JAMB Literature in English 2020 Past Questions & Answers

A Midsummer Night's Dream is a classic example of a Shakespearean comedy because it ends happily with multiple marriages and celebration. The story involves confusion, magic, and lovers' quarrels, but these problems are all resolved in a lighthearted way, which is the main feature of a comedy.

Common mistake: Students might mistakenly choose tragic-comedy because of the initial conflicts and confusion, but the play's lighthearted tone and completely happy ending make it a pure comedy.

The climax is the most intense point or turning point in the plot of any play, whether it is a tragedy or a comedy. It is a key part of the story's structure that exists in both forms of drama. In contrast, a 'happy-ending' is specific to comedy, and a 'tragic hero' is specific to tragedy, making 'climax' the only term that applies to both.

Common mistake: Students may mistakenly choose 'Tragic hero' because it is a well-known dramatic term, but they forget the question requires a term that also applies to comedy.

The correct answer is B because an allegory tells a story with a hidden, deeper meaning. In 'Caged Bird', the birds represent people: the caged bird symbolizes oppressed people fighting for freedom, while the free bird represents those who are already free. Using animal characters to tell a story about human society is a key feature of a fable, which is a type of allegory.

Common mistake: Students might mistakenly choose C because an allegory is a type of extended metaphor, but 'fable' is a more specific description for a story using animal characters to represent human situations.

The question tests the candidate's detailed knowledge of the plot and character motivation in Alex Agyei-Agyiri's 'Unexpected Joy at Dawn'. Nii's return to Nigeria was a desperate attempt to start over and find a new purpose after being expelled and then facing hardship in Ghana. His decision was not for a simple reason like a job offer, but to fundamentally reorganise or 'rejig' his life which was in disarray.

Common mistake: Students might mistakenly choose option A because it seems like a simple emotional reason, but Nii's motivation was more complex and driven by his need for a complete life overhaul, not just homesickness.

The question tests your understanding of a specific prescribed African poem, 'Black woman' by Leopold Sedar Senghor. The poem is a celebration of Africa, personified as a beautiful woman, and the poet uses language of admiration and praise. This creates an overall mood of joy and deep satisfaction in his African identity and heritage.

Common mistake: Students might mistakenly choose 'Nostalgia' because the poet reflects on his connection to Africa, but the poem's tone is one of present celebration and pride, not a sad longing for the past.

The main quality that defines a literary work as 'drama' is its potential for performance. A play is a story written specifically to be acted out by actors on a stage in front of an audience. While other forms of literature have characters and stories, the element of performance is unique to drama.

Common mistake: Students often mistakenly choose option C because characters are a very visible part of a play, but they forget that prose fiction like novels also contains characters, making it not the unique feature of drama.

The question tests your understanding of the poet's feelings in D.H. Lawrence's poem, 'BAT'. The line compares bats to an 'old rag', which is something dirty, useless, and thrown away. This negative comparison (a simile) clearly shows the poet's disgust and strong dislike for the creatures, which is best described as hatred.

Common mistake: Students might mistakenly choose 'Acceptance' if they interpret the line as a simple, neutral description of how bats hang, without considering the negative meaning of being compared to an 'old rag'.

This question is about Buchi Emecheta's novel, 'Second Class Citizen'. In the story, the protagonist Adah moves to London and experiences significant racism and isolation. The white people she interacts with, from landlords to neighbours, are generally hostile and prejudiced against her and her family, leading her to view their society as unfriendly.

Common mistake: Students might mistakenly choose option B, 'Neighourliness is lacking,' which is also true, but 'unfriendly' is a more direct description of the people's personal attitude that causes the lack of neighbourliness.

This question asks about a specific method an author uses to control the reader's emotions, which is a narrative technique. The correct option suggests that creating funny episodes, a form of comic relief, can raise anxiety. This works by creating a sharp contrast; when the story suddenly shifts from a light-hearted moment back to a serious problem, the shock and change in mood can make the reader feel even more anxious than before.

Common mistake: Students often mistakenly choose option C, as putting difficulties in a character's path is a very direct way to create anxiety, but the question is asking about a less obvious technique an author might employ.

In the novel *Wuthering Heights*, Catherine's decision is driven by social ambition. Although she loves Heathcliff passionately, she feels that marrying him would lower her social class and bring her shame. She confesses to Nelly Dean that it would 'degrade' her to marry Heathcliff, so she accepts Edgar Linton's proposal because he is wealthy and socially prominent. This choice highlights the conflict between love and social status in the book.

Common mistake: Students might mistakenly choose option C, but while Heathcliff's lack of formal education is part of his low status, the main reason Catherine gives is the overall social disgrace of marrying someone so far beneath her station.

This statement is made by Nelly Dean, the main narrator in Emily Brontë's *Wuthering Heights*. She is telling the story to Mr. Lockwood and reflecting on Heathcliff's cruel behaviour towards his sickly son, Linton. Nelly was a witness to most of the events in the novel, so she is the one who describes Heathcliff's tyranny to the reader through her narration.

Common mistake: Students might mistakenly choose Edgar Linton because he was Heathcliff's main rival and always saw him as wicked, but Nelly Dean is the narrator who describes these events to the reader.

This question requires you to identify a major theme from a prescribed novel, most likely Emily Brontë's 'Wuthering Heights'. A theme is a central idea or message in a story. The correct option is 'Vengeance' because the main character, Heathcliff, spends most of his life seeking revenge against the people he feels have wronged him, and this desire drives the entire plot.

Common mistake: Students may wrongly select 'Property and inheritance' because it is very important to the plot, but it is better understood as a tool Heathcliff uses to achieve his main goal of vengeance.

