain when Tayyib
strikes him with severe cramps. He has to be carried outside for an ambulance to fetch him. Some
people on the bus opine that the man deserves it owing to his bad manners and cheekiness. Tayyib is
satisfied and believes that he had done his duty in the best manner possible. Instead of using his
awesome power to fulfill his compassionate dreams for his country and the planet, Tayyib misuses his
power by punishing anyone that displeases him.

In conclusion, when someone is given excessive authority or control, they can misuse it as in the case
of Tayyib al-Mahdi. He becomes callous when he acquires awesome power. Initially, he was humane
and had thoughtful dreams for his country and the planet.

2) People commit unethical acts as a result of lack of care. Making reference to Incident in
the Park by Meja Mwangi, write an essay to support this statement.

Immorality stems from people’s indifference. Unethical acts like negligence and brutality result from
lack of care. Blood thirsty city dwellers brutally murder an innocent fruit seller without batting an
eyelid in Incident in the Park.

Government workers go about their business ignoring the ravaging effects of the drought on the
neglected park. The park is dirty and brown. There was no promise of rain that August. The ground is
dusty brown, bare and parched. The ministerial offices, City Hall and parliament buildings and the
ominous cathedral are a stone throw away from the pathetic looking park. The ministerial offices are
modern fortresses and its occupants conveniently ignore the park which clearly lacks proper care.
This is evidenced by the dry bits of grass, dry leaves and thirsty trees. Only delicate flowers, planted
like oasis islands at various spots, are watered in a desperate effort to keep the dirty brown park
beautiful. The sad-looking boathouse and dirty, muddy water sum up the government's lack of care for
the park.

Secondly, the park is filled with many idlers who have little care in the world. They waste many hours
lying idle in the park. They ignore the city and parliament clocks which strike suddenly, together -
reminding them of how much time they had wasted. They care less about being useful. The clocks’
pleas go unheeded. Some insolent loafers simply shake their heads defiantly, curse loudly, face the
other way and go back to sleep. Only every now and then, does a misplaced idler heed the clocks
nagging disapproval and accusing fingers and walk away. The park people have no intention to go
anywhere else but while away. They are here to stay. They have arrived. During the afternoons, the
park looks parched and almost dead, dotted with a few loungers. More idlers sit by the lake watching
the rowers, day in day out. This unproductive lot is a burden to the city and to society.

The neglected pond in the park is another sign of lack of care by relevant authorities. The fish pond is
dangerously overgrown with weeds. Colourless weeds choke the yellow, blue and purple water lilies.
An ugly mishmash of weeds has replaced the aesthetic blue-green surface of the once beautiful pond.
Initially, the pond flowers stuck out buds, thick colorful fingers and proclaimed order but not anymore
- the existence of these beautiful fauna has been snuffed out by a riot of unclassifiable intruders and
bastard flowers. To make matters worse, the park soil has collapsed, forcing the pond’s murky, brown
water and bewildered fish to the deeper, further end. The sorry state of the pond points to acute lack of
attention or care.

The hairy loafer who feeds the fish is defiant. He ignores the public notice on the board that cautions
people against feeding the fish. He carelessly tosses debris, tiny bits of grass and soil at the hungry
fish. The fish fight for the useless things but let go when they realize they are worthless. The idler
throws in more rubbish and carelessly sniggers - he has no iota of empathy whatsoever. He also drops
in a piece of soil at the fish. When he learns that fish feeds on insects, he tries to find some and later
decides to throw in a flattened cigarette end when he cannot catch any insects. The big fish that
catches the cigarette butt releases it since it is useless. At last, the uncaring idler curses after violently
hurling a large rock at the confounded fish. His lack of empathy leads him to defy the order not to feed
the fish and as a result he harms the fishes.

The police constables are callous. They harass innocent people heartlessly, displaying no shred of
sympathy. The two city constables accost the old fruit seller and demand for his license and
identification. As fate would have it, he has neither. He cannot afford a licence. The old man nods
uncomprehendingly and shakes his head sadly when the police demand for a license. He desperately
tries to bribe the constables by offering five shillings; all he had made that day. The policeman grabs
him by his old coat and remarks that he would explain it to the judge. The old man swears by his
mother. He is devastated because he has another case with the cruel judge. A tyrant who would hang
him this time round. The fruit seller cries that the judge is crazy and would castrate him but his pleas
fall on deaf ears. He offers the constables a 10- shilling bribe and even his foot baskets. The constables
remain indifferent even when he cries that he has a wife and children. They do not care. They match
him right ahead. When he realizes that he is talking to a brick wall, he decides to leap and run for it but
not before cursing the cops, their wives and their children.

The judge is portrayed as being unjust or outrightly cruel. When the police insist on taking him to the
judge, the old fruit seller cries desperately. He has no licence and identification. He swears by his
mother. He already has a case with the judge and he does not want to be taken back. He believes the
judge will hung him. He is selling the fruits in order to afford the fine that was earlier imposed. He
pleads with the police men as brothers. He even tells them that the judge is a tyrant - a crazy man who
will have him castrated. The allusion to his wife and children does not bear any fruits. He tries to bribe
the police with 10 shillings and appease them with his fruit basket but the uncaring constables match
him ahead. The fruit seller curses the policemen and their families and decides to bolt. He takes this
desperate measure to avoid facing the evil, apathetic judge.

The bloodthirsty city dwellers have no regard for human life. Realizing that the city constable were
adamant about taking him to the judge, the fruit seller decides to run for it. He leaps, breaking away,
leaving the policeman holding onto a piece of his one coat. He runs across the park. The policeman
shouts for help. The old man hopes to get protection by disappearing into the city dwellers. That was
not to be. The barbarous city dwellers lunge at him trying to nab him. The old man is savagely
desperate to escape. When he stumbles and falls into a ditch, the ferocious mob stones him to death.
He cries out pleading for mercy. The bloodthirsty crowd leaves him for dead, looking like a broken
twisted rag doll, covered in stones and a thick red blood. The crowd mistakenly label him as a thief.

Lastly, the injustice witnessed after the innocent fruit seller killed is the height of brutality and lack of
care. The constable strives to shift blame. No one looks guilty enough. The constables conveniently
withdraw. An inspector confirms that the man is dead. The crowd that stoned him and those that
witnessed his savage murder lower their eyes. Unwilling to openly testify, some of the residents
hurriedly return to their offices, indifferently. The word ‘thief’ oozes out discreetly from mouth to
mouth. They mistakenly condemn the man to be a desperate thief. They judge him by the
unmistakable uniform of his trade - dirty torn clothes and a mean hungry face. Even the inspector of
police is uneasy and doubtful about his next course of action. The poor man finds no justice even in
his death. All and sundry conclude that a thief is a thief. The twisted garbage-strewn dark alleyways
are lawlessly governed by one savage unwritten law concerning the fate of apprehended thieves.
Ironically, the man is killed before his identity is established. Sadly, he can only be identified by his
grieving wife and children in a cold room. An innocent life is cut short due to the heartless nature of
idle, uncaring city dwellers and the inept police department.

In conclusion, any society that lacks benevolence disintegrates into an abyss of lawlessness and
immorality.

3) People admire and love those with good qualities. Citing illustrations from Ninema by
Vrenika Pather, write an essay to support this statement.

Exemplary attributes arouse respect, warm approval and affection. Ninema is a young beautiful
woman whose praiseworthy character makes her the embodiment of magnificence. She is respected
and loved by all and sundry at the marketplace.

First, Ninema is respected because she faces her challenges and wins. She has to wake up at four
o'clock on a Monday morning to reap the herbs from her garden. She is a market gardener. Her crops
are healthy. Ninema has green fingers but she does not know it. She earns her living by selling her
crops at the Indian market. The walk to the market is long(P14). Her life is tough and so is she. She
arranges her dhania and mint neatly and sighs. Although she accepts her lot in life, Ninema is not
resigned to it. She has never had hot running water so she washes her face and feet with cold water
from the outside tap. To take her weekly bath, Ninema boils water on the open fire. She coils her long
black hair into a bun at the nape of her neck. She will wash it on Saturday when she takes her bath.
For now, it is neat and out of the way. Ninema's presence displaces the space around her and fills it
with gravity(P13). Some day, with the money she is saving, she hopes to buy a house of her own(P15).
Despite all these challenges, Ninema dreams of the home that will be hers some day soon. The house
will have hot water. The kitchen will be on the inside. She will have her own large garden where her
herbs will flourish. Maybe, she will start growing some fruit for herself(P16). The attribute of facing
challenges and winning, instead of resigning to them, earns Ninema respect.

Ninema earns lots of admiration because she focuses on earning a living and ignores all other
distractions. Although Ninema is a beautiful woman who makes heads turn as she walks, she does not
take the attention to heart. Ninema’s hips sway from side to side as she moves her body in rhythm to
balance the basket on her head. Her thin chiffon sari dress drapes around her perfect body effortlessly
as if kept in place by her high, firm breasts. She has long, toned arms and a cinched waist which cause
men to stop and stare. When she faces them with her piercing, black eyes they turn around in
embarrassment. The women admire her high cheekbones. Ninema is neither influenced nor affected by
the attention she receives from the men or women. Her concern is with earning a living. She sets up
her stall and arranges her herbs appetizingly. Other lady hawkers chat with her and each other
amiably. Ninema rarely chats back. She has no time to waste. Nobody minds the fact that Ninema does
not pay attention to the trifles. She only focuses on earning a living. These qualities attract
admiration(P13-14).

Ninema has the wisdom of family trading so she has the perception that the first and last customers are
very important. She knows that the first customer opens the business day while the last closes it. She
takes extra care of them for they bring luck. She learned the trade from her mother and father who
passed down this wisdom from generations of family trading. Ninema believes in its grace and power.
She also has good faith in accounting and can count faster than you can say the word ‘herb' (P14). Mr.
Chinran is her first customer and she treats him with respect and appreciation for he is loyal. At the
end of the market day, when a new customer, a last minute buyer drops by, Ninema gives her an extra
bunch of mint for free. The customer is happy and promises to always shop at her stall for herbs(P15).
This wisdom makes Ninema an admirable individual.

Also, Ninema treats all her loyal customers with respect and appreciation. Mr. Chinran is one of the
loyal customers. He often was the first to support Ninema when she opened her stall. The ladies in the
other stalls tease saying he was in love with her. She simply smiled away their silliness. Mr. Chinran is
a rich lawyer from the Brahmin caste while Ninema is a poor girl from a low caste. How could he be
interested in her? It was unthinkable like having a relationship with a white man. This
notwithstanding, the mere sight of Ninema made Mr. Chinran’s day. He is so infatuated with her that
the thought of his mother arranging a marriage for him makes him hot under the collar. Some prying,
jealous wife would take over the herbs buying rounds and deny him the opportunity of seeing Ninema.
His mother complains that he buys too much and this morning he buys even more than usual. Ninema
does not encourage his infatuation with her but since he is a loyal customer he treats him with respect
and appreciation(P14). Although Mr. Chinran is from a prestigious caste, his fondness of Ninema is
proof that someone’s good qualities can endear them to people.

Ninema handles her customers masterfully and this makes them fond of her. This is evident in the way
she handles Mrs. Singh. Ninema refers to her respectfully as auntie. When Ninema tells her that three
bunches of parsley cost six cents, she exclaims that it is too much, expecting her to lower the price but
she does not budge; not for rich Mrs. Singh not for anyone else(P14). Mrs. Singh tries the ploy on the
next herb to get better prices but it is inadequate. Mrs. Singh likes to haggle out of boredom. She
wants a long market day to avoid going back to her large empty house where the servants do
everything including cooking. She bargains in order to interact with Ninema for as long as possible.
Ninema’s skills earn her adoration and loyalty from rich people such as Mrs. Singh(P15).

Ninema earns the love, respect and admiration of the other market women because she is her own
person. She acts independently and confidently. Ninema runs her business with an iron fist. Some
people like her herbs and her manner of doing things and support her. Some are offended ostensibly
because she does not bring down the prizes, she sells only herbs and is not chatty. Really what they did
not like is that she is her own person. She does not give in to what other people expect of her. This
frightened some as much as it thrilled others. The ladies in the other stalls like Ninema because of this.
They look up to her. She is one of them but something about her is different. The difference draws
them to her rather than repulse them. They want to learn her secret because unlike her they often
compromise themselves at work and at home. This makes them angry with themselves. They admire
how Ninema carries herself. Ninema’s qualities of independence and confidence make her admirable
and lovable(P15).

Ninema has a steady flow of customers since she takes personal interest in each of our customers. At
lunch time she eats her packed sandwiches as she works. Her stall is busy. She arranges her herbs
appetizingly and every day she picks up on passing trade. Customers are attracted by the smell and
look of her stall. She has to grow more seed in order to keep up with the demand. She hopes to have
enough to satisfy all her customers since her herbs diminish fast. Business is flourishing. Most rich
people buy herbs from Ninema during their lunch break making this the busiest time of the day. These
are clerical workers and professionals. Although she is busy, Ninema finds time to take personal
interest in each of her customers. She knows whose son is studying to be a doctor far away in India,
whose daughter just got married, who moved in their new home and where they bought it. Ninema has
many customers because she is genuinely interested in their lives. Indeed such good qualities attract
respect and love(P15).

Lastly, Ninema gets cheers of approval from the other market women for the way she stands up to the
indecent man who assaults her. She hits the man much to the delight of the cheering market women.
The man had approached her and blocked her away. She stared at him straight in the face. The strange
man grinned at her lasciviously, and then suddenly extended his arm and pinched her erect nipple,
hard. He then laughed out loud, turned away in a cocksure stride and told her in a vulgar tone, “If you
liked that, follow me.” After placing her basket down with deliberate care, to avoid bruising the herbs
nestled neatly inside, Ninema follows the man and beats him on the back of his head with her
chumpal. She then hits him all over his face and torso. The astounded man covers his face with his
hands. Ninema only notices that the other market women had been keenly watching the fight when she
hears their jeers, cheers and laughter. The man is too embarrassed and dumbfounded to react. He is
scared that the women could gang up against him. Ninema gives him a few extra hits on behalf of all
the women. He whimpers for she is strong. The women clap and laugh heartily. Ninema bends
gracefully, picks the basket and places it gently on her head and says goodbye to the other women.
Ninema is loved and respected as a result of such attributes(P16).

In conclusion, good attributes or traits are bound to attract affection and admiration from our peers and
other people, regardless of age, financial status or class.

