Name: Nguyễn Thị Thanh Huyền

ID: 1608120

Assignment 10 (ENG-2206).
Postcolonial Literature in the Second Half of the 20th Century

Marquez’s “Death Constant Beyond Love”

1. What is Senator Onésimo Sánchez’s age? What is the problem of his health, which he does
not reveal to anyone except for his doctors?
- Senator Onesimo Sanchez is forty-two years old. He has an unknown illness that
makes him only have six months and eleven days more to live in this world

2. What does the senator promise to the audience during his speech? What are the cunning
activities he does after his speech?
- The senator promises to the audience that he will defeat nature, create rainmaking
machines, portable breeders for livestock, the oils of happiness which would make
vegetables grow in the saltpeter, and clumps of pansies in the window boxes.
- After the speech, he first takes a walk through the streets of the town, listens to them
good-naturedly, and he always finds some way to console everybody without having
to do them any difficult favors. And then, he has a meeting with important people of
Rosal del Virrey, tells them the truth, and threatens them to re-elect him in order to
have a good life.

3. Why does Nelson Farina send his daughter to the senator? What is his trick he does with
his daughter’s body to assist his plan? What is the cause of the senator’s death?
- Nelson Farina is a fugitive, and he comes to Rosal del Virrey with no identification.
He has come to the senator many times to hope that the senator will help him with his
illegal problems. After attempting to bribe the senator many times unsuccessfully and
realizing that he has a crush on Laura, Nelson decides to send his daughter to the
senator as another kind of bribe.
- To assist his plan, Nelson Farina dressed his daughter up in her best clothes and sent
her to the senator. He also makes his daughter wear a locked chastity belt and he will
 keep the key. Only when the senator promises that he will take care of Nelson’s
problems, he will get the key that he wants.
- The senator dies because of his illness after six months and eleven days.

Ngugi Wa Thiong’o (1938-): “Wedding at the Cross”

1. What are the names of two protagonists in the story? How do they strive for their union?
- The two protagonists are Miriamu and Wariuki. They strive for their union through
the traditional process of courtship, involving meetings, conversations, and
negotiations between the families.

2. What are Miriamu’s parents’ response to Wariuki’s desire for marrying her and why do
they have those responses? How does he feel about his would-be-wife’s parents when he gets
interviewed by them? What is the thing he feels most obsessed with during the interview?
What does he decide after that interview?
- Wariuki's desire to wed their daughter is initially met with disdain by Miriamu's
parents, who point to their lesser social and economic status as reasons. In the
interview that follows with Miriamu's parents, Wariuki feels uneasy and intimidated.
His whole focus during the interview is on how he looks and what he is wearing.
After the interview, Wariuki makes a conscious effort to improve his financial
situation in order to gain acceptance for the planned marriage.

3. What are Wariuki’s adventures afterwards? What job does he have ultimately, what does he
react to his wife’s family, and what does his wife react to his performance in the end of the
story?
- Wariuki embarks on a sequence of undertakings with the objective of investigating
various prospects in order to improve his socioeconomic standing. In the end, his
quest results in the employment of a job, bringing about monetary security. Even with
these successes, Miriamu's family continues to doubt and criticize Wariuki. Despite
her family's misgivings, Miriamu recognizes and appreciates Wariuki's unwavering
efforts and victories. Her delight at his persistent loyalty, which marks a heartbreaking
climax to the story, powerfully expresses this feeling.
Toni Morrison (1931-2019): “Recitatif”
1. Who are the two main characters of Morrison’s “Recitatif”? Why do they meet and share
the room with each other? What is their age when they meet to each other? What do they
share and makes both of them distinctive from the others in St. Bonny’s?
- Twyla and Roberta are the two main characters of Morrison’s “Recitatif”.
- They are taken to St. Bonny’s because “Twyla’s mother danced all night and
Roberta’s was sick”. “Danced all night” here, in my opinion, means Mary might be a
sex worker or have another reason for giving Twyla to the shelter that she doesn’t
wish to reveal to her daughter.
- They were eight years old.
- They are also brought closer by the fact that they both get Fs “all the time”; Twyla
can’t remember anything she learns, and Roberta has not yet learned to read. They are
also forced together by the fact that they are excluded from the rest of the children at
St. Bonny’s because they are not “real orphans with beautiful dead parents in the sky.”

