ZIMBABWE SCHOOL EXAMINATIONS COUNCIL

General Certificate of Education Ordinary Level

LITERATURE IN ENGLISH 4029/1

PAPER 1: ZIMBABWEAN LITERATURE

SPECIMEN PAPER 1 hour 30 minutes

Additional materials:
Answer paper

TIME: 1 hours 30 minutes

INSTRUCTIONS TO CANDIDATES

Write your name, centre number and candidate number in the spaces provided on the answer
paper/answer booklet.

Answer two questions.

Each answer must be on a different text.

Write your answers on the separate answer paper provided.

If you use more than one sheet of paper, fasten the sheets together.

INFORMATION FOR CANDIDATES

All questions in this paper carry equal marks.

You are reminded of the need for good English and clear presentation in your answers,

___________________________________________________________________________
This Specimen paper consists of 7 printed pages and 1 blank page.
Copyright: Zimbabwe School Examinations Council, Specimen Paper.
©ZIMSEC SPECIMEN PAPER [Turn over
 2

CONTENTS

SECTION A: PROSE

Page

Mutangadura Choto Colette: - Rutendo The Chief’s Granddaughter 3

SECTION B: POETRY

Kusema G. Wellington: - Heritage Poetry Classics: Lazaruses

and Divases 4

SECTION C: DRAMA

Chinodya Shimmer: - Harvest of Thorns Classic: A Play 6

4029/1 SPECIMEN PAPER

 3

SECTION A: (PROSE)

MUTANGADURA CHOTO COLETTE: RUTENDO-The Chief’s Granddaughter

1 Read the following passage and answer the questions that follow.

Then she began thinking of her friends at school. School

days indeed are the best days. There was some manual work yes,
but many hands made it light. Her mind wondered off to what she
really liked about school days and surprisingly she thought about
the love songs they used to sing when they had little else to do. 5
Still gazing through the window she murmured, “Don’t let me cross
over.’ It came as a surprise to her that this was the first thing that
came to mind yet she had not said yes to any man.

Her day dreaming was disturbed by people next to her talking

about the unrest in the area of the Zhanda, a youth, political 10
movement which would beat or even kill for false rumours or some
truth. If the Zhanda youth knew that so and so was still in
possession of a dip card or heard rumours that one has a dip card
then one was liable to die, have one’s home destroyed and all the
unknown suffering could befall one. For this reason the Rhodesian 15
Government had sent some troops to protect the chiefs in
their homes because they were said to be puppets of the
government.

She got down at the township and saw a few familiar faces but
they looked different in a way she could not describe. They looked 20
unnatural to her. There were a lot of whispers among both men
and women alike. She could sense that there was something going
on or very wrong. She greeted them and read unrest on their faces;
each wanted to say something to her but then hesitated. When she
had carried her suitcase on her head, somebody called from behind, 25
‘Rutendo’ wait a bit.’ The caller was one of her mother’s church
mates; she struggled to remember her name though. “It is said
that there are soldiers now guarding your grandfather’s homestead
because he is a chief, so when you approach home, you must be
careful lest they shoot you, I mean the soldiers.” 30

4029/1 SPECIMEN PAPER

[Turn over
 4

Mavhu Chiterengende went on looking sideways as if to check

that nobody was overhearing. In a very short time she had said a
lot to alert her of the danger which was at her home. The Zhanda
might attack her now as she walked home because she was the
chief’s granddaughter. Although home was quite near, she was 35
very frightened. So, she walked on as briskly as if she wasn’t
carrying a heavy load.

(a) What feelings are aroused in you as you read the above passage? [10]

(b) Briefly, show how Rutendo is different from other people around her. [15]

2. What aspects of Rutendo’s character are brought out in the novel? [25]

SECTION B: POETRY

KUSEMA. G. WELLINGTON: Heritage Poetry Classics: Lazaruses and Divases

3. Read the following poem and answer the questions that follow.

GREAT ZIMBABWE

Stoic ancient walls

Of neither water nor mortar built
Unbowed and unbroken by time
The Conical Towel jutting into the skyline
An everlasting symbol of an indomitable spirit. 5

Kings and Princes have ruled in this monarchical place

Revered Monarchs whose names have been uttered
Among the congregations of the mighty
Regal enclosures crafted from granite rock still stand
Against the test of time, 10
Permanence.

Great Zimbabwe,
Who are they to state this place is a pariah state?
A nation whose name derives from the mightiest of ancient states?
Call me by no other name, 15
4029/1 SPECIMEN PAPER
 5
I, a Zimbabwean whose name is written
By the hand of Mwari*
Onto these regal walls of stone!