4) People with disabilities face many challenges. Using Mbane in Leonard Kibera’s A Silent
Song, write a composition to support this assertion.
People living with disability find it more difficult to do certain activities or to interact with the world
around them. In Leonard Kibera’s A Silent Song, Mbane is a visually impaired and disabled man
whose movement and other activities are constrained as a result of his disability.

First, Mbane’s movement is inhibited as a result of his disability. He gropes slowly towards the door
of his hut. He can only crawl weakly on his knees and elbows. He cannot go further since the pain in
his spine and stomach gather violence rapidly. The pangs paralyse him for a short tormenting moment.
The pain soon disappears but with the same savage fury of its onslaught, leaving Mbane cold with
sweat. He anticipates another imminent attack. Giving up the fight, he lets go his chin and hits his
forehead on the dirty flea-ridden floor. Mbane’s freedom of movement is curtailed by his visual
impairment, disability and pain. He is restricted to the suspicious hut.

Secondly, his perception of time, day or beauty is limited. Although he is hungry, he does not know
what time it is. He wallows in the gloom of his eternal night. Time, day and beauty lie beyond the
bitter limits of darkness. He is restricted to feeling, hearing and running away from danger. He is also
limited to a world of retreat. Due to his lameness, he can only crawl away. He has no power to hit
back. Surely, people living with disability suffer certain restrictions.

When his brother Ezekiel brings him from the streets to his home, Mbane is restricted to his new
confinement. His brother says that he rescued him from the barbaric city so that he could see the light
of God. The hut is serene but so suspicious. This is Mbane’s new life away from the streets of the City.
His new confinement is devoid of the urban ruggedness and noise. It lacks the quick prancing
footsteps of the busy city people. In his limitation, Mbane can never fathom their business. Also, he is
restricted to pleading with the people to help him stay alive by offering him some coins.

Because of his disability, Mbane had little comprehension or knowledge of the city. He earns his
living on one street only, retreating to the back lane when it was deserted. His condition inhibits him
from telling the length, width, beauty or size of the street. He is used to the talk of bright weather,
lovely morning or beautiful sunset but he cannot take part in the small talk. He feels challenged when
pedestrians sing to the blue sky and whistle to the gay morning. In his impediment, he cannot perceive
these senses. During the day, Mbane has to endure the overly generous heat of the sun and obstinate
flies mobbing the edges of his lips. At night, he cannot escape the hostile biting cold when he retreats
to the back lane unsheltered, to surrender to his vulnerability to sleep and is occasionally victimized by
some ignoble thieves.

Mbane is also constrained in his ability to eke out a living since he is disabled. He is forced to beg on
that lonely street of the City. Mbane has come to understand that money is the essence of urban life.
He is therefore happy with gay people since they mostly answer his plea. Dull people with heavy tired
footsteps and voices have empty pockets. Unlike him, the good men and women of the city have the
ability to work in the buildings next to him and more up the street. He has no option but to endure the
scorching sun and stubborn flies. At night, he is tempted by the strange rhythms but cannot indulge
because of his condition. He is limited to hearing voices cursing and singing and bottles cracking.
Mbane is restricted from joining the good men’s and women’s merry-making after a hard day’s work.
Only pimps and whores enjoyed the proceeds of the good men’s sweat.

Also, Mbane's condition has restricted him from getting married. His brother Ezekiel is married to
Sarah. He must have been married around Mbane's age. Mbane would never be able to reach out his
hand in fulfillment of his life in the same way. He can only yearn impotently, sadly constrained
because of his darkness and lameness. He is overcome by bitter self-pity and can only console himself
about his own light and thus he would smile broadly and bravely. His brother’s wife occasionally
brings him some bitter medicine. His condition impedes him from getting a wife of his own and
settling down.

Mbane has become accustomed to limited conversation or communication. His brother enters his hut
and sits on his bed but for a long time no one speaks. Mbane cannot be expected to start a
conversation. All his life, he has been speaking to himself in his thoughts while living on the streets.
He had no one to address except himself. Occasionally, he would blurt out a mechanical plea of
“Yes?”. Now, if anyone speaks to him, he carries the subject on a line of uncommunicative thought in
his own mind. When his brother asks if he believes in God, Mbane replies that he does not know since
to him he does not matter.

Apart from that, Mbane's condition makes him feel alienated and thus he holds a different religious
view from his mother’s and his brother’s. His mother views men as one stream flowing through the
rocks of life. They would twist and turn the pebbles and get dirty in the muddy earth. They cry in the
falls and whirlpools of life and laugh and sing when the flow is smooth and undisturbed. Some cry in
the potholes of life’s valley, while others laugh triumph elsewhere. Mbane's condition inhibits him to
not only ceaselessly crying but also feeling that he is not even part of the stream. He feels like the
bitter fluid in his own throat. His pain gives him no reason to believe in God. No one understands his
darkness. God is white cleanness of eternal light but his life only contains darkness and blackness. He
is forgotten and unnoticed. Sometimes, he is cursed and called able-bodied, only crippled by idleness
of leisurely begging.
Lastly, Mbane feels trapped in his unwashed body which reeks of sweat. He craves freedom that he
cannot achieve. He dreams of a glorious future away from his pangs of darkness where light lies. Right
now he is restricted since his eyes are denied the lights. He dreams of a future where someone would
understand him and raise the innocence of his crippled life along with the chosen. It gives him hope
and he sings his own happy song, silently to himself. He cannot seek refuge in the brothels like other
men so he can only find it in his silent song. His soul has a destination, or so he thinks. But for now, he
has to make do with it being incarcerated in his sweaty smelly body, which is unwashed except when
in the rain. Surely, disability can be limiting.

In conclusion, people living with disability undergo many impediments and limitations that deny them
some pleasures or opportunities in life.

5) No one else understands suffering more than the person experiencing it. Using relevant
illustrations from A Silent Song by Leonard Kibera, write an essay to support this statement.

Only the wearer knows where the shoe pinches. It is hard to know how much someone else is
suffering.

Mbane undergoes a lot of pain. Pain in his spine and stomach gathers violence. He feels sharp pains
from the navel tearing into his body leaving him paralyzed the pain disappears with the same savage
fury of its onslaught leaving Mbane cold with sweat. He knows that the pin has simply recoiled for
another attack. When his brother asks him if he believes in God, he simply lies there sobbing
anticipating another attack. He swallows painfully while talking to his brother. Only Mbane
understands the pain that he goes through. Not even his brother Ezekiel does. (P17,20)

Mbane has difficulties in movement. He has to drop towards the door. He crawls weakly on his knees.
He has to crawl away on his lameness. On the streets he could not move around easily and he is forced
to earn his living on one St. only. He only retires to the Back lane. (P17-18)

Mbane is forced to beg to survive. He earns his living on one street. Gay people answer his plea. He
comes to learn that money was the essence of urban life. During Christmas, the mean men become
generous. That notwithstanding, they still accuse Mbane of being crippled by idleness of leisurely
begging. In the streets, he does not talk to anyone except for the occasional mechanical plea of “Yes”.
When people occasionally answer to his plea and drop a copper in his heart they help him to stay alive.
(18-19)

Mbane has to endure the harsh weather. During the day the sun pours its heat too generously upon
him. At night the sun withdraws and Mbane has to endure the hostile cold. Usually, he is unsheltered.
Sometimes, he has to make do with the rain washing his dirty body. (P18,19)

Mbane cannot communicate normally. In the streets he has no one to speak to for a long time. He can
barely start a conversation. All his life he has been speaking to himself in his thoughts. For a long time
on the streets, he had no one to address but himself. If anyone spoke to him, he carries the subject on a
line of uncommunicative thought in his own mind. The only time he speaks is when he begs and
mechanically says “yes” hoping for someone to drop a copper in his hat to help him stay alive. Mbane
suffers silently and only he understands the agony that he goes through. (P18, 19)
As a result of the pain that he undergoes, Mbane is so critical of religion. He doesn’t know whether or
not he believes in God and he doesn’t think it matters. His life is a world of darkness that no one
would understand. The good men and women curse him saying that he is crippled by leisurely
begging. His brother tries to compel him to accept God so that he may be saved. Clearly Ezekiel and
the others do not understand Mbane. (P19, 20)

Mbane felt alienated when his mother metaphorically described men. She said that all men make up
one stream that flows through the rocks of life. They go through whirlpools. Some laugh and sing
when the flow is smooth others cry and whirl in the potholes of life's valleys. Mbane was not only
crying. He feels that he is not even part of the stream. He is neither part of the heavenly pool nor the
eternal deluge and chaos. He feels like the bitter fluid in his throat. He has no reason to believe in God.
Not even his mother understands him and his tribulations. (P19)

Lastly, Mbane lives a life of squalor. The hut that his brother puts him in is dirty and the floor is flea-
ridden. It is serene yet so suspicious. It is his new confinement after being ‘rescued’ from the hard
pavement. Sometimes Mbane wonders why the big vehicle which empties the dust bin has never swept
him away. He wishes for his journey’s end so that he can escape from ensnarement of his body smells
of sweat because it is an washed except in the rain. Only he understands the terrible dirty living
condition that he has to endure. (P17, 20)

In conclusion, only the people that experience pain know how much it hurts. Mbane knows his
suffering more than anyone. His brother Ezekiel, the wife Sarah, his late mother and the good men and
women cannot fully comprehend Mbane's tribulations.

6) Citing illustrations from Eric Ng'maryo's Ivory Bangles, write a composition showing how
established customs are difficult to change.

People are often reluctant to change their way of doing something especially something which they
have been doing for a long time. The society in Ivory Bangles is superstitious and also holds on to
norms such as polygamy and hunting game for ivory.

Firstly, this is a society where people are apt to believe in superstitions. When the old man notices
blood specks on the liver of a goat he had slaughtered, he has to go and consult the seer. Although he
has a deep-seated suspicion of the seer, he still goes to him since he is a tribal seer, and a priest of the
people. The seer gives him some unsettling revelation and a difficult task to do in order to avert a
disaster. He reveals that the seer’s pebbles said someone was going to die. That is the old man’s wife.
In order to avert this, the old man is supposed to give his wife a thorough beating and send her to her
parents. The seer’s pebbles are adamant that there is no other way to appease them. This worries the
old man so much. His mind wanders as he walks home. Only a small trickle washes the trunk in front
of him when he relieves himself. The old man believes the seer is the mouthpiece of their departed
forefathers. Visiting the seer is so common that the wife can guess where he went earlier that day. He
tells his wife that the spirits want him to give her a ritual beating. Once upon a time, the seer wanted to
marry the woman. He had even promised to put a spell on her. His warning is therefore laughable but
according to the man it is solemn since it is not he who put the blood specks on the goat’s liver. The
woman comes up with a simple, ingenious scheme to fool the spirits. Old habits, like superstitions and
consulting seers, die hard since the people have held on to them for a long time. Despite having a
deep-seated suspicion of the seer, the old man still considers the viability of the ritual beating since
established habits are difficult to change.
Secondly, the habit of wife battering is part and parcel of the society and is even considered a solemn
ritual. The seer’s pebbles claim that the spirits are jealous of a happy wife, a woman unmolested by
her husband until old age when she is called “Grandmother”. To avert her death after he finds blood
specks on the liver of a goat he was slaughtering, the old man has to give his wife a thorough beating
and send her to her parents after the beating. The pebbles insist on wife battering and refuse the offer
of countless goats by the old man. The man is reluctant to lay his hands on his comely caring wife who
bathes him when he arrives home and cooks him a delicious meal. According to the spirits, this is
supposed to be a ritual beating to avert calamity. The woman says, the seer - “that old vulture”, was
once interested in marrying her and had even promised to put a spell on her. It appears he is just
jealous of her happy marriage. But the man considers him the mouthpiece of the departed forefathers.
The old man is different from his son who is accustomed to the norm of domestic violence. He beat his
wife Leveri to a fingernail’s distance to her grave. Such cases are so common that there is a prescribed
way of solving them. Clans would meet and the offending man would be fined, they would then drink
reconciliatory beer and everyone would go home happy. Surely, wife battering has been accepted as a
norm in this society.

Polygamy is another accepted custom in the society. The old man earned the enviable position of the
chief’s councillor as a reward for bravery in the Battle of the Five Rainy Days. The wife calls him son
of a Chief. He is a wood carver, son of a wood carver and a very brave warrior. He is thus much
respected in the society, but also much talked about because he has only one wife. A chief’s councillor
is considered a small chief, and whoever heard of a chief with one wife? The ageing chief even
advised him to get himself another wife. The old man loves his wife. As much as polygamy is
customary, he does not comply. However, it is so deeply-rooted in the society that the people find it
strange for a man of his social standing to have only one wife and even the chief himself advises him
to consider polygamy.

Another practice that seems so deeply-rooted in this society is the hunting and killing of game like
elephants. The old man killed an elephant using a poisoned arrow and from its ivory, he carved twenty
four bangles for his wife. She wears eight bangles in either hand and four heavy ones on each leg. The
ones on her hands are etched with mnemonic marks for a long love poem. He presented the bangles to
her when their son and only child was named. She looks beautiful like a chief’s wife when adorning
the bangles. When the elephants invade the village, the villagers are worried about the devastation they
leave in their wake. They destroy young crops. The beasts are pursued by people who know how to
use poisoned arrows. With poisoned arrows, several can be killed. The scouts sit atop of trees and
warn people about the movement of the six elephants; one bull and five cows. Unfortunately, the old
man’s wife is attacked by a wounded bull elephant which stamps on her and kills her. The people are
accustomed to shooting and killing elephants. Sometimes, the wounded animals tend to be wild.

The people have a customary way of solving conflicts in the society. To confuse the spirit of death, the
woman plans to go to her brother’s home weeping and complaining that her husband had beaten her
without any reason. She would refuse to go back to his home when he comes for her. This would force
their respective clans to confer, with the view of reconciling them. The husband would be fined and
they would drink beer of reconciliation. This would be done to fool the spirits and life would continue
as before. After she comes from the market, the woman plans to cook for the man and go to her
brother’s. She plans to hoe the weedy part of her grove before squeezing tears out of her eyes and
going to her brother’s house. Indeed, these people have certain prescribed ways of conflict resolution
that are hard to change.