2. What is the narrator’s initial attitude towards Roberta? What is the reason for her to justify
that reaction? What is their relationship gradually afterwards?
- When the narrator and Roberta first introduces, they do not get along.
- The reason for Twyla is that her mother, Mary, has taught her to hold prejudiced
views about the people of Roberta’s race.
- Their relationship becomes better gradually. They start to understand each other more
without asking too many questions.

3. Why does the narrator feel difficult in using such tools as scissors?
- Because she is left-handed.

4. What do the mothers of the two girls, Twyla and Roberta, do in their first encounter?
- When Roberta introduces her mother to Twyla and Mary, however, Roberta’s mother
simply ignores them and walks away.

5. What month of the year does Roberta leave the orphanage? What does the narrator feel
after her roommate leaves?
- Roberta leaves the orphanage in May.
- Twyla feels very empty after Roberta leaves.
6. In what situation does the narrator meet her former roommate again? And in what situation
do they meet each other again in the second time? In this second time, what event ever
happening in the orchard of the orphanage do they argue about? What is their relationship
after this second time of meeting?
- Eight years later, when a Greyhound Bus stops at the diner where Twyla is working
at, she notices that Roberta is among the passengers, and they meet again for the first
time.
- Twelve years later, Twyla runs into Roberta at a gourmet market’s checkout in
Newburgh.
- When they recall what happened to Maggie, a kitchen staff worker from the
orphanage, they have differing recollections. Roberta recalls the time that the mean
girls attacked Maggie: "Those girls pushed her down and tore her clothes in the
orchard". But Twyla remembers the incident differently, thinking that Maggie simply
fell. She is disturbed by Roberta's different recollection about that night.
- After this second time of meeting, they seem to be more friendly to each other and
also promise to keep in touch, although Twyla doubts that she will.

Tran Vu: “The House Behind the Temple of Literature”

1. How many generations of the narrator’s family are mentioned in the story?
- 3 generations
2. What are Nu’s and Nhai’s age in the time the narrator comes back to visit her family?
- 20 years old
3. How are the landscape and the people in the family described from the narrator’s point of
view?
- The narrative presents the narrator's family members and the surrounding area from a
subjective and intimate point of view, capturing the subtleties of feeling and
familiarity.
- Reminiscence, emotional ties, and observations on how people and places have
changed over time are probably included in descriptions.

4. What is the relationship between Nu and Nhai in the middle and in gradually in the end of
the story?
 - Nu is the character Nhai.

Writing
You’re supposed to write an essay of about 2,000-2,500 words in length entitled “Religion in
Ngugi Wa Thiong’o’s ‘Wedding at the Cross’.”

Thesis statement: Exploring the multifaceted role of religion in Ngugi Wa Thiong'o's

narrative, examining its influence on characters, societal norms, and cultural dynamics.
I. Introduction
II. Main idea 1: Religious Landscape
1. The religious diversity
2. Traditional African Religions
3. Christian Influence and Conflict
III. Main idea 2: Symbolism and Metaphor in Religious Imagery
1. Religious symbolism and metaphor used by Ngugi Wa Thiong'o.
2. Religious imagery -> themes and character development.
3. The meanings with specific religious symbols.
IV. Cultural Identity and Religion
1. Religious with cultural identity.
2. Preserving cultural traditions & embracing religious conversions.
V. Conclusion
- The multifaceted role of religion in Ngugi Wa Thiong'o's "Wedding at the Cross."