Great Zimbabwe,
These walls shall continue to stand 20
From generation to generation
Generations have come and gone
Many more still to come and go
Yet Dzimbahweguru* shall stand
Like the great state that she is 25
And those geckos who bash their heads
Against her majestic granite walls
Shall be swallowed by the vicissitudes of time
But Great Zimbabwe will endure till the end of the age
For a house built of stone cannot fail! 30
Dzimbahweguru
The Great Zimbabwe Nation
House of Stone, House of Rock
The stone which the builders refused
Has become the head cornerstone! 35

*Mwari – God/Creator of the heavens and earth

*Dzimbahweguru-Great Zimbabwe

(a) What do you feel when you read the above poem? [10]

(b) Show the importance of Mwari in the poem, “Praise Ye Mwari”. [15]

4. Examine the subject matter of the poem, “Milk Sanctions” highlighting on its
use of imagery. [25]

4029/1 SPECIMEN PAPER

[Turn over
 6

SECTION C: DRAMA

Chinodya Shimmer: Harvest of Thorns Classic: A Play

5. Read the following passage and answer the questions that follow.

(Offstage excited VOICES shouting: ‘Power!’ ‘One Man One Vote!’ ‘Black Majority
Rule Now!’ ‘Heavy!’ ‘Zii...Zii!’ Rapping on walls)

CLOPAS Who is it?

VOICE 1 Come out, everybody!

VOICE 2 There is a strike! 5

VOICE 3 We are marching into the city.

VOICE 1 They killed somebody last night.

VOICE 2 At the street corner.

VOICE 3 Slit his throat and dumped him at the rubbish heaps.

VOICE 2 The other party sold him out to the police. 10

VOICE 1 Come out, Mr Tichafa!

CLOPAS We can’t join your strike. We’re church people. Children of God.

VOICE 2 Sellouts! Sellouts!

CLOPAS We don’t do politics. We are children of God. We fight the devil, not
people in political parties. God will change things in this country 15
when He wants, in His own time.

VOICE 3 Pu! Pu! You are children of God, you say! Muri vana vevhu, you
hear. Everybody is a child of the soil. Children of Dzimbahwe.
Come out now.

(Offstage, shouts of ‘Sellouts!’ ‘Vatengesi!’ and the sound of breaking glass and rocks
crashing. CLOPAS and SHAMISO slip offstage) 20

4029/1 SPECIMEN PAPER

 7

CHILDREN’S VOICES (offstage) Daddy, mhamha, chiiko? Mhamha, mhamha.

CLOPAS (offstage) Stay where you are kids. You can’t go to church today.

SHAMISO (offstage) Benjamin, bolt the door and make sure Ester and Peter
stay in with you. Don’t go out, eh!

CLOPAS (offstage) We’ll be back soon after the service. 25

SHAMISO (offstage) Take care now, children.

(a) What emotions are evoked by this passage? [10]

(b) Give an account of what happens immediately after this passage

and the punishment that Benjamin is given as a result. [15]

6. Show that the play is an account of Benjamin’s experiences form childhood

to adulthood. [25]

4029/1 SPECIMEN PAPER

 8
BLANK PAGE

4029/1 SPECIMEN PAPER

 ZIMBABWE SCHOOL EXAMINATIONS COUNCIL
General Certificate of Education Ordinary Level

LITERATURE IN ENGLISH 4029/2

PAPER 2: WORLD LITERATURE

SPECIMEN PAPER 1 hours 30 minutes

Additional materials:
Answer paper

TIME: 1 hours 30 minutes

INSTRUCTIONS TO CANDIDATES

Write your name, centre number and candidate number in the spaces provided on the answer
paper/answer booklet.

Answer two questions.

Each answer must be on a different text.
The two questions must be taken from both Section A and Section B.
Write your answers on the separate answer paper provided.
If you use more than one sheet of paper, fasten the sheets together.

INFORMATION FOR CANDIDATES

All questions in this paper carry equal marks.

The number of marks is given in brackets [ ] at the end of each question or part question.