Lastly, the woman is accustomed to performing her normal wifely duties of taking care of her husband
and grandson. When he gets home, she unstraps his leather sandals and leads him behind the house to
the lean-to, to bathe him. She cooks him a meal consisting a pottage made of mashed green bananas
and finely shredded meat and stock vegetables, herbs and a touch of her hand. At night, she lies with
the old man, her husband, before stealing back to her grandson’s, ‘her husband’. When she goes to the
market she buys the boy a length of sugar cane and some snuff for the man. After coming from the
market, she cooks and carefully covers her husband’s food. She has plans to go to her brother’s but
first she plans to hoe in the part of the grove the man said was very weedy. She is also so accustomed
to hoeing that despite the heavy load of ivory bangles on her hands, the small hoe goes at a fast
practiced speed. Only three weeks ago, she weeded the same spot with her daughter-in-law Leveri.
Although she has to visit her brother’s home, she can’t help but perform the habitual tasks at home
first. Unfortunately, she is killed while still hoeing in the grove. Surely, old habits die hard.

In conclusion, people are predisposed to doing things that are customary or typical and it is difficult to
convince someone to do something they are not used to.

7) Children suffer when their parents treat them badly. Write an essay to support this statement
basing your illustrations on The Sins of the Fathers.

Rwafa exerts unwarranted pressure on Rondo causing him grief, leaving him with bitter memories and
ruining his life. Surely, children endure misery when their parents treat them badly.

Rondo suffers when his father Rwafa orchestrates an accident that kills his two daughters, Yuna and
Rhoda. When Mr. Basil Mzamane, Rondo’s father-in-law, whom Rwafa abhors, offers to give Rondo's
children a real treat - a road trip to Bulawayo, Rwafa soon disappears. When the trio take the trip, they
are involved in a fatal crash that claims their lives. Gaston Shoko, Rondo’s workmate, suggests that
Mr. Rwafa must have been involved in the accident since that was a typical second street accident.
When Rondo ponders the events and history behind them, he becomes numb and almost like a zombie.
He feels trapped like an animal when he thinks back on his father’s routine. Rwafa is a prime suspect
in the accident since he loathed Basil Mzamane. He had called him a traitor when he brokered a peace
deal between Mrs. Quayle and Rwafa’s club-wielding gang. There has always been tension between
the two but it culminates during the birthday party. Mr. Rwafa was also bitter because Rondo had
married into and ignominious muDziviti family. Furthermore, instead of a grandson, he had also given
him two grand-daughters with Ndevere blood. Rwafa is responsible for the accident that kills his son’s
daughters and their grandfather. This causes Rondo untold grief. He even contemplates shooting his
own father. He tries to erase the pain by reconstructing the accident, imagining his daughters died
happily or at least, obliviously. The pain courses through him again and again for the whole week after
the unfortunate incident. He sits on the same sofa, chin lodged in the cup of his hands, listening to the
haunting songs sung by the mournful women. His indifferent father tells him that his grief will pass
like the morning dew in the sun. That he would be grateful it happened now rather than later and he
should thank him. Rondo’s mind was elsewhere. The silence in his mind would have been filled by his
daughters’ voices. Surely, Rwafa causes Rondo deep misery when he engineers the untimely death of
his two daughters. This destroys Rondo.

Rondo grows up to be a laughing stock as a result of his father’s disrespectful treatment towards him.
None of the words he used to address Rondo had any respect in them. When Rwafa compels Rondo to
work at The Clarion, and earn his own keep, he refers to him as slob. Because of this, his wife Selina
notes that Rondo is always in his father’s shadow. She thinks that she could do better in his pants.
Also, his colleagues do not take him seriously. He is not a brilliant journalist and he feels he has been
asleep all his life. According to Rwafa, there would not ever be anything Rondo could get right. Even
his wife saw him as ‘less-than-me’. At work, people were laughing at him at every moment and the
only time they held him in awe is when they needed a favour from his father through him. They even
used his name to get something from finance houses, audit stores, legal firms etcetera. They still
laughed at him and he knew. This made him defenseless and he would join in the laughter, accepting
to be a fool. Rondo admits that his wife was right for positing that he must have been afraid of a
shadow - his father’s shadow. This thought was not pleasant to admit.

Although Rondo loved Selina, Rwafa hated her and her family and was against their marriage. Rondo
was about to lose Selina because his father, a full blown bhwa Mkwanyashanu, would not let his
family be demeaned by his son Rondo. He calls him effeminate for wanting to marry into the
ignominious muDziviti family. Rondo told Selina about at the time his father destroyed his old guitar
and he peed himself out of fear because he loved her. The flames of the burning guitar gutted all the
courage out of him. While Selina and Rondo's mother were quite close, his father frowned and even
spat at the relationship. Rwafa hated Selina’s clan, maDzviti-Ndebele, because they had raided his
own clan, Zezeru-Karanga, leaving him with pains of the scars. His deepest scar is that he cannot
forgive anyone: not his enemies, not his wife, not his son. The first time Selina came to the house and
Rondo told Rwafa about her people, he walked out and stayed away for the whole day. Apart from
that, he demanded that Rondo gives him a grandson to inherit his cars, houses, money and charisma.
This was not easy for Rondo to accept. Although he was afraid of his father, Rondo still thought he
was the greatest.

Rondo’s father demands that Rondo gives him a grandson to whom he could leave the inheritance. He
wanted a duplicate or an heir. Rwafa feels that after the ignominy of marrying her, it was ignominious
that Rondo first child was a girl with Ndevere blood. His second child was also a grand-daughter. As a
result of this, Rwafa could not be appeased by anything. It was as if Rondo had been written out,
written off and disappeared. Since Rondo was the only son and only child, his father did many things
for him but Rondo did not show enough gratitude of respect because he was not aware. This made
Rwafa very disappointed and Rondo’s mother had to do a lot of humiliating things to calm him down.
Although she enjoyed the affluence of being married to a senior government official, she had deep
fears about the future of her only child Rondo. Rwafa loved himself so much that he was prepared to
destroy his son in an effort to have a duplicate or an heir. This demand for grandson was not easy for
Rondo to accept.

When Rwafa destroyed Rondo’s old guitar, all the courage was gutted out of him. Selina felt that
Rondo was hurt and his pain could affect those around him. She thought he was selfish for apologizing
too much. Unlike her who was brought up in a family with people with ‘long hearts’, that is people
who forgive others, he was not from such a loving family. Rondo’s first disappointment happened
when his father gave him his first sermon. When Rondo was only four, an uncle had given him an old
guitar. His father found him strumming tunelessly on the instrument. Rwafa broke the strings and
threw the guitar into a fire. He retorted that no son of Rwafa has ever been a Rolling Stone and there
would be no Mick Jaggers or John Whites in his house since those people had no sense of
responsibility or destination in mind. Rondo, only a child of them, had no idea what he was talking
about. Fear was planted in him. He peed his pants. The flames of that burning guitar had gutted all the
courage out of him. He tells Selina all this because he loved her. Indeed, Rwafa’s mistreatment
adversely affects his son Rondo.

Rondo develops a stammer because throughout his life, he was unable to answer any of his father’s
questions. Mr. Rwafa, as a minister of security, had pursued his duties so zealously that he could not
distinguish between party and family. This made people, especially Rondo, to suffer. His mother told
him that many people developed a stammer when Rwafa asked them questions. Rondo took a long
time to learn what his father’s job was. Rondo and Rwafa lived in their separate cages and his mother
was caught up in the sensitivity of Rwafa’s job and Rondo’s nature. Because of Rwafa’s actions,
Rondo always thought Rwafa was right. He was too diminished to think otherwise. He was also afraid
for his mother whenever she had to oppose the old man. Indeed, Rondo suffers because of his father’s
ill treatment

Rwafa skips his only son’s wedding causing him pain. When Rwafa drives to Rondo’s house to see
Mr. Basil Mzamane, it is surprising. Selina knows that the visit is neither a courtesy call nor a friendly
gesture. Rwafa also seems quite cheerful in Rondo and Selina’s house which was unusual, more so
with Mr. Basil Mzamane present. The two men’s attitudes towards Rondo’s wedding were different.
While Mr. Basil Mzamane fully supported the wedding and paid the larger part of the wedding
celebrations expenses, Mr. Rwafa skipped the whole ceremony altogether. Rondo’s mother had also
helped but she had been reduced to tears when her husband had asked: “Who did you say is wedding?”
then conveniently left town for a ‘state business’ for two weeks just to avoid going.

Rwafa ruins Rondo’s daughters joint birthday celebration when he goes on an irrational hateful rant.
Selina and Rondo had invited all their relatives and friends for joint birthday celebration for their
daughters, Yuna and Rhoda. It was a generally peaceful scene with children playing and adults
enjoying themselves. There were moments of subtle tension, tight smiles and loud laughs between Mr.
Rwafa and Mr. Basil Mzamane. Mr. Rwafa’s sarcastic reference to Mr. Basil Mzamane as “Honorable
MP” causes a moment of silence and relaxation. Rondo and Selina had longed for a moment like this
with their parents who. The peaceful party is destroyed when Mr. Rwafa is prompted to talk of the
liberation struggle. He talks of betrayals and alludes to traditional enemies of the people since time
immemorial: enemies of the state, clan and family. He calls them looters and cattle thieves. He also
calls them personal enemies, child thieves and baby snatchers. He declares that no son of Rwafa can
play second fiddle to anyone’s lead nor carry anyone’s pisspot. He is terribly hurt when he refers to his
son Rondo as effeminate and spineless for marrying into the family of their enemies, poisoning the
pure blood of the Rwafa clan. He suggests that the impostors are smoked out, flashed out and blasted
out. Guests grab their children and leave one after another. Rondo remains rooted unable to wave
goodbye. He remembers having the feeling he used to have as a boy, where the thought of not being
allowed to do something fueled his ambition to do it. Mr. Rwafa’s action causes tension in the air and
ruins an otherwise peaceful celebration.

Rwafa senselessly beats up Rondo without bothering to find out what the matter was during a
confrontation with a neighbour over his mangoes. Remembering his father’s tirade reminded Rondo of
this incident he had almost forgotten. Rondo had helped himself to some ripe mangoes from a
neighbours garden. He had seen nothing wrong with this. The neighbour had other ideas. He pulled
him down by the leg and proceeded to give him a thorough thrashing using a green pitch switch. His
mother was attracted by his howling and she came running out and lifting her skirt in the man's face.
She called him a child murderer. The man shouted “whore” and called Rondo ‘woman’s child’. Rwafa
then came to the neighbor’s yard and proceeded to thrash Rondo with his thick elephant-hide belts
without bothering to find out what the issue was. What gives Rondo a very uncomfortable feeling even
after all these years is the sight of his mother dragging herself on her knees from one man to another,
back and forth, clapping and begging them to spare her only child. Rondo just did not want to
remember this. He has never told anyone about it not even his wife. He was only eight. He felt
powerless. His mother insisted that his father loved him but he did not know how to show it.

When Rondo confronts his father in his guestroom, Rwafa ridicules him as usual. When he hands him
a piece of paper, Rwafa asks him whether he had asked one of his more intelligent friends to write that
for him. Rondo just stands there, unblinkingly, as his father had not ask him to sit down. Rwafa laughs
harshly saying he couldn’t have believed that Rondo had it in him. When Rondo brandishes a gun and
offers it to him, a great flood of sadness washes through his face. When he checks the gun and points it
at his head, Rondo wishes that his father would shoot him. He feels like a rogue, not out of courage,
but out of numbness host of he wished his father would shoot him and take care of things as he had
always done. He tells him that he had never used a gun before and he thought his father would do it
better than him. Eventually, a soft muffled plop is heard from Rwafa’s room after he orders Rondo and
Selina out.

When parents treat their children badly, the children suffer as was in the case of Rwafa and his son
Rondo.

8) In some communities, marriage is regarded as a valued custom. Making reference to Abioseh

In most societies, marriage is considered to be important and beneficial. The society in The Truly
Married Woman cherishes marriage as seen in the story of Ayo and Ajayi. A married woman is
proud and is respected more than a mistress.

Marriage is an important tradition in this community. Ayo is optimistic that one day she will be
married to Ajayi. They have lived together for twelve years and have three children together and a
fourth child on the way but they are not yet married. Ajayi has always meant to marry Ayo. He truly
meant to marry her as soon as she had their first child but he had never found time to do it. Somehow,
the right moment never came. Ayo went to live with Ajayi despite her parents protests. In this
community, marriage is a valued custom. In their first year together, Ayo would talk to Ajayi in detail
about her friends' marriages looking at him with hopeful eyes for. She hopes to get married like her
friends since marriage is an important right in the community. The marriage ceremonies cost a fortune
and Ajayi would attack Ayo's friends' wild spending. All in all, the community values marriage and
that’s why Ayo hopes to get married one day.

The fact that the priest insists that unmarried couples should not live together is an indication that the
community values marriage. He would speak out violently against unmarried couples living together.
Ajayi and Ayo have lived together for twelve years. Ayo is a good mistress. She has given Ajayi three
children and is now pregnant with another. She is a patient, beautiful woman with honest eyes. Despite
these, their union is seen as illegitimate in the eyes of the church leadership. During their regular
church visits, the priest would sound off against their kind of union, two or three times a year. Their
friends would sympathize with them and the men would opine that the church should stay out of
people’s private lives. Ajayi would skip church for a few weeks but would go back after a while since
apart from his proclivity for singing, he secretly knows the priest is right. The community cherishes
marriage.

Ayo's father had his own special wishes about his daughter’s marriage. Ayo left their home to go and
live with Ajayi against her parents' wishes. She loved Ajayi. She cooks his meals and has borne him
children. Her father had hoped that she would marry a high school teacher at least. Ayo had chosen a
government clerk instead. When Ayo’s father learns about Ajayi's plan to marry Ayo, he makes her
move out of Ajayi's house with everything she owns back to his house. He sends the kids to Ayo's
married sister. When Ajayi's uncle and other kinsmen visit Ayo’s father to ask her to marry Ajayi, the
father hands her over to them with tears in his eyes. This is proof that marriage is a valued custom in
this community.
When missionaries from WGCA visits Ajayi’s home, Ayo goes out of her way to give an impression
of a truly married woman. She sends Oju to buy fruit drinks. She also takes down the calendars with
pictures of lightly clothed women and replaces them with family pictures instead. She removes
magazines and puts out religious books. She also hides wine glasses under the sofa. Before the visitors
arrive, she changes into her Sunday dress and borrows her wedding ring from her neighbour. The clerk
is surprised by the change in the room, Ayo’s dress and the ring. The children are also neatly dressed.
Olsen, one of the missionaries, is so delighted that he takes pictures of the “God-loving and happy
African family”. After serving them drinks, Ayo leaves to let the men discuss serious matters. Ajayi is
pleased greatly and decides to finally marry Ayo. Surely, marriage is a revered tradition in this
community.

