WAEC SSCE - Literature In English - 2019 (Prose)

Bayanin Amsa

In Horace Walpole's The Castle of Otranto, a series of calamities befalls Prince Manfred, and these misfortunes are presented as the just retribution of Heaven upon a usurping and tyrannical family. The evil that overtakes him is both supernatural and self-inflicted.

The curse upon a usurper. Manfred rules Otranto illegitimately, for his grandfather had seized the principality by poisoning its rightful lord, Alfonso the Good. An ancient prophecy declares that the castle and lordship of Otranto shall pass from the present family whenever the true owner should grow too large to inhabit it. The whole action works out this doom against Manfred's house.

The death of his son Conrad. The first blow falls on the very day Conrad, Manfred's sickly son, is to marry the princess Isabella. A gigantic helmet, matching that on the statue of Alfonso, crashes down and crushes Conrad to death. In an instant Manfred loses his male heir and the hope of continuing his line.

His tyranny and unlawful lust. Desperate for an heir, Manfred resolves to divorce his faithful wife Hippolita and to marry Isabella himself, the betrothed of his dead son. This monstrous scheme drives him to pursue the terrified Isabella through the castle and to behave with cruelty and violence, so that his own sin deepens the evil closing around him.

Supernatural warnings. Heaven repeatedly rebukes him. A portrait of his ancestor sighs and steps from its frame, gigantic limbs of Alfonso appear about the castle, and other portents warn Manfred of his approaching ruin, yet he presses on.

The killing of his own daughter. The climax of his misfortune is that, in the darkness of the church and mad with jealousy, Manfred stabs and kills his own beloved daughter Matilda, mistaking her for Isabella. His crowning evil is thus the destruction of his innocent child by his own hand.

His fall. Broken by grief and guilt, Manfred confesses the usurpation, surrenders Otranto to its rightful heir Theodore, and retires with Hippolita to a convent to spend the rest of his days in penance.

Conclusion. The evil that befalls Manfred, the loss of his son, the supernatural terrors, and above all the accidental murder of his daughter, is the working of divine justice upon a usurper. Walpole shows that tyranny and unlawful ambition bring ruin upon the guilty and end his corrupt line.

Bayanin Amsa

Yaremi's marriage is at the heart of Bayo Adebowale's Lonely Days. Much of the novel is told through her memories of life with her late husband Ajumobi, so that her marriage becomes both a picture of traditional Yoruba wedded life and the measure of the loneliness she suffers as a widow.

A companionate and loving union. Yaremi's marriage to Ajumobi was, on the whole, a warm and fulfilling one. Through her recollections we see a partnership built on mutual affection, shared labour and understanding. Ajumobi was a farmer, and the couple worked and lived together in the daily rhythms of village life, sharing joys, difficulties and the raising of their children.

Not free of trials. Like any marriage, theirs had its quarrels and hard moments, and Yaremi remembers disagreements as well as tenderness. These realistic touches keep the marriage from being idealised and show a bond tested and strengthened over time. The union produced children, fulfilling the traditional expectation of the married woman.

The shadow of widowhood. The marriage gains its deepest meaning through its ending. Ajumobi's death leaves Yaremi a widow, plunging her into the "lonely days" of the title. The loss exposes her to the harsh widowhood rites of Kufi and to pressure to remarry or to be inherited by another man.

Loyalty beyond death. Out of respect and love for Ajumobi's memory, and in defence of her own dignity, Yaremi refuses to remarry. Her steadfastness reflects both the strength of her marriage and her determination to remain her own person, resisting the community's attempts to dispose of her.

Conclusion. Yaremi's marriage is portrayed as a loving, productive and largely happy traditional union whose loss defines the rest of her life. Through her fond memories and her loyal widowhood, Adebowale celebrates the bond of a good marriage while exposing the cruelty of the customs that a widow must endure.