The theme of a literary work is the central message, idea, or lesson that the author wants to convey to the reader. It is the main subject or 'dominant pre-occupation' that the plot, characters, and setting are all built around. While a story might have many interesting issues, the theme is the primary one that recurs throughout the work.

Common mistake: Students often mistakenly choose option B because a literary work can contain many interesting issues, but the theme is specifically the main or central idea, not just any interesting point raised.

When a story is told using 'I' or 'me' (the first person singular), the narrator is a character inside the story. This means the narrator is participating in the events they are describing, which is known as a participant point of view. In 'Invisible Man', the narrator tells his own story from his personal perspective.

Common mistake: Students might mistakenly choose 'Omniscient point of view' because it describes an all-knowing narrator, but this is incorrect as an omniscient narrator is outside the story, unlike a first-person narrator who is a character within it.

The question is about a character in Ralph Ellison's novel, 'Invisible Man'. The title of the book refers directly to the protagonist, who is also the narrator of the story. He feels socially and racially 'invisible' because people refuse to see him for who he truly is, which is the central theme of the novel.

Common mistake: Students might be tempted to choose another major character like Dr. Bledsoe, but the term 'invisible man' is the specific identity the narrator adopts to describe his own experience throughout the book.

This question is about a specific event in Ralph Ellison's novel, 'Invisible Man', a prescribed non-African prose text. In the 'battle royal' chapter, the narrator and other young black men are forced to scramble for coins on an electrified rug as entertainment for powerful white men. The coins, which they believe to be gold, are actually worthless brass pocket tokens, highlighting the cruel deception and humiliation they face.

Common mistake: A student might choose 'Pennies' because they are a low-value coin, but the text specifically uses brass tokens to show that the reward was not just small but completely fake and worthless.

This question tests your knowledge of the plot of the prescribed novel, 'Invisible Man' by Ralph Ellison. In the first chapter, after his high school graduation, the narrator is invited to deliver his speech again to a gathering of the town's most important white men. This group is described as the town's 'leading men's fraternity', which is why option B is the correct answer.

Common mistake: Students might mistakenly choose 'Ballroom of the leading hotel' because that is the physical location where the speech was given, but the question asks about the group that invited him, which was the fraternity.

This question tests your knowledge of a specific event in the prescribed novel, Ralph Ellison's 'Invisible Man'. In the 'battle royal' scene, the narrator is forced to fight other young black men. The final stage of the fight is a one-on-one match against another participant, Tatlock, who is considered a friend or peer in their shared humiliating experience.

Common mistake: Students often choose 'Tatlock' because that is the character's name, but the question's intended answer 'His friend' focuses on the tragic irony of the situation where the boys are forced to fight each other.

This question is from Ralph Ellison's novel, *Invisible Man*. The correct option is 'His grandfather' because on his deathbed, the narrator's grandfather gave him confusing advice to 'overcome 'em with yeses' and be a traitor in the enemy's camp. The narrator later reflects that this contradictory advice is what has 'kept the Nigger boy running' throughout his life.

Common mistake: Students might mistakenly choose Mr. Norton because he is a powerful white figure who significantly influences the narrator's early life, but the specific words about 'running' come from the narrator's grandfather's dying advice.

This question is a test of factual recall from the prescribed Non-African novel, 'Invisible Man' by Ralph Ellison. In the story, the narrator takes Mr. Norton, a white college trustee, to a chaotic bar and brothel to get him whiskey after he falls ill. The correct name of this establishment is the Golden Day.

Common mistake: Students might confuse the name of the owner, Halley, with the name of the establishment, leading them to incorrectly choose 'Halley's place'.

This question requires you to read an unseen passage and identify its central message, which is known as the theme. The theme is the main idea or underlying meaning the author is trying to convey. The correct option, 'Overcoming deception to reach the truth', is the answer because the events and character actions in the passage would have collectively pointed to this as the main lesson or message.

Common mistake: Students often mistake a minor event or a character's specific problem for the overall theme, but the theme must be the central idea that the entire passage is built around.

The question is based on a specific quotation from the prescribed non-African drama, 'A Midsummer Night's Dream'. The speaker, Lysander, is lamenting to Hermia that true love always faces obstacles. This feeling of helplessness and frustration about their difficult situation is best described as desperation.

Common mistake: Students might mistakenly choose 'Love' because the phrase 'true love' is in the quotation, but the lines focus on the difficulties and hopelessness of the situation, not the happy feeling of being in love.

This famous line is from Shakespeare's play, *A Midsummer Night's Dream*. The character Puck says it as he watches the four lovers behave in a very confused and foolish way under the influence of his magic potion. Their actions are so irrational and over-the-top that he finds their silliness amusing, hence the comment on their 'exaggerated silliness'.

Common mistake: Students might mistakenly choose option A because the line is about the lovers' behaviour, but this choice is too general and misses the specific point that the character finds their behaviour foolish and silly.

In Shakespeare's plays, including 'A Midsummer Night's Dream', characters often speak in verse (a poetic form) when they are expressing very strong emotions. This elevated language separates these passionate moments from ordinary conversation, which is often in prose. Therefore, the use of verse is a technique to symbolize the characters' intense feelings, such as love, anger, or despair.

Common mistake: Students may wrongly choose option C because the phrase 'traditional verse form' in the question makes them think it relates to the 'Traditionalist' nature of the play, confusing the literary form with a theme.

Duke Theseus is explaining to Hippolyta how their relationship will change. He reminds her that he conquered her in battle ('woo'd thee with my sword'), but now he promises to marry her with celebration and happiness. This change from conflict to celebration shows his new plan is to properly win her love, not just possess her as a prize of war.

Common mistake: Students might mistakenly choose option A because the phrase 'doing thee injuries' suggests trouble, but they fail to see that the Duke is talking about the past and promising a peaceful future.