Since marriage is a valued custom, Ajayi and Ayo make elaborate plans for their marriage ceremony.
They discuss the wedding that night. Ajayi wants Ayo to have a traditional white wedding dress, with
a veil and flowers. Ayo decides sadly that a mother of three should not wear white at her wedding.
They agree on grey. Ayo wants a corset. Ajayi agrees. They also decide to forgo a holiday after the
wedding since they could not afford one. They also agree on a church wedding. When Ayo’s father
hears about the upcoming nuptials, he makes her leave Ajayi’s house with everything she owns back
to his house. The children are sent to her married sister. Marriage is really valued in this community.

A married woman is more important in the family than one who is not married. Although most of
Ajayi's family members welcome the idea of Ajayi and Ayo's marriage, his sister has reservations. She
is worried that if Ajayi marries her, Ayo would become more important in the family than she was.
She even advises him to seek the insight of a soothsayer to look into the future. When Ayo gets word
of this from the women at the market, she beats Ajayi's sister at her own game by going to the
soothsayer first to fix things. She really wants to get married. When Ajayi and his sister visit the
soothsayer, he predicts a happy marriage. Ajayi's sister capitulates and accepts defeat.

Marriage is such an important custom that Omo, Ayo’s friend is jealous when she gets wind of her
friends upcoming wedding. When Ayo wasn’t married, Omo would not hesitate to lend her her
wedding ring whenever she needed it. When Ayo shows her her wedding dress, she turns cold. She is
filled with both anger and jealousy. She makes critical, disparaging remarks about Ayo's see-through
dress. She says in case Ayo has an accident the doctors will see through everything. She pushes the
dress angrily back to Ayo. Ayo laughs it off saying she does not have to hide anything from her
husband when they are married. Marriage is indeed a valued tradition in this community.

Marriage is a cherished custom that involves elaborate negotiations between relatives of the bride and
those of the groom. The day before the wedding, Ajayi's uncle and other relations take a Bible and a
pin to Ayo's father. They also take with them two young girls carrying large gourds containing things
like pins, small coins, fruits and nuts. These customary gifts are necessary lest Ayo says during future
arguments that Ajayi was so terrible that he had given her neither a pin or a coin since they got
married. The party deliberately walks past Ayo’s father’s home then returned to it. When Ajayi’s uncle
knocks the door several times, Ayo's relatives ask for his name, his family and the reason for coming.
Later, they argue and discuss for half an hour. Ayo's father opens the door after clearly demonstrating
that his family is proud, difficult and above ordinary. He asks why they had gone there. Ajayi's uncle
answers that they had gone to pick a lovely rose. After much haggling, they are finally allowed in the
house. They are served drinks and gifts are exchanged. For about thirty minutes, they talk about
everything but the wedding. Ajayi's uncle asks for Ayo as a wife for Ajayi. Ayo's father brings out a
short sister, then a fat cousin and asks if that’s whom they wanted. They decline. Ten different women
are brought out but none is right. Finally, he brings out Ayo with tears in his eyes. He also kisses her.
After a successful negotiation, everyone shouts and dances around Ayo. This rigorous negotiation
process shows how marriage is revered as a beneficial rite in this community.

A marriage is a cherished tradition and emotions run high when Ayo finally gets married. Although
she is a woman in her mid thirties with slightly grey hair, she cries with joy and her unborn child
moves inside her for the first time. This is after her father, with tears in his eyes, calls her out from the
bedroom, kisses her and shows her over to Ajayi's family. The next morning the women of her family
help her to wash and dress. Her father gives her away in a quiet church wedding attended by about
sixty people. They then go to Ayo's family home for a meal. An aunt gives them water and some wise
counsel. She tells Ayo not to be too friendly with other women lest they steal her husband. She advises
them not to sleep before resolving their disputes and to Ajayi, she asks him not to use violence against
his wife - their daughter. Ayo’s mother tearfully acknowledges Ayo as an enthusiast of the true work
of an African woman - having children. Ayo and her parents are overcome with emotions when she
gets married. They value marriage.

Since marriage is an important aspect of culture in most societies, a wife is valued more than a
mistress. After the wedding, Ayo seems different in Ajayi’s eyes. He notices her proud head, her long
neck and her handsome shoulders. The next morning, after the alarm goes off, he notices that his
normal cup of tea is not there. He sits up and quickly looks around. He listens for Ayo’s footsteps
outside in the kitchen. When he notices her sleeping next to him, he assumes she is ill after the
excitement of the wedding. He asks Ayo if she was ill. Still lying down, she turns slowly and looks at
him. She gets even more snuggly under the cotton bed cover. She is terribly calm. She asks Ajayi if
there is anything wrong with his feet. He thinks she is a little crazy. For twelve years, she has woken
up at five o'clock and prepared tea for her husband who was then her lover. She informs Ajayi that
now she is a truly married woman and asks him to behave with some respect towards her. He is her
husband and not her lover. She tells him to get up and make himself the cup of tea. Surely, marriage is
indeed a valued custom in this society.

In conclusion, marriage is surely regarded as a cherished and important practice.

9) Failure to listen to wise advice can result in conflict. Write an essay to support this assertion
based on Stanley Gazemba’s Talking Money.

No one is perfect. We all have some flaws. If unchecked, our individual shortcomings such failure to
listen and heed good advice can result in misunderstanding. Mukidanyi’s irritability and obstinacy
result in his disagreements with his brothers, his wife and Mr. Galo.

Mukidanyi disagrees with his brothers over the sale of his land. When his elder brothers Ngoseywe
and Agoya try to advise him against selling his land, they fall out bitterly and their wrangles almost
come to blows. Mukidanyi throws both of them out of his compound, his eyes flaming red. Shouting at
them, he declares that he does not need their help. He does not need anyone’s help. He will run his
household however he deems fit. Ngoseywe tells him that he will need them one day. Today, his head
has swollen like that of an expectant toad in the field. He insults them and adds that he will do what he
pleases with his land. In that terrible fit of rage, the neighbours can only watch helplessly from a
distance as he clicks loudly, spits angrily on the ground and dashes a water pot against the wall.
Mukidanyi's fury leads to a bitter disagreement between him and his elder brothers.
Mukidanyi also falls out with his wife Ronika over the sale of his land. Ronika joins Mukidanyi who
is warming himself in the main room. She persuades him to listen to what his brothers are telling him.
He also advises him to consider leasing the land instead of selling it off. In her plea, she posits that
Ngoseywe and Agoya have a point. She tells Mukidanyi that no one could stop him from selling his
land, but he should listen to other people’s advice. Mukidanyi ignores his wife's words of wisdom and
resorts to violence instead. He grabs his hippo-hide whip and gives Ronika a thorough lashing leaving
her screaming and whimpering till the small hours. Mukidanyi’s obstinacy ends in a conflict between
him and his wife Ronika.

Thirdly, Mukidanyi ignores Ronika’s entreaty when she asks him to be wary of the Galos. She asks
him if he knows the Galos. She reminds him that hardly anyone in the village does business with the
Galos. Their money is not good, she says. No one knows where they get it from. Ronika beseeches
Mukidanyi not to turn a deaf ear to what everyone tells him. These pleas leads to a conflict because
Mukidanyi is apt to ignore wise counsel. He assaults his wife Ronika using a hippo-hide whip and she
screams in pain and her whimpering only dies that morning. Mukidanyi’s stubborn nature leads to
bitter disagreement between him and his wife Ronika.

Mukidanyi refuses to listen to Ronika and easily trusts Galo. When Mukidanyi springs his price out
of the blue. Mukidanyi expected a haggle. When receiving the money, 500,000 shillings in cash,
Mukidanyi does not count it. He easily trusts Mr. Galo. He says that he trusts him since he does not
expect a friend to lie to a clansman. Galo offers to take Mukidanyi to Kakamega for transfer of the
title deed at the surveyor's office. Mukidanyi ignores Ronika’s warning and accepts Galo's money
without batting an eyelid. This causes conflict between them when the money starts talking later that
night. Ronika furiously throws Mukidanyi out of the house and tells him to go and return the “devil”
money. She finds the courage to mock and ridicule Mukidanyi , a big man who is hard of hearing. The
row is as a result of Mukidanyi stubbornly disregarding wise advice.

There is a disagreement between Mukidanyi and his wife the night he sells his land to Mr. Galo
despite her objection. That night he wakes up twice and lights the lamp to ascertain that the briefcase
was still there, chained to the bedpost of their termite-infested wooden bed. He calls Ronika and asks
her what time it was, since he is too anxious to sleep. His wife, angry from the lashing she received
earlier that day, nonchalantly asks him how he expects her to know the time at that hour. Mukidanyi is
eager for the daybreak so that he can go and take the money to the bank in Mbale. Ronika is bemused
at being woken up in the middle of the night, the hour for witches unless Mukidanyi is a witch himself.
She refuses to engage in Mukidanyi’s midnight chitchat and returns to her soft snoring. Mukidanyi is a
disturbed man. He cannot sleep. He has to squeeze his eyes shut and try to force himself to sleep. He is
forced to awaken with a start when he hears the voices. Again, he wakes up an audibly irritated
Ronika. Playfully like a couple of school going children, the money under the bed was talking. The
money Ronika had warned him about is the cause of their conflict and Mukidanyi's regret.

Mukidanyi is mocked by his wife because of Galo's money. She had warned him about. When the
money starts talking Mukidanyi freezes stiff, his whole body covered in sweat. His wife is also
frightened, her bony hand clasped on his wrist, her bosom heaving. The silence in their hut is morbid.
Ronika commands Mukidanyi to light the lamp. She speaks in a shrill voice and scolding tone when
she says that the house had been invaded by the ‘viganda’ spirits. Her breath whistles in the tense
darkness. Mukidanyi’s hands shake as he gropes in the darkness for a matchbox. Ronika’s face is slick
with sweats when she tells Mukidanyi that he will now listen to people. They fight because of the
strange money. Had Mukidanyi listened to her advice this could have been avoided.

The fallout escalates when Mukidanyi is thrown out of his house because of the evil money. With a
note of hysteria in her voice, Ronika commands Mukidanyi to take his money. She reminds him that
she had warned him about Galo's money. His elder brothers Ngoseywe and Agoya did too. But
Mukidanyi is hard of hearing. Ronika's lined face is an indication that she dies to wrest him to the
floor. She refers to him contemptuously as a big man who is hard of hearing. Mukidanyi is scared of
touching the briefcase, about the voices or the viganda spirits. Her eyes glowing angrily, Ronika
laughs at Mukidanyi hysterically when the money talks again. She tells him that today, after dipping
his hand in the wound to ascertain, he will learn about the people of the world. Today, he will know.
She forces him to unlock the padlock after physically dragging him to do it. Then, she throws the
briefcase out and sends her hapless husband after it. The children are bewildered for they had never
seen their mother that angry or their father that frightened.

Lastly, Mukidanyi changes his mind about selling the land and finally returns the money to Mr. Galo.
He had been warned by Ronika but due to his stubbornness he did not heed. The journey is long and
harrowing. The couple hundred yards to Mr. Galo's home seems like a mile. The briefcase gets heavier
and heavier with each step. He is haunted by unseen night creatures swimming all around him,
taunting him with their octopus arms. Sometimes he trips, slick blood-sucking tendrils would then grip
his arm. He fights the demons when he feels the hold tighten and the razor edge biting into his flesh,
but without drawing blood. The moment is scary. He is, however, determined to return the case despite
the hurdles. When he finally gets to Mr. Galo's house and meets him, he says he has changed his mind
about selling the land. He returns the money then dashes away. He hits himself on the low-hanging
branches and outcropping roots as he returns from Mr. Galo's house. Surely, obstinacy results in regret
and conflict.

In conclusion, one’s weakness can end up causing disagreements.

10) Some people end up suffering after they refuse to pay attention to advice or warning.
Using relevant illustrations from Talking Money by Stanley Gazemba, write an essay to
support this statement.

Sometimes people are given good advice. Failure to heed results in agony. Mukidanyi suffers when he
ignores advice and warning from his wife and brothers concerning Galo's money.

Mukidanyi ignores Ronika’s advice about Galo’s money but he ignores her. She says that the money is
not good and they don't know where they get it from. He ignores her. He even lashes her. When he
receives the money, time elapses while Mukidanyi sits there staring at the money. He talks nervously
and trembles. Long after Galo had left, he sits there clasping the black briefcase, his gaze fixed on a
point in the distant hills. He rushes into the house, his heart thumping in his chest, dry throat craving a
drink of water. This is because he was holding a lot of money. He skips supper that evening. Galo’s
money makes him terribly nervous and anxious. (P49-52)

After receiving the money from Galo, Mukidanyi endures a sleepless night. Mukidanyi does not heed
the advice of his brothers Ngoseywe and Agoya about not selling the land and taking Galo's money.
The night he receives the money, he wakes up twice, lights the lamp to ascertain the money was still
there. He had chained the money to the bedpost. Ronika tells him that it is the middle of the night - the
hour for witches. Mukidanyi is anxious about taking the money to the post office in Mbale the next
morning. He squeezes his eyes shut trying to sleep to no avail. Because of the money, Mukidanyi
cannot sleep that night. (P49-53)

Mukidanyi is frightened when the money starts talking in the middle of the night. Ronika is audibly
irritated when he wakes her up. She had earlier cautioned him about doing business with the Galos or
taking their money. He had ignored her advice. Mukidanyi regrets. There is a note of urgency in his
voice. The tinny playful voices say: “This place is nice … I like it very much”. Mukidanyi freezes
stiff. There is morbid silence when the couple hold their breath. Mukidanyi can only speak in a
frightened childlike whisper. His hands shake when he tries to light the lamp. He backs into a corner
and is scared of touching the briefcase. He cries: “Nyasaye goi! What madness is this?” Their children
had never seen their father this scared. (P49-51, 54-55)

Mukidanyi has to endure mockery and derision from his wife Ronika. She speaks in a shrill voice.
She tells him that those are viganda spirits. She orders him to light the lamp. She tells him that he will
now listen to people. She has a wild look in her eyes. She tells Mukidanyi to take his millions.
Mocking him, she tells him not to be afraid. Ronika refers to Mukidanyi as ‘big man who is hard of
hearing’. Her lined face is set as if she was going to fly at Mukidanyi and wrest him to the floor. She
reminds him that she had warned him about Galo’s money. Ngoseywe and Agoya had warned him too.
Ronika laughs hysterically, her eyes glowing angrily. Mukidanyi has dipped his finger in the wound
and ascertained it for himself. She tells him: “Today you will learn about the people of the world.”
(P49-51, 55)

Mukidanyi had ignored the warning against trusting Galo. When the money starts talking, Ronika is
forced to physically drag Mukidanyi out of the house. She forces him to unlock the padlock and free it
from the bed frame. She snarls at him and hurls the briefcase into the night and sends him after it. She
tells him to go and find a place for his money away from that house. The children, woken by the raised
voices, are stunned to see their mother so agitated and their father very scared. (P49-51, 55)

Mukidanyi suffers when he returns the money he had been warned about. It was the longest journey he
had ever undertaken in his life. The couple hundred yards from his home to Galo’s house seemed like
a mile. The scary case got heavier and heavier. Mukidanyi felt he was surrounded by unseen creatures,
formless bodies squirming in and out of his way as if trying to entangle him with their many scary
octopus arms. He would trip sometime. He suffers when slick tendrils snaked out of the darkness and
coiled around his ankle. He feels a tight bloodsuckers grip as he wrestles with unseen demons
threatening to bite into his flesh without drawing blood. Despite these struggles, Mukidanyi is
determined to return the money. He is relieved when he gets to Galo's gate. He is not scared of the two
huge hounds flashing their teeth. He tells Galo that he had changed his mind and flings the money
back to him. Dashing away from the compound, he bangs his head and knocks his toe painfully. He
regrets ignoring his brothers’ and his wife's advice. (P49-51, 55-56)

You should not turn a deaf ear to what everyone tells you. It is important to listen to what other people
say. Ignoring good advice results in anguish.

