JAMB Literature in English 2019 Past Questions & Answers

The question quotes from the prescribed poem 'The Dining Table' by Gbanabom Hallowell, which describes the horrors of war. The phrases 'gun wounds' and 'vegetable blood' are powerful metaphors that create a feeling of violence and injury. Describing a meal with such words clearly shows that the characters are in a very dangerous and life-threatening situation.

Common mistake: Students might mistakenly choose 'Darkness' because the imagery is grim and bleak, but 'Danger' is more specific and accurate as the phrase 'gun wounds' points directly to a physical threat.

Gabriel Okara's poem 'Piano and Drums' uses the two instruments as symbols for two different ways of life. The 'piano' represents the complex and modern Western culture introduced through colonialism, while the 'drums' represent the simple, traditional African culture. The poet feels torn between these two worlds, reflecting on the challenge of reconciling two different cultures.

Common mistake: Students might mistakenly choose 'Norms' because norms are a part of culture, but 'Cultures' is the broader and more accurate term that captures the entire conflict presented in the poem.

The correct option is 'Dress-making' because the poem is filled with images related to sewing and tailoring to describe the creation of a new African identity. The poet uses phrases like 'tattered flags', 'sewn up in a new garment', and 're-sewn into a new quilt'. These words create a strong mental picture of mending and creating new clothes, which serves as a metaphor for societal change.

Common mistake: Students often mistakenly choose 'Tradition and modernity' because it is the central theme of the poem, but the question specifically asks for the dominant imagery, which is the picture-language used to express that theme.

The poem 'Vanity' by Birago Diop expresses deep sadness about modern Africans neglecting the wisdom of their ancestors. This refusal to listen to 'the dead who are not dead' leads to a life of suffering, confusion, and endless complaints. Therefore, the central theme is the pain and misery that result from abandoning one's cultural heritage and ancestral guidance.

Common mistake: Students might mistakenly choose 'Clash of cultures' because the poem contrasts modern ways with tradition, but the poet's main focus is on the resulting suffering, not the clash itself.

The correct answer is Metaphor because it is a figure of speech that makes a direct comparison between two unlike things by stating that one thing 'is' another. In the question, 'the land is a gaint whale' directly compares the land to a whale to suggest its vastness and power. This is a classic example of a metaphorical expression.

Common mistake: Students might wrongly choose Personification, but that figure of speech gives human qualities or actions to an object, whereas this line compares the land to an animal (a whale), which is a metaphor.

The correct option is B. The poem 'The Proud King' is written in seven-line stanzas, a form called 'rhyme royal'. To find the rhyme scheme, we label the end sound of each line with a letter. In this poem, the first and third lines rhyme (a), the second, fourth, and fifth lines rhyme (b), and the last two lines rhyme with each other to form a couplet (c). This gives the consistent pattern of ababbcc.

Common mistake: Students often mistakenly choose A (aabbcc) because it represents a simple series of rhyming couplets, a common poetic form they might remember, without carefully analysing the seven-line stanza structure of this specific poem.

The question asks for the theme of a specific, named non-African poem, 'Birches' by Robert Frost. The poem contrasts the difficult realities of adult life with the carefree joy of childhood, using the image of swinging on birches as a temporary escape. This desire to go 'toward heaven' but return to earth speaks to the human condition and the fleeting (transient) nature of life, making option A the correct theme.

Common mistake: Students often mistakenly choose option C because the poem is nostalgic about childhood, but this is only part of the larger theme which also includes the adult's complex desire for both escape and return to earthly life.

The line 'Shall I compare thee to a summer's day' is the famous opening of William Shakespeare's Sonnet 18. A sonnet is a specific type of poem that contains 14 lines and follows a strict rhyme scheme. The question uses this well-known first line as an example to identify the entire poetic form.

Common mistake: Students might mistakenly choose Quatrain or Octave because they are parts of a sonnet, but the question asks to identify the entire poetic form, not just a stanza within it.

