@Upper 6A 2020

LITERATURE ESSAY QUESTIONS

She No Longer Weeps
1. Comment on the issue of religion in SNLW.
2. Comment on the presentation of Martha in SNLW.
3. With vivid example from the play SNLW, discuss Dangarembga’s attitude towards
marriage.
4. A man is master of his own destiny. Discuss with relevance to the play SNLW.
5. Women in SNLW are their own enemies. Discuss
6. In SNLW Dangarembga exposes the injustices of patriarchy and seems to cut up a
determined fight against it. However she seems to overdo it and unreasonably encourages
the breach of normal and decent aspects of Ubuntu/Unhu. Discuss.
7. Discuss the dramatic significance of faith in the play SNLW.
8. The brand feminism that Dangarembga exposes in SNLW is at odds with Ubuntu.
Discuss the view with close reference to the text.
9. The liberation and freedom of women will require a social and economic revolution. How
far has Dangarembga been able to prove this through her novel SNLW.
10. SNLW is a literature of protest. Discuss.
11. ‘SNLW ends on an unconvincing and despairing note” Discuss.
12. Martha’s experience when she was young had a great impact on her adult life. Examine
the validity of this statement.
13. Discuss Dangarembga’s presentation of female characters in SNLW.
14. In SNLW Freddy is an embodiment of patriarchal values and attitudes. Discuss.
15. Discuss the major concerns of the play SNLW.
16. Discuss the effectiveness of the dramatist techniques employed by Dangarembga in
SNLW.
17. Discuss Dangarembga’s portrayal of male characters in SNLW.
18. “I don’t believe that just because I am a woman, I must sacrifice my potential to an
idiotic man.” Considering what happens in the play comment on Martha’s character in
relation to these words.
19. In what ways is religion used to inform characters’ relationships and attitudes in SNLW.
20. “SNLW can be viewed as a criticism of established conventions.” Discuss

TIES THAT BIND

1. Comment on the assertion that the novel TTB is reflective of destruction on the society.
2. Discuss the delineation of female characters by Chidavaenzi in TTB. Refer to at least three
prominent characters.
3. “…you are not well sir” she said nervously “but Jehovah Rapha can heal you…” ( Up to page
115). Write a critical appreciation paying particular attention to the portrayal of Lincoln here and
elsewhere in the story.
@Upper 6A 2020

4. How relevant is the tittle Ties That Bind by Chidavaenzi with special attention to significant
incidents in the text.
5. “Emotional and psychological instability seem to usurp positive energy from characters in TTB.”
How far is the above assertion about the text?
6. “Economic meltdown has been an evil force in loosening the moral fabric in the younger
generation for survival and a burden to the old.” Comment on the applicability of the above
assertion using concrete evidence from the text TTTB.
7. Analyze how spirituality leads to healing in TTTB.
8. Politics, bank closures, power cuts, strokes also characterize TTTB. Discuss.
9. Outline how death in TTTB speaks of broken dreams.
10. “Lincoln is an epitome of hope.” Discuss the relevance of this statement in light of the novel
TTTB.
11. “Chidavaenzi projects unusually powerful female characters in TTTB.” Discuss this assertion
with close reference to the text.
12. “TTTB is a contemporary flair.” Discuss.
13. Discuss conflicts in TTTB.
14. Chidavaenzi’s TTTB glorifies the rich whilst it sends the poor to the abyss. Discuss.
15. Comment on the presentation of HIV/AIDS affected persons as alluded to in the text.
16. To what extent are narrative techniques effective to the reader in explaining the thematic concerns
raised in the text?
17. Explain what the writer’s intention is through Chiedza and Lincoln.
18. “Some character names convey or relay messages” To what extent is this true of characters in the
text TTTB?
19. “TTTB a text portraying social and economic immoralities.” Discuss.
20. “TTTB is a lugubrious story” Validate this assertion in relation to the events in the story.

Questions on: So Long A Letter

1. Discuss the relevance of the tittle “So Long A Letter” with close reference to the novel by
Mariama Ba.
2. “The needs and sensibility of women are not considered a priority or even legitimate.”
Discuss in relation to the text SLAL.
3. SLAL is a story about injustice of religion and culture to the modern women.” Justify this
assertion.
4. “Women are their own worst enemies.” Discuss the validity of this assertion relating to
SLAL by Mariama Ba.
5. Substantiate the notion that women are implements of males’ insatiable gratification in
Mariama’s SLAL.
6. Outline the author’s major concerns in relation to the events in the novel SLAL.
7. Examine the tyranny and chauvinism of A.T.R in the novel SLAL.
8. An atmosphere of despair pervades the story/letters. Discuss.
9. Discuss how marriage impacts both Aissatou and Ramatoulaye.
@Upper 6A 2020