11) War survivors live with painful memories. Write an essay to support this statement
citing illustrations from Chimamanda Adichie's Ghosts.

War, even for a perceived just cause, has many detrimental outcomes. There is nothing positive about
war. Ordinary people suffer most in the event of war. Traumatic memories, loss of family members
and loss of valuable property are some of the consequences of war that leave the survivors with painful
memories.

Many ordinary people suffer when their family members, friends or colleagues lose their lives in war.
For 37 years, professor Nwoye believed his former colleague, Ikenna died in the war. He is shaken to
see him alive. He is tempted to throw sand at him, a customary practice to ascertain that one was not a
ghost. Nwoye thought Ikenna died on July 6th, 1967 when they evacuated Nsukka amidst the boom
boom boom shelling of the approaching federal soldiers. Nsukka fell that day and two lecturers were
killed; one for arguing with the federal officers. Ebere consoles Zik who left her doll behind as they
were fleeing in haste. Although Ikenna made it out alive, his whole family was in Orlu when it was
bombed. When he says this, his laughter seems like harsh-sounding series of coughs. After the war,
the man who was admired for his erudite asperity and peremptory style is a pale shadow of his former
self. The uncertainty and diffidence about him is alien. His gray shirt sagged at the shoulders. His
laughter was hollow and discoloured , devoid of the aggressive sound of yesteryears. Nwoye’s
daughter Zik and their colleague Chris Okigbo also died in the war. Nwoye says, “The war took Zik”
in Igbo, since speaking about death in English has a disquieting finality for him. He and Ikenna speak
fondly and sadly about Okigbo: “our genius, our star, the man whose poetry moved us all. A colossus
in the making.” Nwoye also remembers other horrors of war like crouching in muddy bunkers during
air raids after which they buried corpses with bits of pink on their charred skins. Indeed, war affects
people adversely when they lose their loved ones.

People are also affected when they are forced to leave their homes as a result of war. On July 6 th, 1967,
professor Nwoye and his family are forced to evacuate Nsukka in a hurry. This happens even as they
hear the boom boom boom shelling of the advancing federal soldiers. The militia assures them that the
vandals, federal soldiers, would be defeated in a matter of days and they could come back. This does
not come to pass since the war does not end until 1970. Local villagers in their hundreds are also
displaced from their homes. They walk along, women with boxes on their heads and babies tied to
their backs, barefoot children carrying bundles and men dragging bicycles holding yams. Nwoye,
oblivious of the intensity of the war, finds it foolhardy that his colleague, Ikenna, goes back to the
campus with the shelling getting closer. He thought their troops would drive back the vandals in a
week or two. He had faith in their collective invincibility and the justness of the Biafran cause. To his
dismay, Nsukka fell and the campus was occupied that very day. Ikenna left Biafra the following
month and went to Sweden on a Red Cross plane. Some children were airlifted to Gabon later in the
war. When the war ended three years later in 1970, Nwoye and Ebere came back to Nsukka and they
were shocked about the aftermath of the war. Their books, his graduation gown and their photographs
were destroyed and Ebere’s piano was missing. They decide to leave for America where they live up
to 1976. Their daughter Nkiru still lives in America with his son. People suffer when they are
displaced from their homes as a result of war.

Thirdly, people are affected when they are separated from family members and some even become
alienated. Because of the war, professor Ikenna is forced to fly to Sweden leaving his family behind in
Orlu. He loses his entire family when Orlu is bombed. When he recounts this story, his laughter comes
out like a series of harsh sounding coughs. He was believed to be dead. Men who had been thought
dead, walked into their compounds months, even years after 1970. Nwoye wonders how much sand
has been thrown on broken men by their family members split between disbelief and hope. His
daughter Nkiru lives in America. She was born in America when Nwoye and Ebere went there after
the war. Nwoye does not fancy the American life which is cushioned by so much convenience that it is
sterile. It is littered with what they call ‘opportunities’. He is also worried about his grandson who
cannot speak Igbo. The boy does not understand why he has to say ‘good afternoon’ to strangers. In
his world, having been brought up in America, one has to justify simple courtesies. Nkiru is a doctor in
Connecticut near Rhode Island. Her faint American accent is vaguely troubling for her father. War
causes separation of family and alienation of family members.

Also, war causes dire lack of food and therefore people suffer hunger or starvation. At the onset of the
war, the local villages are displaced in their droves. After the war, they are forced to pick through the
lecturers’ bins for food. There was a blockade keeping supplies of victuals such as salt, meat and cold
water from them. During the war, people had no option but to eat cassava peels. They watched in
horror as their children’s bellies swelled from malnutrition. Organizations such as the Red Cross
backed down when a plane was shot down in Eket. The World Council of Churches kept flying in
relief through Uli at night. Individuals like Ikenna organised fundraising to help his starving
community in Biafra. Professor Nwoye buys groundnut and a bunch of bananas for the tattered men
clustered under the flame tree at the university. They had requested him to do so since “hunger was
killing them”. Surely, war results in ravaging starvation and malnutrition.

War gives room for service providers to be corrupt. Professor Nwoye visits the university bursary and
yet again the dried-uplooking Ugwoke clerk tells him that the money has not come in. They are used
to this. Someone claims that the education minister stole the pension money. Yet another one posits
that it was the vice chancellor who had deposited the money in high interest personal accounts. They
curse him saying his children will not have children and he will die of diarrhoea. No one gets pension.
From professors, to messengers, to drivers, to the other tattered men. Everyone is suffering. Vincent
claims that people retire and die because of this delay. He has not received his money for three years.
At the university, students buy grade with money or their bodies. Josephat, the vice chancellor, for six
years, ran the university like his father’s chicken coop. He was once thought to be a man of integrity
but now, under his watch, money disappears and they buy cars stamped with names of nonexistent
foreign foundations. The impotent courts do nothing to salvage the situation. Nwoye has not been paid
since he retired. Many lecturers bribe someone at the Personnel Service to change their official dates
of birth and add five years. Nobody wants to retire. Corruption and bribery is all over the country. The
situation seems ineluctable. To get his phone repaired, Nwoye has to bribe someone at NITEL.
Ordinary people suffer because of runaway corruption occasioned by the war.

After the war, there is an influx of fake drugs. The latest plague in the country is selling of expired
medicine. Ebere had lain in hospital getting weaker and weaker. Her doctor was puzzled since she was
not recovering even after medication. Professor Nwoye was distraught. It was too late when they
found out the drugs were fake. Nwoye says gravely that fake drugs are horrible. A man accused of
importing fake drugs says that his drugs do not kill people but they don’t cure them either. Nwoye
turns off the television since he cannot stand to see the man’s blubbery lips. He hopes the man would
not be acquitted and allowed to go to India or China and bring more expired medicine which does not
kill people but makes sure the illness does. Surely, war has many undesirable effects on the lives of
ordinary people.

Many ordinary people wallow in poverty as a result of the war. When Professor Nwoye visits the
university bursary for his pension, he sees a group of tattered men clustered under a flame tree waiting
for their pension as well. Vincent, his former driver, has not received his pension for three years. He
says this is why people retire and die. He remembers when Ebere used to give him old clothes for his
children. The students do not pay him on time before mending their shoes. Although Vincent is
younger than Nwoye, he looks older and has little hair left. The tattered man request professor Nwoye
to buy them bananas since hunger was killing them. They lament about a myriad of problems such as
money lender problems and how carpentry was not going well. Professor Nwoye is lucky compared to
them since he has some money saved from his appointment in the Federal Office of Statistics and also
receives some dollars from his daughter Nkiru who is a doctor in America. After the war is over, the
poor locals are forced to pick through the lecturers’ bins for food. Surely, war has devastating effects
on the lives of the people.

Lastly, war is a deeply distressing experience that leaves this people with traumatic memories. Ikenna
lost his whole family in the war. Before, he was defiant and everybody forgave his peremptory style
and admired his erudite asperity. His fearlessness convinced them. Now his laughter seemed
discoloured and hollow and nothing like the aggressive sound that reverberated all over the Staff Club
in those days. His gray shirt sagged at the shoulders. There was an uncertainty about him. A diffidence
that seemed alien to professor Nwoye. When he tells the story about how his whole family was killed
when Orlu was bombed, he lets out a harsh sound that is supposed to be a laughter but it sounded more
like a series of coughs. Professor Nwoye and Ebere are traumatized by the aftermath of the war when
they return to their former house at the university. The destruction of property was too much that they
are forced to leave for America. When they come back they are given a different house but they avoid
driving along Imoke street, for they did not want to see their old house. Nwoye cannot talk about death
in English since it has always had a disquieting finality for him. So he says about his late daughter that
they war took her in Igbo to which Ikenna simply replies “Ndo” to mean sorry. During the war,
Nwoye and Ebere are traumatized when the Biafran soldiers shove a wounded soldier into their car
and the stranger’s blood drips in the back seat and soaks into the stuffing. Nwoye also suffers
recurring hallucinations when he imagines that his dead wife visits him from time to time. Professor
Nwoye, Ikenna and many other people are left with lasting emotional shock and pain caused by the
extremely disturbing experiences of war.

In conclusion, it is clear that war leaves the people with disturbing memories and many have lasting
distressing experiences occasioned by the shocking and painful recollections.

12) One can cope with the misery of unfair treatment by forgiving his oppressors. Write a
composition to validate this statement basing your illustrations on Leo Tolstoy’s God Sees the
Truth, but Waits.

You should not do harm to a person who has done harm to you, even if you think that person deserves
it. We can deal with the pain of injustice by forgiving those who wrong us, instead of seeking
vengeance. Aksionov finds peace and solace during his misery when he chooses to forgive those who
wronged him.

Aksionov is treated unfairly by the police when they arrest him for a crime he did not commit. When
the police arrest Aksionov for allegedly killing a merchant, he crosses himself and weeps painfully.
The police officer orders the soldiers to bind him and put him in the cart. They tie his feet together and
fling him into the cart. His money and goods are taken away from him. He is then locked up in the
nearest town. The police investigate about his past and find out that Aksionov is a good man but he
was predisposed to drinking and wasting time during his younger days. The truth is Aksionov met the
merchant and they put up together that night in the same inn. Aksionov paid his bill and left before
dawn. When he had travelled for about 25 miles and was resting, he is accosted by an official and two
soldiers who crisscross him as if he were a thief or a robber. Oblivious of the fate that awaited him, he
even offers the officer a cup of tea. When they search his bag, they find a blood-stained knife and
accuse him of killing the merchant. Aksionov is frightened. The policeman says his face and manner
betrays his guilt. They demand to know how he killed him and how much money he stole. When the
trial comes, he is wrongly charged with murdering the merchant and stealing his money. He gives up
all hope and only prays to God. He accepts his fate and expects mercy only from God. He does not
blame the police for his predicament.

Aksionov faces further injustice when he is wrongly charged with murdering the merchant from
Ryazan and robbing him of 20,000 rubles. He is locked up with thieves and criminals. This is after a
blood-stained knife is found in his possession. At the time of his arrest, Aksionov only had eight
thousand rubles of his own. He swears that the knife is not his. Although Aksionov is innocent, he is
wrongly convicted and charged for murder. He tries to appeal but his petition to Czar is declined. His
wife reminds him about her dream about his hair turning grey and beseeches him to tell her the truth if
he indeed killed the merchant. Aksionov begins to weep hiding his face in his hands. He is dejected by
the thought of his wife suspecting him too. Only God can know the truth. Instead of begrudging and
fighting the justice system, he let's go and decides to appeal for mercy from God alone.

Aksionov is treated unfairly when he is torn away from his family at a prime age, and locked up for a
crime he did not commit. His wife is in despair when Aksionov is charged with murder and she does
not know what to believe. Her children are small and one is still breastfeeding. She takes them all with
her when she visits her husband in jail. She is refused from seeing him at first but after ceaseless
entreaties she obtains permission from the official and gets the chance to see him. She collapses and
does not come to her senses for a long time when she sees her husband in prison-dress and in chains,
shut up with thieves and criminals. She had tried to dissuade him from going to the Nizhny Fair. She
had had a bad dream about him. In her dream, he returned from the town when his hair was quite grey.
Aksionov laughs it off and promises to bring her some presents from the fair. That was the last time
she saw him as a free man. Aksionov tells her that they must petition the Czar and not let an innocent
man perish. His wife informs him that the petition she had sent had been declined. While serving his
lengthy jail time, no news reaches him about his family. He remains in the dark concerning the well-
being of his wife and children. When a fresh gang of convicts comes to the prison, Aksionov asks one
of them about his family: the merchants of Aksionov of Vladimir. He tells him that they are rich
though their father is in Siberia; a sinner like themselves. In his gloom, he nostalgically remembers the
image of his wife when he parted from her to go to the fair. Her face and her eyes rise before him. He
hears her speak in love. Then he sees the image of his children quite little as they were at the time. One
with a little cloak on, another at his mother’s breast. Nonetheless, he forgives Makar Semyonich, the
man responsible for his anguish. His heart grows light and the longing for home leaves him.