The question asks about a specific prescribed poem, 'The school boy' by William Blake, who is a non-African poet. The correct answer is 'Little boy' because the title itself points to a young male student. The poem's content, which describes the boy's desire to play outside instead of being in a classroom, reinforces this image of a young child, not a grown man.

Common mistake: A student might choose 'Man' if they only focus on the male gender mentioned in the title but fail to consider the context of 'school' and the youthful feelings expressed in the poem.

Personification is a figure of speech where human qualities or actions are given to inanimate objects or abstract ideas. In the given lines, the tide is described as 'moving seem asleep', giving it the human quality of sleeping. Also, the sandbar is described as 'moaning', which is a human sound of distress, making 'Personification' the correct answer.

Common mistake: Students might mistakenly choose Allegory because the entire poem 'Crossing the Bar' is an allegory for death, but this specific question asks to identify the figure of speech used in the expression itself.

The novel 'Faceless' by Amma Darko focuses on the story of Fofo, a young girl navigating the difficult life on the streets of Accra. The plot's main events begin just after she turns fourteen, making her the fourteen-year-old girl at the centre of the narrative. Her age is significant as it highlights the theme of child vulnerability and exploitation.

Common mistake: Students might mistakenly choose 'Thirteen-year-old girl' because they remember Fofo is very young but cannot recall her exact age at the start of the novel's main events.

In the novel 'Lonely Days', the cap picking ceremony was the traditional event where the widow, Yaremi, was expected to choose a new husband from her late husband's relatives. Her public refusal to pick any of the suitors' caps was a direct defiance of this important Kufi custom. This action greatly offended the men and their families, turning them into her enemies.

Common mistake: Students who have not read the text carefully might confuse the cap picking ceremony with a new naming ceremony, which is a different cultural event related to childbirth, not a widow's remarriage.

In Bayo Adebowale's 'Lonely Days', the women of Kufi are consistently portrayed as very hardworking and diligent. They are actively involved in economic activities like farming, cloth dyeing, and petty trading to take care of their families. This constant work shows their industrious nature, making 'Industrious' the correct answer.

Common mistake: Students might mistakenly choose 'Domineering' because the older widows put pressure on Yaremi concerning widowhood rites, but their defining trait across the community is their hard work.

In Richard Wright's novel 'Native Son', Bigger and his friends Gus, G.H., and Jack plan to rob a delicatessen owned by a white man named Mr. Blum. This was a very risky crime for Black youths at that time, and the fear of the consequences is a major source of tension. When Gus shows hesitation, Bigger violently accuses him of being afraid to go through with the plan to rob Blum.

Common mistake: Students might mistakenly choose Dalton because he is the wealthy white man who employs Bigger, but the planned robbery of the delicatessen owner, Blum, occurs before Bigger gets that job.

This question tests your knowledge of the plot of Richard Wright's novel, *Native Son*. After Bigger Thomas accidentally smothers Mary Dalton to death in her bedroom, he panics and seeks to dispose of her body. He carries her down to the basement of the Dalton's house and burns her remains in the furnace to hide his crime.

Common mistake: Students who cannot recall the specific details of the plot might guess another option like 'Pit' or 'Lagoon', as these are also plausible places to hide a body, but they are incorrect for this particular story.

The question tests knowledge of a specific plot point in the prescribed play, 'Harvest of Corruption'. In the play, after Aloho threatens to expose Chief Ade-Amaka's corrupt activities, he arranges a fake, illegal trial, known as a 'kangaroo court', to falsely convict and silence her.

Common mistake: Students might mistakenly choose 'Custom officer' because it was Ochuole, a customs officer, who first introduced Aloho to the world of corruption in the city.

This question is based on the plot of the JAMB-recommended novel, 'The Last Days at Forcados High School'. In the story, Chief Ade-Amaka (referred to here as Chief Ade Haladu) is arrested for financial crimes. While he is questioned at a police station, the full extent of his crimes and the evidence against him are formally presented during his trial, which takes place in a court of law.

