I REMEMBER DISTRICT 6
1.1 In what city is the area District 6? Explain what happens to the
community.
It is an area in Cape Town that experienced the forced removals and
destruction of an entire community.
1.2 Discuss the use and effectiveness of the dialect used.
It helps the speaker create a personal memory. It gives the poem a setting
and character. It gives the poem a voice, it provides an emotional link
between the speaker and District 6.
1.3 “ I remember when the bulldozers came”
Discuss the speaker’s feelings about what happened.
He couldn’t understand what the bulldozers where doing there, “it confused
my brain.”He recalls how the sand trucks “disturbed our game”, which is the
level at which a child would react. He is puzzled and asks “What could it be?”
He is unprepared for what was happening. The speaker gives a child’s
perspective of puzzlement and the level at which the event affected his life.
He wasn’t aware then, of the enormity of what
was being done to them.
1.4 How were the people of District 6 treated during apartheid?
They were treated like parasites (‘luise’) lice and they were thrown in the
Cape Flats,an area riddled with crime and drugs. Thrown suggests they were
treated like objects or rubbish that you throw away.
FUNERAL BLUES
1.1 Explain the title.
Funerals are usually sad affairs.
Blues is usually associated with sadness and depression.
1.2 Identify and explain the figure of speech in line 9.
Metaphor.
The reference to the cardinal points (‘my North, my South, my East and West)
indicates that the speaker’s lover gave meaning and direction, like the
indicators on a map to his life. He was the speakers’ world/ compass/ meant
the world.
1.3 Discuss the effectiveness of the use of the possessive adjectives.
- The repetition of the first person created an intimate and direct account for
the speakers’ grief.
- Every aspect of the speaker’s everyday existence is affected by his loved
one’s death- “my moon, my midnight, my song.” He is overwhelmed by
grief.
- In the last line he refers to ‘I’ . his grief is internalised and undeniable.
1.4 Identify and explain the mood by making reference to the last stanza.
- The commands indicates that there are no choices; the speaker is adamant
that his wishes must be obeyed.
- The orders (‘pack up the moon and dismantle the sun’) are improbable.
- The speaker’s mood of despair has no bounds, he has lost touch with
reality because he is devastated by his lover’s death. He feels hopeless.
THE ENGLISH ARE SO NICE
1.1 Account for the repetition used in the poem.
He uses the word 18 times to emphasise the inadequacy of the English
people. Nice is a cliched word that has lost its meaning, therefore, the poet is
saying that the English are bland.
1.2 Discuss the irony in the poem.
The English people think they are superior to others, however, the poet mocks
the English by saying they are inadequate as their vocabulary is limited by the
repetition of the word nice. The English view and treat other nations
according to their ability to be nice, however, this criticism is not nice. In the
end the irony is reinforced as the English are not as superior or nice as they
think “not quite as nice as they might be.”
THINGS FALL APART
1.1 Why was Okonkwo exiled?
He accidently kills Ezeudu’s son when firing his gun before Ezeudu’s burial.
1.2 How did Okonkwo want his return to be?
He wanted to return in a grand way and make up for his seven lost years in
exile. He wanted to build a large hut and introduce his sons into the Ozo
society which was only possible for the very wealthy.
1.3 What changes took place in Umuofia?
The missionaries have arrived and built a church, there is a trading centre,
a hospital, a school and a government with a court and a District
Commissioner.
1.4 Does these changes affect Okonkwo? Explain.
Yes.Okonkwo turns to violence as a means of finding a solution to a problem.
He mourned for the clan, and he mourned for the
warlike men of Umufia, who had become soft like women.
He no longer relates to the clan and feels like an outcast.
1.5 What made Okonkwo a ‘great warrior’?
A great wrestler, warrior, leader, prosperous farmer.
He overcame many obstacles such a weak background, no financial support
from his parents.
1.6 How is Okonkwo responsible for his own downfall?
His own flexible will of which he was proud, made him rigid his entire life.
His rejection of anything feminine or tender makes him limited in his
perspective.
He sees violence and aggression as his only response to change.
His inability to adjust contributes directly to his tragic death.
1.7 What is the attitude of the District Commissioner?
He is arrogant and feels it is demeaning to cut down a “hanged man from a
tree”.
His attitude of superiority prevents him from taking down the body.
1.8 Discuss Achebe’s attitude on colonialism by making reference to the
novel.
Achebe criticizes the disdainful attitude of the colonialists who have no
sensitivity to another culture. The title of the District Commissioner’s book
reveals his desire to dominate, change and destroy. Colonialism did not bring
civilization to Africa but destroyed people, customs and traditions.