Aksionov suffers more injustice when he is condemned to be flogged and sent to the mines. He is
flogged with a knot and when the wounds made by the knot are healed he is driven to Siberia with
other convicts. Aksionov lives in Siberia as a convict for 26 years. His hair turns white as snow and his
beard grows long, thin and grey. All his mirth goes, he stoops, he walks slowly, speaks little and never
laughs, but he often prays. He becomes a pale shadow of his former self: a handsome, fair-haired,
curly headed fellow, who was full of fun and loved singing. He learns to make boots and earns a little
money with which he uses to buy ‘The Lives of the Saints'. He reads the book in prison and on
Sundays in the prison-church, and sings in the choir. Despite his predicament, Aksionov is likeable
since he is meek. The prison authorities like him and his fellow prisoners respect him. They call him
‘Grandfather’ and ‘The Saint’. He acts as an arbitrator and puts things rights whenever there are
quarrels among prisoners, and he also acts as the prisoners’ spokesman. His contentment helps him to
cope with his agony. Instead of holding a bitter grudge, he remains patient, restrained and affable.

It is unfair that Aksionov suffers for the sins of Makar Semyonich, who gets arrested for less serious
crime of stealing a horse. When Aksionov asks Semyonich if he had had about the affair of the murder
of the merchant, Semyonich’s response makes him feel sure that he had killed the merchant. That
night he could not get any sleep. He felt so unhappy. He remembers the image of his wife when he
parted from her to go to the fair. Her face and her eyes rise before him. He hears her speak in love.
Then, he sees the image of his children quite little as they were at the time. One with a little cloak on,
another at his mother’s breast. He also remembers how he used to be himself, young and merry. He
remembers the day of his arrest while he was seated in the porch playing the guitar. He bitterly
remembers the flogging, the executioner and the people who were standing around him. He
remembers the chains, the convicts and all the 26 years of his prison life, and his premature old age.
These thoughts make him so wretched that he contemplates suicide. His anger against Makar
Semyonich is so great that he longs for revenge even if it would mean perishing for it. He repeats his
prayers all night but he does not get peace. During the day he avoids going near Makar Semyonich and
avoids even glancing at him. For two weeks, Aksionov cannot sleep at night and he's so miserable and
does not know what to do considering the fact that the man who was responsible for his imprisonment
was right there but he had been locked up for a less serious crime. Despite this, he does not seek
revenge. He had accepted his fate. He says for his sins, he had been in prison for those 26 years. He
did not like to speak of his misfortune. He says that he must have deserved the punishment. This
attitude helps him to cope with the misery of the injustice the state had meted upon him.

Even when he gets a chance to avenge against Semyonich, Aksionov chooses to spare him the pain
and retribution instead. Aksionov catches Semyonich digging a hole under the wall with a view of
escaping from prison. Makar Semyonich threatens Aksionov and tells him to keep it a secret or else he
would kill him. Aksionov trembles with anger looking at his enemy. He tells Makar Semyonich that he
had no need to kill him for he killed him long ago. He adds that he will do as God shall direct. When
the prison officials find out about the hole and they question the prisoners about it, all of them deny it.
Those who knew would not betray Makar Semyonich, for they knew he would be flogged almost to
death. The governor at last turns to Aksionov, a just man, and says: “Tell me before God who dug the
hole?” Makar Semyonich ruined Aksionov’s life and he contemplates letting the cat out of the bag so
that Makar Semyonich can pay for what he had suffered. However, he knows that if he opens his
mouth, the officers would flog the life out of Semyonich. Maybe he suspects him wrongly. Also he
stands to gain nothing. He surrenders in the hands of the Governor but refuses to tell him the truth,
when he says that it is not God's will that He should tell. He knows that two wrongs don’t make a
right. He keeps his mouth shut and spares his arch nemesis potential thorough flogging. The liberation
of forgiveness is more fulfilling than the temporary delight of revenge.

Semyonich is unjust to Aksionov when he chooses to confess his sins long after Aksionov had endured
untold retribution for a sin he did not commit. Nevertheless, Aksionov forgives Makar Semyonich
even after he confesses to killing the merchant and framing Aksionov. He confesses that he meant to
kill him too but fled when he heard a noise outside. Semyonich kneels on the ground and cries asking
Aksionov to forgive him. He promises to confess to the authorities that he killed the merchant so that
Aksionov could be released. Aksionov has suffered for 26 years. He has nowhere to go. His wife is
probably dead and his children may have forgotten him by now. He has nowhere to go even if he is
released. Makar Semyonich beats his head on the floor and begs Aksionov to forgive him. The guilt in
his heart is unbearable. He remembers that Aksionov had screened him concerning the hole he was
digging trying to escape. He sobs bitterly. When Aksionov hears him sobbing he begins to weep too.
He says, “God will forgive you”. He also says that he may be a hundred times worse than Makar
Semyonich. His heart grows lighter and he does not long to go home anymore. He has no desires to
leave the prison and only hopes for his last hour to come. Forgiveness is liberating. It supersedes
freedom. Semyonich confesses, and an order for Aksionov’s release comes: too little too late. He was
already dead.

The fact that someone has done something unjust does not justify revenge. When we forgive our
oppressors, we are contented and we can bear the anguish of the oppression.
13) People living on the streets apply wisdom in order to survive the difficult conditions.
Write an essay to qualify this statement citing illustrations from Rem'y
Ngamije’s The Neighbourhood Watch.

Living conditions on the streets are difficult. To survive, one needs not only determination and effort
but also experience, knowledge and good judgment. Members of The Neighbourhood Watch apply
wisdom to survive the arduous conditions on the streets.

First, the crew is judicious enough to secure territory-a safe haven for sleeping or just to lay low when
they weren’t out on a foraging mission. The bridge’s underside is precious real estate to the
Neighbourhood Watch. It is an important shelter when it rains and during cold winter nights. The
letters NW sprayed on the columns have the same effect as musty pee at the edge of a leopard’s
territory. Other crews know better than to encroach it lest they face bloody retaliation. It is also a safe
place to hide their stash so that they don’t have to lug their scant possessions everywhere they go.
More luggage would slow them down as they rummage their neighbourhoods for food and other
essentials. Elias calls their territory headquarters. In the morning, he wakes up the rest of the crew and
they share a can of water for washing their faces. To a street family a safe territory is indispensable.

Secondly, they are wise enough to rise early to go searching for food. Elias, Lazarus and Omagano set
out before the light of day is full born. They leave early so that they can score the real prizes-that is the
overflowing bins behind restaurants. In the early morning one can get edible semi-fresh morsels. In the
late morning, the food starts rotting. The neighborhood watch knows: “the early bird does not catch
the worms”. In order to get there in good time Elias, Lazarus and Omagano lengthen they are strides.
They know that time is of the essence on the streets.

The crew knows that they have to maintain a good bond with other people in order to survive. Elias
has a good rapport with most of the kitchen staff in the city. They refer to him by the monikers
‘Soldier’ or ‘Captain’. Sometimes, they leave out almost decaying produce for him and his group.
Because of the good relationship, Elias would sometimes be lucky to get potatoes with broken skins,
rotting mangoes, and wrinkled carrots. The staff would be generous enough to give them smushed
leftovers from the previous night for instance half-eaten burgers, chips drowning in sauce or salads.
Most of the kitchen staff are poor and many a time they would need to take the leftovers to their own
families. It is amazing that Elias manages to get some food from them.

The Neighbourhood Watch crew is so astute that they have organized themselves into specialised
units. Elias, Lazarus and Omagano are always on food duty whereas Silas and Martin are tasked with
searching for other essentials. Before, Elias was in on his own so when he met Lazarus he suggested
that they form an alliance because it was taxing to rummage for food and other paraphernalia
necessary for survival in the streets. At first, Lazarus was resistant. Cold winter nights forced him to
comply. It worked for them since two people could cover more ground. One searches for food and the
other for other essentials and thus they could do more in a day. Now, they know that children and
women are valuable recruits. Some obstinate guards demand for a 10 or 20 dollar bribe to let them
scavenge through fenced off bins. Elias usually pays them but when he has no money Omagano goes
behind the dumpster with a guard and does what needs to be done. The valuables crew on the other
hand provide discarded blankets, mattresses, clothing, reusable shoes, trolleys etc. Trolleys are useful
but they can also be traded for better necessities. The two teams work separately and meet in the late
afternoon. They share the food that is bread, mashed potatoes, grapes and water. The valuables crew
brings newspapers, plastic piping and poorboy caps.
The Neighbourhood Watch also understands the city and its neighbourhoods. Elias asks the crew to
sleep since they plan to go foraging in Ausblick tonight. It is too hot to be on the streets now. Night is
better and more lucrative for the Neighbourhood Watch. The crew knows that if they hit the bins early,
they may score some good things in Ausblick for instance broken toasters, blenders, water bottles,
teflon pots or pans, flat screen TV cardboard boxes and even some food. People in Ausblick still know
how to throw away things. Elias, Lazarus and Silas will scout ahead rummaging for valuables while
Martin and Omagano push the trolley. They know that soon Ausblick will be overcrowded like
Olympia and Suiderhof. Pionierspark used to be worthwhile but not anymore. Now, the
Neighbourhood Watch are deterred by peeking heads, barking dogs and patrolling vehicles with angry
shouting men. They know that the earlier they get to Ausblick the better.

The Neighborhood Watch understands that in order to survive on the streets one must focus on the
present, not the past or the future. Everyone brings a past to the streets. Lazarus’s tattoos are evidence
of his prison stint. Elias is not scared of him since he faced gunfire against the South African Defence
Forces. Because of hunger or need for food on the streets, they have no time to think about the past.
Elias shares some street smartness with Lazarus. He says the streets has no future, there is only today.
“Today you need food. Today you need shelter. Today you need to take care of today”. On Fridays
and Saturdays, the crew avoids the streets and retreats safely to Headquarters. They do this to avoid
clashing with patrolling police. Silas wants to leave but is forbidden from taking Martin with him.
Elias and Lazarus mock the fools who sit on the roadside in Klein Windhoek and Eros waiting to paint
a room, fix a window, install a sink or lay some tiles because they are too proud to forage for food.
They end up going home hungry. Martin thinks that sometimes those “fools” can get a job and maybe
things will be better. Elias insists that “maybe is tomorrow” and there is only today. On the street one
needs to focus on the present to survive. “Every day is today.”

Elias and Lazarus share what they have learned on the streets with the rest of the crew including how
they decided to change tack. The crew learned that you cannot survive by being around people trying
to survive. When foraging in the poor neighbourhoods, you only get what they don’t need to survive.
The Neighbourhood Watch realise that poor people only throw away garbage which is disgusting and
babies which are useless. In the poor neighborhoods you had to be ready to find shit: old food, used
condoms, women’s things with blood, and broken things. When looking for newspapers to light a fire
once, Elias and Lazarus was shocked when they found a dead baby. They knew it was time to upgrade.
They only went there because they needed to survive. To survive you go everywhere and do
everything. You cannot be picky. But now they know that they should upgrade and go to places where
people have enough to throw away. Neighbourhoods with white people and black people trying to be
white people have such people. They finally get smart and decide to move away from poor people who
have nothing to throw away by themselves.

Lastly the Neighbourhood Watch is wise enough to know that there are some neighbourhoods you
have to avoid. They avoid Khomsadal which is overcrowded and people drink too much there. They
lost their friend Amos there due to his pride end alcohol. He used to curse people, use ugly swear
words and always refused to apologize. He was then stabbed to death. The Neighbourhood Watch
knows that on the streets dead bodies are bad. Police would roughly demand explanations from
witnesses. They used baton bashes, frustrating paperwork and throwing innocent people in holding
cells. When Amos died, everyone including Elias and Lazarus knew they had to run away. They were
also wise enough to stick to the initial story that they had nothing to do with the murder when the
police caught up with them. They were beaten, bruised, bleeding, with swollen eyes broken ribs and
injured limbs but that was better than losing life. They are smart enough to completely avoid
Khomsadal.
In conclusion, difficult experiences make people wise enough to cope and survive. Acuity is essential
for survival.

14) Street families go through many hardships but support each other. Write an essay to
support this statement, referring to The Neighbourhood Watch by Rem’y Ngamije.

Street families face many problems, but they stick together and help each other to survive no matter
what. Life on the streets is tough for street families. They often face many difficulties. But even with
all these problems, their sense of unity and teamwork helps them survive each day.

Street families suffer from a shortage of food, and they are forced to work together in order to survive.
When the Neighbourhood Watch crew wakes up, they do not have breakfast. They only yawn and
stretch. They have to leave early in search of food. Elias, Lazarus, and Omagano are in charge of
searching for food. Elias creates a rapport with kitchen staff in the city's hotels and restaurants.
Sometimes, they leave out almost decaying produce for him and his group. If they are lucky, they get
potatoes, mangoes, carrots, or other smashed leftovers like half-eaten burgers, chips, or salads. The
crew visits overflowing bins behind restaurants early, before the mid-morning sun turns them into
heaps of rotting compost. Sometimes, they face hostile guards who demand bribes. When Elias has
money, he pays. The group shares the food when they meet up in the late afternoon, when they are
full. Elias calls it “time for the rats.”

Street families also suffer violence and abuse. They live under a bridge, which they have to defend
against rival gangs. They have marked their territory with the letters “NW” sprayed on the bridge’s
columns. Any intruder should expect a bloody reprisal. Sometimes, young upstarts become brazen and
beat up older men for encroachment. In the Neighbourhood Watch crew, Lazarus acts as security.
Sometimes, they are threatened by violent guards. Women like Omagano are even exploited by some
guards in exchange for food. One of their friends, Amor, was stabbed to death following an altercation
in the city. The Neighbourhood Watch avoids Khomasdal, which is rife with substance abuse and
violence. Elias constantly warns Silas against stealing to save him from the wrath of mob justice. He
protects Maria against slut-shaming.

Street families also have to contend with police harassment. They stay under the bridge at the
Headquarters on Fridays and Saturdays to avoid run-ins with police patrols. When someone dies,
police interrogation is accompanied by batons. While asking questions, the police often beat the
witnesses. Some street dwellers find jail more hospitable than the streets and so they take the fall for
crimes they did not commit. Cuts, bruises, and bumps are common after police cross-examinations.
Elias thinks police questioning is worse than the beatings he had to endure during insurgency years.
Through the harassment, Elias and Lazarus remain united and steadfast. After the ordeal, they are left
with bruises and bleeding wounds. They have swollen eyes, broken ribs, and wounded limbs that take
days to heal. Still, they survive and are happy to be alive.