Common mistake: Students often mistakenly choose 'Police station' because that is where Chief Ade-Amaka was first taken after his arrest, but the formal presentation of his crimes occurred later in court.

The question requires identifying the main characters driven by greed and ambition in the play. Whitehead, the colonialist, is greedy for the diamonds in Mando. Maligu (written as Malign in the option), the king's adviser, and Soko, the chief priest, betray their community by conspiring with Whitehead for their own personal gain. These three characters are the central figures in the plot of exploitation.

Common mistake: Students might mistakenly choose option D, including King Santigi, but the King is initially deceived by his advisers and is not a primary driver of the conspiracy like Maligu is.

In the play 'A Raisin in the Sun,' the Younger family receives a $10,000 life insurance check after the death of Mama's husband. This money is the source of both hope and conflict for the family members, who all have different dreams for it. Mama decides to use part of this specific insurance money to buy a house for the family, fulfilling a long-held dream.

Common mistake: Students might mistakenly choose 'Savings' because buying a house is often done with savings, but this ignores the central plot point that the family's opportunity comes from the life insurance money, not their own accumulated wealth.

In Oliver Goldsmith's play 'She Stoops to Conquer', the casket of jewels is the inheritance of Constance Neville. Her aunt, Mrs. Hardcastle, keeps the jewels and wants Constance to marry her son, Tony, to keep the fortune in the family. Tony steals the casket from his mother to help Constance elope with Hastings, the man she truly loves.

Common mistake: Students often mistakenly choose 'Mrs. Hardcastle's Jewels' because Tony steals the casket from her, but the jewels are actually Constance's inheritance which Mrs. Hardcastle is only keeping.

This speech is made by Bianca in Act 4, Scene 1 of Shakespeare's 'Othello'. She is very angry and jealous because Cassio gave her Desdemona's handkerchief to copy, and she thinks it belongs to another lover. She throws the handkerchief back at Cassio in public, which Othello secretly watches and misunderstands.

Common mistake: Students may mistakenly choose Othello because of his obsession with the handkerchief, but it is Bianca who confronts Cassio with it in this scene.

This question tests your detailed knowledge of Shakespeare's play, *Othello*. The correct answer is Cassio because the question refers to a specific point in the play where he is the character who replies to a speech. A good example is in Act 2, Scene 3, where Cassio responds to Iago's speech and song encouraging him to drink, which ultimately leads to his downfall.

Common mistake: Students might mistakenly choose Iago because he is a central character who is involved in most of the play's conversations and manipulations.

This question tests your knowledge of the setting in William Shakespeare's play, *Othello*. After the characters move from Venice to Cyprus, many important events happen in the area just outside the castle. This location is where key scenes, like the public celebrations and the beginning of Cassio's downfall, take place. Knowing the specific settings within the play is important for understanding the plot's development.

Common mistake: Students often confuse the various settings in Cyprus and might choose 'A seaport in cyprus' because it is the first location where the characters arrive on the island.

The question is about the play 'Othello' by William Shakespeare. The handkerchief was a special gift that Othello gave to his wife, Desdemona, which he had inherited from his mother. Although other characters like Cassio and Bianca later possess it, its original owner in the context of the play's central conflict is Othello.

Common mistake: Students often mistakenly choose Cassio because Iago plants the handkerchief in his room to frame him, but Cassio only found it and never truly owned it.

This line is spoken by Cassio to Bianca in Act 3, Scene 4 of Shakespeare's *Othello*. He is asking her to come with him so she can copy the pattern on the handkerchief he found in his room. This event is a crucial part of Iago's plan to make Othello jealous, as he later uses Bianca's possession of the handkerchief as 'proof' of an affair.

Common mistake: Students might mistakenly choose Bianca because Cassio is speaking the line directly to her, thus confusing the speaker with the person being addressed.