You are reminded of the need for good English and clear presentation in your answers.
___________________________________________________________________________
This specimen paper consists of 8 printed pages.
Copyright: Zimbabwe School Examinations Council, Specimen Paper.
©ZIMSEC SPECIMEN PAPER [Turn over
 2

CONTENTS

SECTION A: AFRICAN, CARIBBEAN AND AFRICAN-AMERICAN LITERATURE

Austin Bukenya: - A Hole in the Sky 3

Madhu Bhinda: - Stories From Africa-Voices and themes of

African culture 4

SECTION B: RUSSIAN, CHINESE, FRENCH OR ENGLISH LITERATURE

William Shakespeare: - Julius Caesar 6

Thomas Hardy: - The Mayor of Casterbridge 7

4029/2 SPECIMEN PAPER

 3

SECTION A: African, Caribbean and African-American Literature

You must answer one question from this Section.

AUSTIN BUKENYA: A Hole In The Sky

1 Reading the following passage and answer questions that follow.

KIWITI: Did you then have to break into someone’s

private property to collect this firewood?
KIBICHI: No, I didn’t. I eventually stumbled on a woman
by the roadside, hawking these twigs. I just
laughed when she told me what I had to pay for 5
that small bundle. The woman laughed too, and
said to me I wouldn’t be surprised if I knew the
trouble to which she had to go to get those few
twigs. It is as if she was selling the trouble and
not the firewood. (Kazizi returns with a mug of 10
water for Kibichi)
KIWITI: Now, I really wonder. With all these open wastes,
dusty patches blowing out into the wind, and
washing away when it rains, why should we have
to buy firewood? What does it take to plant a tree,
say a simple castor shrub, and tend it until it’s 15
ready to be cut and used for firewood?
KIKONGWE: Don’t you know the disease that your modern
leaders infected you with? Its called ‘government’.
You modern people just sit there, each one of you
wallowing in their misery, and feebly bleat: ‘The 20
government should do this, the government
should do that, the government should do the
other for us.’ First of all, who is Government?
And why should he, or she, do anything for you?
And when is he or she going to reach out to each 25
one of the millions of you and build you a decent
house, construct a beautiful road to it, fix it with
water and electricity, plant a tree and a flower for
you and feed you? Government my foot!
KIBICHI: You mean we should let those people just sit 30
there in their computerised parliament and air-
4029/2 SPECIMEN PAPER
[Turn over
 4

conditioned offices and do nothing for us? Why

then do we elect them? They come here every
five years and promise to bring us development,
haul us out of poverty, cure all our diseases and 35
give degrees to all our children.
KIKONGWE: They, indeed, promise you. Having lived this
long, I’ve seen and heard all the people and all
the promises of each of this set of five years. But
I’ve never seen a basket of development delivered 40
to any of the villages I have lived in.

(a) What feelings are aroused in you as you read the above passage? [10]

(b) Give the sudden twist of events immediately after this passage. [15]

2 Discuss the various emotions evoked in you as you read the play. [25]

MADHU BHINDA: Stories from Africa – Voices and themes of African Culture

3 Read the following passage and answer questions that follow;

He left them, feeling embittered and cheated. The

old village had not even waited for him. And suddenly
he felt a strong nostalgia for his old home, friends and
surroundings. He thought of his father, mother and –
and - he dared not think about her. But for all that, 5
Muthoni, just as she had been in the old days, came
back to his mind. His heart beat faster. He felt desire
and a warmth thrilled through him. He quickened his
step. He forgot the village women as he remembered his 10
wife. He had stayed with her for a mere two weeks;
then he had been swept away by the Colonial Forces.
Like many others, he had been hurriedly screened and
then taken to detention without trial. And all that time
he had thought of nothing but the village and his 15
beautiful woman.
The others had been like him. They had talked of
nothing but their homes. One day he was working next
to another detainee from Muranga. Suddenly the
4029/2 SPECIMEN PAPER
 5
detainee, Njoroge, stopped breaking stones. He sighed 20
heavily. His worn-out eyes had a faraway look.
‘What’s wrong, man? What’s the matter with you?’
Kamau asked.
‘It is my wife. I left her expecting a baby. I have no
idea what has happened to her.’ 25
Another detainee put in: ‘For me, I left my woman
with a baby. She had just been delivered. We were all
happy. But on the same day. I was arrested...’
And so they went on. All of them longed for one
day- the day of the return home. Then life would 30
begin anew.
Kamau himself had left his wife without a child. He
had not even finished paying the bride-price. But now
he would go, seek work in Nairobi, and pay off the
remainder to Muthoni’s parents. Life would indeed 35
begin anew. They would have a son and bring him up in
their own home. With these prospects before his eyes,
he quickened his steps. He wanted to run – no, fly to
hasten his return. He was now nearing the top of the
hill. He wished he could suddenly meet his brothers 40
and sisters. Would they ask him questions? He would, at
any rate, not tell them all: the beating, the screening
and the work on roads and in quarries with an askari
always nearby ready to kick him if he relaxed. Yes. He
had suffered many humiliations, and he had not 45
resisted. Was there any need?