10. SLAL is an epistolary novel. Discuss how this shapes the tone, voice and narration of the
novel.
11. Role of Ramatoulaye in SLAL.
12. Discuss Mariama Ba’s presentation of the marital institution in SLAL.
13. “Yesterday you were divorced, today I’m a widow.” Evaluate the significance of this
assertion in line with the text SLAL.
14. SLAL is a diary of a troubled woman. Discuss.
15. The subordinate position of women in African Muslim societies is one of Mariama Ba’s
concerns in SLAL.
16. The use of the epistolary form in SLAL is an essential merging and at the same time a
critique of how Western prescription has intruded upon traditional values reference to the
consequences of post-colonization.
17. Discuss how the author contrasts fate and personal improvement in the novel SLAL.
18. What does modernity play in the novel SLAL?
19. Comment on the portrayal of women in the novel SLAL.

Questions on:Narrative Of The Life Of

Frederick Douglass, An American Slave.
1. “A narrative on a self-righteous and obnoxious character is what characterizes “The
Narrative of Frederick Douglass” Do you agree.
2. Explore how Frederick Douglass deals with the issue of exploitation and oppression in
his narratives.
3. List the turning points in Frederick Douglass’ life. To what extent did his “take charge”
attitude create these turning points?
4. To what extent should one agree with the view that slave holders suffer more than the
slaves themselves?
5. Discuss the plight of slaves in Douglass’ narrative.
6. Discuss the use of style to present the message in Frederick Douglass.
7. Assess the role of religion in the lives of slaves in the Narrative of Frederick Douglass.
8. “It was so difficult for a slave to think of escaping and it was so difficult to succeed in
escaping.” Discuss.
9. How does learning to read and write change Douglass as he outlines in the Narrative of
the life of Frederick Douglass.
10. Slavery dehumanizes the master more than the slave. Discuss.
11. The narrative of Frederick Douglass is a gripping tale of a young man freeing himself
from the shackles of slavery. Discuss how he makes his own story believable and
intriguing.
12. In Frederick Douglass there is the plight of women and ignorance as a tool of slavery.
Discuss the validity of this assertion.
@Upper 6A 2020

13. What role does education play in Frederick Douglass’ quest for freedom in the narrative
of Frederick Douglass?
14. Autobiography, how effective is it in showing the plight of slaves in the Narrative of
Frederick Douglass.
15. “His journey to Baltimore marked the beginning of a new phase” Discuss the validity of
this assertion in the Narrative of Frederick Dougla

Miguel Street
1. Discuss the theme of disillusionment in any four stories in Miguel Street.
2. Comment on the effects of colonialism in V.S Naipaul’s Miguel Street with reference
to at least three stories.
3. What is the significance of the gifts that were distributed to the narrator boy in
Miguel Street?
4. “Identity crisis ad lack of opportunities in Miguel Street results in every endeavor by
the characters futile.” How valid is this assertion?
5. Discuss the presentation of Bogart in relation to the main Naipaul’s presentation of
thematic concerns.
6. “Nothing good comes in Trinidad.” How is this statement reflective of the people’s
attitude in Miguel street.
7. Using Bhacku as your central story, how does Naipaul present men. Relate your
views to any two stories in the collection.
8. Using Titus Hoyt as your central story, discuss the presentation of education and
make reference to two stories in the collection of Naipaul.
9. “Hat is just another man, illusioned and a victim of the grim spell of Miguel Street
low bar standard life. Discuss.
10. Miguel Street chronicles the lives of disillusioned individuals. Assess the validity of
this statement with close reference to the text.
11. Miguel Street captures and reflects the true essence of literature in a catastrophic
sense of captivity and the quest to break free and cope with victimhood. Discuss.
12. Violence is a thoroughly documented item in Naipaul’s Miguel Street. Discuss
13. “Characters are made failures yet so hardworking” with reference to Miguel Street,
assess the validity of this claim.
14. Examine the role of V.S Naipaul in Miguel Street as a Caribbean author.
15. Discuss the topical concerns which are articulated by V.S Naipaul.
16. How do the ideas of escape and disillusionment come out in some of the stories in
Miguel Street?
17. What are some of the conflicts in Miguel Street?
18. What are the main themes in the novel Miguel Street?
19. “Miguel Street is a plural society made up of people displaying different modes of
behavior and who are held together by economic reasons rather than a sense of
@Upper 6A 2020

belonging to a common culture.” Discuss the validity of this assertion using at least
three stories in the text.
20. Write a critical appreciation of the story “The Thing Without A Name” in Miguel
Street.