Street families face stigma and discrimination. The food crew cannot go to town because they have the
look of street life, so they would stand out too much. They must be wary of patrolling police and
security guards. They walk slowly so that other pedestrians don’t catch their stench. They try as much
as possible to avoid smelling bad. A smelly man is despised everywhere. In neighbourhoods like
Pioneerpark, they deal with people peeking through curtains, barking dogs, patrolling vehicles, and
angry men who shout racial or offensive slurs at them.
Street families live in inadequate shelters. They live under a bridge, which shelters them from rain and
cold during winter. They depend on it for protection against rival gangs. The letters “NW” are sprayed
on the bridge’s columns to mark their territory. They also hide their possessions at the bridge. Their
unity gives them a fierce reputation. Their scant belongings are kept safe there, and they do not need to
push them around. Some people accept going to jail for crimes they did not commit just to get food
and shelter. The streets are not for everyone. The Neighbourhood Watch spends Fridays and Saturdays
under the bridge. It is a safer place to avoid both police and hostile rivals.

Street families sometimes suffer from disease, illness, and lack of healthcare. Elias has a grating
cough. He pulls mucus through the back of his mouth and ears a dollop away. The cough worsens
every day. Sometimes, he even spits blood. His friends are concerned, but he waves their concern
away.

Street families are exposed to substance abuse in some neighbourhoods like Khomasdal people drink
too much. Elias, Lazarus and Amos enjoy their cheap whisky and beer on Fridays and Saturdays.
Substance abuse resulted in squabble and altercations. For instance, Amos’ lack of restraint, insults
and unwillingness to apologize led to her untimely death following a fatal stabbing. Elias and Lazarus
start avoiding such neighbourhoods where substance abuse is rife.

In conclusion, life on the streets is filled with immense challenges—hunger, violence, discrimination,
illness, and police brutality. Yet, despite these difficulties, street families like those in The
Neighbourhood Watch display remarkable unity, resilience, and solidarity.

15) War causes suffering to families and communities. Making reference to Boyi by Gloria
Mwaniga, write an essay to support this statement.

When conflict thrives, it destroys family ties and communal bonds. Family members are affected when
they are separated from one another, some are traumatized and others killed as a result of the crisis. In
Gloria Mwaniga's Boyi, the militia meant to protect community land from strangers turns out to be the
enemy within, wreaking untold havoc on the same community they had vowed to protect.

First, Mama is adversely affected when her son is separated from the rest of the family. Madness
enters Mama's eyes when Baba gives Boyi away to the militia leader as collateral until he finds 40,000
land protection tax. As if fire ants had invaded her body, Mama stands up abruptly. She tears off her
kitenge headscarf and start shouting. Mama says that Baba must be sick in the head to think Boyi
would return. He must be deaf if he has not heard tales of neighbours whose sons had been recruited
by the militia. A child was not a mat that could be folded and returned to the owner or a dress that one
can borrow from a neighbour. Baba is enraged but he just sits there. In a metallic whisper, he asks
Mama what she wanted him to do. He justifies his action by saying he did it to protect his family from
the militia’s cruel actions of chopping off heads of whole families, carrying off fresh heads like
trophies and hanging them on trees or eating them like Idi Amin. They also tortured victims by
chopping off their ears and feeding them worm-filled earth. Mama does not buy this explanation.
Hives break out on her skin. Her eyes are deathly white like the eyes of one who did not know her own
mind. The narrator feels queasy as if someone had pulled her insides out through her nostrils. War
indeed has a devastating effect on loved ones. (P91-92)

Apart from that, Boyi's family is gripped with fear, desperation and anxiety. When reproached by
Mama, Baba holds his rage firmly with his hands. He pulls in his lips to a narrow thread, like a line
drawn on his dark face by a ruler. His voice sinks to a metallic whisper and he asks Mama what she
wanted him to do. He tells her that the militia was chopping off heads of whole families if one did not
give them money. They carry off fresh heads like trophies and hang them on trees or eat them like Idi
Amin. They torture their victims by slowly chopping off their ears and feeding them worm-filled earth.
Boyi's sister feels queasy as if someone had pulled her insides out through her nostrils. The family
knew that the militia would come to their house. Chesober, Baba's friend who taught at Chepkukur
Primary School, had them that the militia had a long list of people who aided the government exercise
to subdivide their land and give some of it to the strangers. Baba had lent a panga and ‘makonge’
ropes to the government surveyors. When news breaks out that they had begun attacking government
representatives, Mama desperately starts blocking the sitting room door with sacks of maize and
beans. Out of fear or denial, the narrator and Boyi laughed at the thought of the militia attacking them,
their own kin. That is the night Matwa Kei knocks at their door and demands to be given 10,000 land
protection tax and 30,000 betrayal tax, failure to which they would be shown “smoke without fire”.
That is when he pushes Boyi forward and tells Matwa Kei to hold onto him. Surely, war causes fear
within families or communities. (P92)

The war also causes devastation that pushes Mama to the brink of insanity and disconnection from
reality. Boyi’s sister finds her mother seated alone on a kitimoto in the kitchen. She neither looks up
nor responds to greetings. She screams at the girl to leave some tea for her brother who will return
from the caves hungry. The screaming goes on for weeks. “Stupid girl, you want to finish tea and your
brother will come from the caves hungry,” she bawls. She would sit stunned gazing at the
whitewashed wall, declaring in a quiet voice that she was seeing a vision of a dazzling white dove.
God of Israel was showing her that her son was returning home after escaping from the snare of the
militia. After her monologues, she would sit sadly and silently. When her madness takes a walk, they
would brew tea together with a girl and she would nostalgically reminisce stories about Boyi; about
how he saved her marriage, his shiny ebony skin and eloquence in English which was too good for a
fifteen- year-old like him. This is a clear testament of a mother’s agony, anguish and disconnection
from reality. War really causes devastation to families. (P92-93)

The war drives Baba, a Christian, to partake in a strange cultural practice to escort Boyi’s spirit away.
Together with his cousin Kimutai, he digs a shallow grave and buries a banana stem wrapped in a
green cotton sheet. He asks death to take that body and never bother his family again. They do this
after Saulo brings news that a troop of two hundred Armed Forces men had been dispatched in green
lorries to carry out an undertaking dubbed ‘Operation Okoa Maisha’. They were coming to flush out
the militia. The war had gone on for too long and it is them themselves who had forced the mighty arm
of the government. Boyi’s sister is taken aback that her pious father had turned his back on religion.
Her mother refuses to play a part in the mock burial. She only follows Baba's movements with her
eyes. Mama’s voice bears manic vibrancy when she declares that she would not participate in
escorting her son’s spirit away. She has lost touch with reality and lives in denial. This is as a result of
the pointless conflict.(P93-94)

In her anguish, Mama is too despondent to eat. She sits muttering to herself without touching her food.
The ugali would remain untouched until a crusty brown film formed and the food had to be thrown
away to the chicken coop. Boyi's sister would catch the twist of her mouth when she would sit and talk
to herself for hours on end lamenting about her suffering. She asks God to tie a rope around her
stomach - to help her bear the anguish of losing her son to the ruthless militia. She asks Boyi’s sister if
she remembers his perfect teeth. After weeks of watching Mama, Boyi's sister gets tired and starts
going out with the rest of the children to the chief’s camp in Cheptap-burbur where the army had
pitched their green tents. War really causes suffering of family members. (P94)
Boyi's sister helplessly wishes that rituals would protect her brother. After getting tired of watching
Mama, she goes with the rest of the children to the chiefs camp in Cheptap-burbur where the army had
pitched their tents. They spend hours peeping through the Cypress fence eavesdropping the soldiers’
conversations and making up fabulous tales from them. The very black officer called Sah-gent
defeated Idi Amin in Uganda. He told the others that Matwa Kei had more magic than Idi Amin. The
man is a real djinni. Boyi’s sister pictures Matwa-kei's favourite Chicago Bulls red cap absorbing Sah-
gent’s bullets. These stories make her think of the tales Boyi was telling her about the militia. How
they drank magic potions from Orkoiyot so that their bodies, like the Luo legend Lwanda Magere,
would become stone and enemies’ spears would slide off them. Their bodies were embalmed in
bloody cow dung to make them invisible for successful raiding missions. When they marched through
dry lands, clouds of red dust would rise up to the heavens like a swarm of locusts because the earth
god Yeyiin went with them. She held on to these stories tightly. Willing them to be true. Willing Boyi
to be more powerful than the soldiers. (P94-95)

Boyi's sister recounts horrific tales of the militia’s cruelty. That December the farmers do not clear
their shambas for the second planting of maize. The militia steals young crops from the fields and
goats from the pens. Instead of working, men and women sit under mtaragwa trees and exchange
dreadful tales of the horrendous cruelty of the militia. The militia cuts up people and throw their
bloodied bodies in rivers, pit latrines and wells. They recruit boys as young as ten who are forced to
kill their own relatives. Instead of protecting the land from being given to lazy strangers, the militia
goes on an indiscriminate killing spree, and their kin are victims of the aggression instead of
beneficiaries. Koros, their neighbour, informs Baba that the recruited members of the militia had to
first go home and kill a close relative so that their hearts were strong to kill others. Baba replies
solemnly: “Puoot, war is a maggot that nibbles and nibbles at the heart of men.” Boyi’s sister has a
terrible dream that her brother, whose eyes were the colour of Coca-Cola, attacks her and chops her
into “small-small” pieces so that his heart would become strong to kill. The thought is traumatizing.
She wakes up feeling like an anchorless red balloon was floating in her stomach. (P95)

The chilling tales of war causes fear and trauma. There is a mass exodus to Bungoma and Uganda as
families try to escape. The family of the narrator’s friend, Chemtai, moves away to Chwele. The
villages of Kopsiro, Saromet, Chepyuk and Chelebei are engulfed in a thick yellow fog of fear. They
did not understand the militia’s motive anymore. The thugs take away girls to cook for them. They
decapitate people and throw their heads in Cheptap-burbur river which was scarlet with fresh human
blood from the floating human heads. They also rape their own relatives. The abused women and girls
end up giving birth to transparent “plastic bag” babies. The narrator imagines the horror of seeing
Boyi’s “plastic bag” baby playing Tinker-tailor-soldier-sailor with boats that fell from the flame tree.
Since school is disrupted by the war, such thoughts haunt the young girl as she spends her idle days
under a flame tree at home.

Boyi’s family members are devastated when they hear the news of how Boyi goes from a pious boy to
a marked man. Boyi's sister wonders if it is Mama's mourning that courted misfortune or Baba's total
refusal to talk about Boyi that made their ancestors forget to protect him. It is raining and the narrator
is standing at the kitchen window staring at the silver droplets when she sees Chesaina, an old friend
of Baba, who works as a watchman in a grain depot in far away Chwele market. She is surprised to see
him visit. Chesaina tells Baba and Mama that he got word from a trader, who got it from the mouth of
a big government man, that boy was now a marked man. Because of the war, innocent children turn
into savages. Apart from the boys who were forced to murder or rape their own kinsmen, Boyi has
also gone from a God-fearing young man to a wanted criminal. Chesaina says: “This war has taken
with it the mind of your son.” Boyi's sister hides behind the kitchen door watching Mama. Mama says
in her old voice that she must not be told such rubbish about her son. She tells Chesaina that if he
wanted Omo to wash his dirty mouth he should just say so. Her eyes are flooded with tears. She puts
both hands on her head. She asks: “Matwa kei what did I ever do to you? Tell me Matwa kei, tell me
now so that I repent.” Her voice chokes. The narrator wanted to tell Chesaina to shut up but her tongue
is clammy and it sticks to the roof of her mouth. Baba tries to calm Mama down. He tells her that Boyi
was a good son who used to recite his responsorial psalm earnestly. The distressing news crashes
Boyi’s parents and reduces both of them to tears. They cannot wrap their heads around the fact that
their good son is now Matwa Kei's right hand man and an enemy of the state. Mama keeps crying so
Chesaina walks out in the rain. That day Boyi's sister sees Baba's tears for the first time: Two silver
streams rolling down polished porcelain. War really devastates families. (P96)

War causes sad memories as family members think about the broken bonds. Boyi's sister sleeps on
Boyi’s bed for the first time. His blue bed sheets, with prints of chicks coming out of yellow egg
shells, enfold her with deathly coolness. They smell much of him; of his boyish laughter which shone
like toffees wrapped in silver foil; of brown butterscotch sweets which appeared as though by magic
from his sticky pockets. She fondly remembers how he used to hoard items Baba declared illegal for
example jawbreakers and sticks of Big G. She presses her sore stone-breasts on the sheets willing the
pain her brother felt in the cold caves on herself. She imagines him staring with shiny eyes as she tells
him about the soldiers, especially Sah-gent, whose adventures she knew Boyi would love the most.
She also imagines them playing Ninja soldier as they had done as children. Boyi is wearing his
checkered school shirt while she is in a T-shirt. She remembers when their mother caught them
playing that game once, and scolded them for courting misfortune and calling death by its name. War
affects families and communities adversely. (P96)

Lastly, Boyi’s family is devastated by the news of his killing. Boyi's sister knows it was a bad omen
the night thunderstruck and a bolt of lightning shattered the huge Nandi flame tree at the front of their
house. Mama jubilantly declares that the evil which was to come to their house had been struck down
and swallowed by the Nandi flame. She then sits next to Boyi’s sister on the animal print sofa and
listens to the tatatata as the splinters of tree fall on the mabati roof and shake the whole house. Early
the next morning, Simoni dashes into their compound and hands her a copy of the Nation newspaper
whose headline screams coldly, “Ragtag Militia Leaders Killed by Army Forces.” Something throbs
with both fists at her chest as she runs like a mad woman and bangs on her parents bedroom door. She
does not stir when Baba crumples like an old coat due to shock after reading the article. She does not
frown when Mama’s ribbon laughter pierces the early morning. She does not weep when neighbours
start streaming into their house pouring consolations for war has robbed them of their kin in the prime
of his youth. Mama does not fall on the ground as Simoni describes how Boyi had been captured in the
sacred cave. She does not weep when he describes how Boyi was murdered brutally by Sah-gent who
threw him out of an aircraft which was mid-air, without a parachute. There was no body to bury or for
Mama to slap for that matter. She looks at Baba with unclouded innocent eyes of lunacy. With death in
her voice, she tells him that the government Sah-gent had thrown Boyi down “without a parachute,
imagine”. Her voice is neither bitter nor sad. It is flat. It cracks a little like dry firewood when fire eats
it. Mama does not fling words at Baba when he takes his Sony transistor radio and the Nation
newspaper and throws them in the almost full pit latrine outside. She is truly devastated. She speaks
Boyi’s name softly as though the syllables were made of tin. She sits on Boyi’s bed together with her
daughter who weeps uncontrollably, her tears soaking her blue silk blouse and purple boob top. Boyi’s
sister does not tell her mother that she had felt life leaving Boyi's body. War indeed affects families
adversely. (P97)

In summary, it is evident that conflict or crisis has no positive outcome. They instead destroy families
and communities.
16) Love and care from family help mentally-ill people feel better. Making reference
to December by Filemon Liyambo, write an essay to validate this statement.