(a) What aspects of Kamau’s character come out from this passage? [10]

(b) For what reasons would the reader sympathise with Kamau in this story? [15]

4 The “Ultimate Safari” is a story about a journey of survival forced by war. Show
the truth of this statement. [25]

4029/2 SPECIMEN PAPER

[Turn over
 6

Section B: Russian, Chinese, French or English Literature

You must answer one question from this section.
WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE: Julius Caesar
5 Read the following passage and answer the questions that follow.

CAESAR Et tu, Brute? Then fall, Caesar!

[Dies
CINNA Liberty! Freedom! Tyranny is dead!
Run hence, proclaim, cry it about the streets.
CASSIUS Some to the common pulpits, and cry out, 5
‘Liberty, freedom, and enfranchisement!’
BRUTUS People and senators, be not affrighted.
Fly not; stand still. Ambition’s debt is paid.
CASCA Go to the pulpit, Brutus.
DECIUS And Cassius too.
BRUTUS Where’s Publius? 10
CINNA Here, quite confounded with this mutiny.
METELLUS Stand fast together, lest some friend of Caesar’s
Should chance –
BRUTUS Talk not of standing. Publius, good cheer;
There is no harm intended to your person, 15
Nor to no Roman else. So tell them, Publius,
CASSIUS And leave us, Publius, lest that the people,
Rushing on us, should do your age some
mischief.
BRUTUS Do so; and let no man abide this deed 20
But we the doers.
Enters TREBONIOUS
CASSIUS Where is Antony?
TREBONIUS Fled to his house amazed,
Men, wives, and children stare, cry out, and run, 25
As it were doomsday.

(a) How is a tense atmosphere created in the above passage? [10]

(b) Referring closely to the text, show the irony in Cassius words, “So often
shall the knot of us be call’d the man that gave their country liberty”. [15]

6 Outline the character and role of Cassius in Julius Caesar. [25]

4029/2 SPECIMEN PAPER

 7

THOMAS HARDY: The Mayor of Casterbridge

7 Read the following passage and answer the questions that follow.

‘I’ve not been always what I am now’ continued

Henchard , his firm deep voice being ever so little shaken. He
was plainly under that strange influence which sometimes
prompts men to confide to the new-found friend what they
will not tell to the old. ‘I began life as a working hay- 5
trusser, and when I was eighteen I married on the strength
o’my calling. Would you think me a married man?’
‘I heard in the town that you were a widower.’
‘Ah, yes- you would naturally have heard that. Well, I
lost my wife nineteen years ago or so – by my own fault... 10
This is how it came about. One summer evening I was
travelling for employment, and she was walking at my side,
carrying the baby, our only child. We came to a booth in a
country fair. I was a drinking man at that time.’
Henchard paused a moment, threw himself back so that
his elbow rested on the table, his forehead being shaded by 15
his hand, which, however, did not hide the marks of intro-
spective inflexibility on his features as he narrated in fullest
detail the incidents of the transaction with the sailor. The
tinge of indifference which had at first been visible in the 20
Scotchman now disappeared.
Henchard went on to describe his attempts to find his
wife; the oath he swore; the solitary life he led during the
years which followed. ‘I have kept my oath for nineteen
years,’ he went on; ‘I have risen to what you see me now.’ 25
‘Ay!’
‘Well- no wife could I hear of in all that time; and being
by nature something of a woman-hater, I found no
hardship to keep mostly at a distance from the sex. No wife
could I hear of, I say, till this very day. And now – she has 30
come back.’
‘Come back, has she!’
‘This morning – this very morning. And what’s to be
done?’
‘Can ye no’ take her and live with her, and make some 35
amends?’
4029/2 SPECIMEN PAPER
[Turn over
 8

‘That’s what I’ve planned and proposed. But, Farfrae,

said Henchard gloomily, ‘by doing right with Susan I wrong
another innocent woman.’

(a) What emotions are evoked in you when you read the above passage? [10]

(b) Give an account of Henchard’s encounter with the “innocent woman”

whom he is about to hurt. [15]

8 Show the extent of Farfrae’s influence on the events surrounding Henchard’s life. [25]

4029/2 SPECIMEN PAPER