This question is based on Literary Appreciation 'It was not the apple that tempted Eve, but this grapefruit; thus did maren revise the tale of Paradise Lost...
Question 1 Report
This question is based on Literary Appreciation
'It was not the apple that tempted Eve, but this grapefruit; thus did maren revise the tale of Paradise Lost, and even Chris, shocked as he was at such blasphemy,confessed himself tempted to agree whenever maren returned from raiding the Principal's compound, with a shirtful of booty to share, especially on a hot afternoon.'
Wole Soyinka: Ibadan: The Penkelemes Years, A Memoir
The passage above achieves a mock-heroic effect through the use of
Answer Details
The passage achieves a mock-heroic effect through the use of an allusion.
An allusion is a reference to a well-known person, place, event, or literary work. In this passage, the reference is to the biblical story of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. However, the author Wole Soyinka has twisted the story to make it sound humorous and ridiculous.
By changing the forbidden fruit from an apple to a grapefruit, and suggesting that Chris, a character in the story, was tempted by the fruit, Soyinka is mocking the seriousness of the biblical story. The use of an allusion to the story of Adam and Eve, combined with this humorous twist, creates a mock-heroic effect, which is a form of satire that mocks something that is usually considered serious or heroic.
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