It is important to maintain sincere, meaningful relationships with loved ones who are suffering from
mental illness in order to provide the support that they need. September loves and cares for his sister
who suffers from a mental illness.

First, despite the mean treatment by the KFC waitress, September is determined to get his sister a meal
she enjoys. The waitress is impudent. She eyes September with a deathly stare and the furrowed brow
and rudely asks him if he was ordering anything. When he orders chips, she sneers at him. This
reminds him of how his grandfather Ezekiel looked at him over his glasses whenever he sensed “traces
of idiotism” or absent-mindedness(P84). September endures the nonchalance for the sake of his sick
sister. Like most Namibian towns where everyone knew each other, there was an indifference to those
who did not reside there. Strangers had to wait until Jesus returned for decent customer service. The
rude waitress hands September his chips and scoffs at the idiocy. She wonders who comes to KFC to
order chips. September samples the chips and they are soft just like his sister preferred them. He even
asks for an extra sachet of tomato sauce(P85). When he visits December in hospital and gives her the
chips, she acknowledges that they are nice. September adds that they are soft, just how she liked them.
A further display of affection is evident when he rubs the tomato sauce off her lips gently(P89).
September endures the rude treatment at KFC to buy his sister chips. It is important to maintain such a
loving bond with our family members who suffer from mental illness.

September is concerned about December’s dietary oddity. December did not eat chicken. She was not
allergic. Her grandfather barred her from eating chicken, but never explained the reason clearly. When
visiting her in hospital, September brought her beef and mutton but never chicken. September,
concerned about this, would ask the old man about why she was forbidden from eating chicken several
times. He simply replied: "That's how things are." December did not question traditions for old ways
existed for a reason. September suspected that his grandfather was hiding something.

September visits December in hospital several times. He notices that the hospital had been renovated
twice since last he had been there. The sign in front of the casualty ward was already missing two
letters. The turquoise and green paint still looked fresh. He had visited a few times and did not need
directions to the psychiatric ward. He knew a shortcut between pediatrics and the pharmacy. He
notices that while some things had changed, others had remained the same. The bars on the windows
had been reinforced. When she was first admitted, he used to sit with her in the garden outside the
ward. The visits followed a pattern. He would bring her food, ask her how she was. Her response was
always, "Fine." She was tired and wanted to go home, but September did not want to make a promise
he would break.

September is angered by his grandfather's superstitions. He insisted that December had been
bewitched. His belief was fueled by his younger brother's condition. Signs of his mental illness started
manifesting in his teens, and he got lost a month ago. Ezekiel believed December’s plunge from a
stellar student to a psychiatric patient was too abrupt. He believed there were other forces at work. The
affliction started a few months before she was to finish secondary school and enroll at the Teacher's
Training College.

Despite the cold reception at the hospital and his lateness, September is adamant that he must see his
sick sister. When he greets the nurse sorting paperwork at her desk, she shouts rudely: “What do you
want?” To which he replies that he was there to visit his sister. Her curved eyebrows point him to a
chart on the wall. He is thirty minutes late according to the wall chart for visiting hours and the clock.
Determined to see his sister, he tries sincerity and charm by flashing a smile. His courteousness does
not spare him the indifference. Rolling her eyes, the nurse insists” “Kamatyona, you’re late.” The
nurse call security on him. He is not moved by the two giants and the smaller man. He sits on the grey
waiting benches, hoping to see his sister. Luckily, the head of security is Tshuuveni, September’s
childhood friend. He was one of the several boys who pursued December when she was young. He
was the reason why September acquired a puppy named Kali, which hound Tshuuveni whenever he
came near the homestead. The rude nurse learns that it was December Shikongo, his sister, that
September wanted to see so badly(P87). Due to his resolution, she finally capitulates and allows
September to see his sister for twenty minutes. September’s persistence is born out of the loving bond
between him and December.

September cries when he has to go abroad and leave his sister behind. When he broke the news to his
grandfather that he was going to study abroad, Ezekiel had been happy. September cried, "My sister."
His grandfather reassures him that he will take care of her.

September maintains a loving bond with his sister despite her challenge of mental illness. December
affectionately refers to September as Ka Brother, little brother. This is her favorite greeting.
December and September have always shared a loving relationship since they were children. When
they were too small to join their siblings working in the mahangu (pearl millet) field, December tended
to her mother’s vegetable garden, together with September. September, four at the time, liked hiding.
When the sister was digging with a hoe, he sprang up when she was in mid swing. The impact made a
small but deep gush on the head. December shows sincere affection for her brother when she rips off
her T-shirt to stem the bleeding. She also nurses him back to health when he returns from the
hospital(P85). At the hospital, September notices that December’s hair was scattered like patchy
Kaokoveld Dress. Her eyes shine. She is gaunt. Her lips are swollen. She had probably walked into a
wall again. She looks thin – like that time her grandfather had taken her to a healer and she returned
looking skeletal, as if the healer had tried starving the voices out of her head. September sympathizes
with his sister, and can only manage a weak: “How are you?”. This notwithstanding, they engage in a
warm conversation. They talk about school. They both laugh and share a smile(P88). When it is time
to go, December has to be pried out of her brother’s arms. The nurse comforts her saying that
tomorrow is also another day. It is important to maintain such a loving relationship with relatives
suffering from mental illness.

When September visits, he often brings his sister food and thoughtful gifts. He gives her a jersey – a
grey hoodie. She thanks him saying the place is always cold(P89). He also gives her a pen and a book
full of puzzles. Then a T-shirt: simple, navy blue, with the Union Jack on it. A replica of the one
December ripped to stem September’s bleeding. She shows the indifferent nurse the gifts her brother
had brought her. Lastly, he hands her chips: soft, just how she liked them. September displays loving
affection for his sister when he visits her regularly and brings her food and gifts(P89).

December has to be pried out of September’s arms. The nurse comforts her, "Ngula nalyo esiku."
Tomorrow is also a day. She asks him to come in on time the next day. He promises that he would,
although he knew he would not make it.

Because of his love for December, he conceals the fact that their grandfather is dead. The grandfather
used to take care of her when he was abroad. She was his favourite grandchild. He was the only
relative listed in her file. She remarks that he had not visited her in a while. It pained to tell her that he
had passed away. He decides against it.
In conclusion, it is important to maintain a loving relationship with family members suffering from
mental illness.

17) Dishonest rich people live in fear of being caught. Write an essay to support this
statement citing illustrations from Kevin Baldeosingh's Cheque Mate.

Some people are constantly worried about what they do in darkness being brought to light. When the
things they do in secret are revealed in public they may be embarrassed or be in trouble so they go to
great lengths to hide their misdeeds as in the case of Sukiya and Randall in Kelvin
Baldeosingh’s Cheque Mate.

Since Sukiya is hell bent on keeping her huge income secret, she deliberately avoids going to the bank
branch where she has her savings account because the staff there would be too familiar with her
business. She chooses a special queue for platinum credit card holders that only has three people.
There are only two people behind her and they are not close enough to hear her conversation with the
teller. She does all this trying to keep her huge earnings a secret because of the fear of being exposed.

Also, she decides that she would not deal with any bank managers directly. Ever since she was
appointed corporate secretary, she got a tenfold salary raise. She became among the country’s one
percent highest income earners. Every 28th day of the month, fifty thousand dollars went automatically
into her savings account. Her savings account had over seven million dollars. Although she has been
working for fifteen years, she became corporate secretary only six years ago. As an in-house lawyer
for Randall’s company, her savings never crossed ten thousand dollars. Now she deposits five times
that amount every month in that same account, which she opened when she was eighteen years old
working as a store clerk. That is why she decides never to deal personally with bank managers as most
new customers in her income bracket do. A bank manager could make an educated guess and find an
anomaly in her earnings. Someone who earns fifty thousand a month accumulating seven million
dollars in only six years is something that would raise eyebrows.

Sukiya is worried that the bank teller may get suspicious when she takes back her cheque of five
million dollars, which is a substantial amount. The teller seemed like a sensible woman and everything
about her, including the black wire frames of her spectacles and her stocky figure in her grey bank
uniform seemed sensible. But she was not making any sense, when she asks if Sukiya wanted to
deposit the thirty million dollars, in her savings account. Sukiya thinks that ordinary tellers know little
about how rich people conduct their business. But today she feels a flutter in her stomach. She is
nervous because she was about to deposit a cheque of five million US dollars which is equivalent to
30,242,000 Trinidad and Tobago dollars. When the teller gestures with the cheque Sukiya almost
flinches. Aghast at her own carelessness she barely hears as the teller explains about US dollar
accounts. Sukiya is worried because her boss would be furious if her error exposed him to a legal
investigation or a public embarrassment. This is a mistake she could not have made 16 years ago when
she was a 25 year old attorney fresh out of law school or seven years ago when she completed a degree
in accounting. She had never made such a mistake before and she never makes mistakes. She is thus
worried that the teller may get suspicious if she took back the cheque. She does everything to keep her
income secret.

Sukiya has to keep some of her money in offshore accounts for the fear of being exposed to the
authorities. She could not deposit the five million dollars into her local account. All her cheques go to
the Cayman islands account which she uses to invest and pay mortgages on her London flat. When
Randall inherited his company, electronic banking was not standard. He had also watched many
movies where accounts of businessmen had been cleaned out by unrealistically cunning criminals who
hacked into them. So he preferred payments in paper. He insisted on paying Sukiya for her extra
duties involving foreign firms with US cheques. Every two months she had to fly from Trinidad to the
Grand Caymans to deposit the cheques into her account there. She does this to keep her large earnings
a secret. She is worried about being exposed if she banks the money in her local bank accounts.

In order to keep her secrets safe, the maids are not allowed inside Sukiya’s study even when she is
present. It always remains locked. Although she is not as paranoid as Randall, Sukiya’s desktop
computer does not have internet access. For that, she uses her laptop, netbook or iPhone. The
computer also has more than one layer of password for foolproof protection. On the computer, she
checks her accounts over the past year and compares them with the recent transactions with the
cheques laid out in front of her. Everything matches except for the five million. She does all this
hoping she has not made any mistake because the mistake may expose her or her boss and this would
make her boss furious in case it leads to legal investigations or public embarrassment. Sukiya does
everything to keep the dealings of her company and their incomes secret.

Sukiya plans her strategy to help protect herself from the prying eyes of investigators. She arrives for
the meeting with Randall at 1:15 and waits in her Q7 since she does not want to be kept waiting
because that would put her in a position of weakness. She also does not want to arrive late since
Randall insists on punctuality. She waits until 1.25 o’clock and takes the elevator to the top floor and
walks into Randall’s outer office at exactly 1.29 o’clock.

In order to keep his secrets safe, Randall maintains his old secretary for very long time. This is
because she knows more about his dealings than anybody else at the company. Margaret was
Randall’s secretary even before he inherited the company. She has no formal skills except typing and
shorthand. That notwithstanding, she is Randall’s executive assistant. What’s more? She even has her
own secretary to deal with routine duties. Her office is bigger than Sukiya's. She is paid more than
most managers in the company's subsidiaries. This is because she knows more about Randall’s
dealings than anyone else in the company including Sukiya herself. Randall goes to great lengths to
prevent his secrets from leaking to the public eye or the prying eyes of the authorities or investigators.

Randall tries to avoid prosecution by forging his own signature using Sukiya’s pen. He gives Sukiya a
cheque of five million U.S. dollars which he says, on the books is her fee for writing the methanol deal
but off the books, it is her fee for keeping her mouth shut about the methanol deal. Randall influences
Sukiya to write a valuation report for the shares in which the contract undervalues the shares by fifty
percent. He knows that Sukiya signs documents without reading them properly. Because of the
undervaluation, the Chinese offer him a huge kickback. Feeling victorious, Randall smiles. Sukiya is
more nervous than she was at the bank and now she feels as though her stomach is a cold, tight ball.
Her mouth has gone dry. Randall uses different signatures to sign off the cheques. He does this to
make it appear like someone had access to blank cheques and forged his signature. He even uses
Sukiya’s pen, a Tibaldi rollerball, to make it appear like Sukiya had forged his signature. He tries to
betray Sukiya in order to protect himself. He knows that the universe is collapsing and its masters
cannot hold. The company will be bankrupt in three months. He thinks that there’s going to be a
worldwide financial crisis before the year is finished. He laughs when he realizes that Sukiya does not
pay attention to the world. He wants to avoid prosecution since he knows that when push comes to
shove and the storm breaks he will be in its eye. His strategy is to avoid prosecution by ensuring that
none of the documents the authorities will come for implicate him. He is the boss but there will be
nothing to hold him accountable and that makes a crucial difference. Randall goes to great lengths to
conceal his financial transgressions.
In order to protect herself, Sukiya ensures that she records Randall’s voice which incriminates him.
She knows that if the company goes down, it will affect many people who have taken a life insurance
with them. That will affect the votes and therefore the government would hire American forensic
auditors or even the British QC to prosecute the case. She sheds tears and tells Randall that she has
always been loyal to him to which he quickly replies that she was certainly paid enough to be loyal.
She asks if he can help her. Randall tells her to approach him and kneel. Sukiya peers at her iPhone
and presses some buttons. Randall’s voice is heard distinctly. He shoots up from his chair. He has the
expression of a vengeful god. He stands there as if held by invincible chains. His breathing is heavy.
Sukiya tells him not to worry as they will face the coming storm together. Sukiya does this in a bid to
protect herself and keep her secrets safe.

In conclusion, people go to great lengths to keep embarrassing or illicit details of their lives hidden
from the public eye. However, this means they live their lives in fear and they have to keep watching
over their shoulder to avoid the prying eye of the hawk-eyed investigators or embarrassment from the
general public.

THE END