Bayanin Amsa

In Horace Walpole's The Castle of Otranto, Theodore is the young hero through whom order and justice are finally restored. Beginning as an apparently humble peasant, he proves to be the rightful heir of Otranto, and his role is central to the working out of the prophecy and the fall of the usurper Manfred.

The mysterious young stranger. Theodore first appears as a handsome, brave peasant who astonishes onlookers by his striking resemblance to the portrait of Alfonso the Good, the murdered rightful prince. This resemblance is an early hint of his true identity and marks him out as an agent of the supernatural justice that governs the tale.

Courage and chivalry. Theodore embodies the virtues of the romance hero: courage, honour, gallantry and compassion. He boldly helps the princess Isabella escape from Manfred's unlawful pursuit through the vaults of the castle, defends the helpless, and confronts danger without fear, standing in moral contrast to the tyrant.

Victim of Manfred's tyranny. Because he thwarts Manfred's schemes, Theodore is imprisoned and threatened with death by the enraged prince. His unjust suffering underlines Manfred's cruelty and injustice, while his patience and nobility win the reader's sympathy.

Love and loss. Theodore falls in love with Manfred's gentle daughter Matilda. Their love is tragically cut short when Manfred, in a jealous frenzy, kills Matilda by mistake, so that Theodore's happiness is shattered even as justice triumphs.

The rightful heir restored. At the climax it is revealed that Theodore is the true descendant of Alfonso the Good and the lawful prince of Otranto. The prophecy is fulfilled, Manfred abdicates, and Theodore inherits the principality. Though he mourns Matilda, he eventually marries Isabella, uniting in her a companion who can share his sorrow.

Conclusion. Theodore's role is to embody virtue and rightful succession. As brave protector, unjustly persecuted innocent, and finally the restored true heir, he is the instrument through which Walpole resolves the Gothic conflict, punishing usurpation and restoring legitimate rule to Otranto.

Bayanin Amsa

Parental negligence is one of the dominant themes of Amma Darko's Faceless. The novel traces how the failure of parents, especially the failure to protect and provide for children, drives young girls onto the streets and into exploitation, abuse and even death.

Maa Tsuru's failure as a mother. Maa Tsuru, mother of Baby T and Fofo, is the chief example of parental negligence. Overwhelmed by poverty, weakness and a belief that she is cursed, she fails to protect her children. She allows the men in her life to dominate the household and does little to shield her daughters, so that her children are left exposed to the dangers of the streets.

Sacrificing children to survive. The gravest instance is the fate of Baby T. Instead of being nurtured and defended, Baby T is effectively handed over and drawn into child prostitution, ending in her murder. Her mother's inability or unwillingness to save her shows how parental neglect can be fatal.

The absence and irresponsibility of fathers. The men who should be fathers, figures such as Kwei and Kpakpo, are irresponsible, exploitative or absent. Rather than caring for the children, they use the household for their own ends and add to the burden on Maa Tsuru, deepening the children's neglect.

Poverty and superstition as excuses. Darko shows that poverty and the superstitious belief in a family curse are used to explain, and partly to excuse, the parents' failure. Yet the novel makes clear that these do not remove the responsibility parents owe their children.

Contrast with responsible care. Against this negligence Darko sets the caring, protective household of Kabria and the work of the NGO MUTE, which rescues Fofo. This contrast underlines what proper parental and social responsibility should look like and how far Maa Tsuru's family falls short.

Conclusion. Through Maa Tsuru's helplessness, the fathers' irresponsibility and the tragic fate of Baby T, Faceless presents parental negligence as a root cause of the suffering of street children, and pleads for greater responsibility from parents and society towards the vulnerable child.

Bayanin Amsa

In Amma Darko's Faceless, Fofo is the central character whose experiences hold the whole novel together. A fourteen-year-old street girl in Accra, she is both a victim of urban poverty and the catalyst through which the tragedy of her family and the plight of street children are exposed.

The protagonist and point of entry. Fofo is the younger daughter of Maa Tsuru and the sister of the murdered Baby T. It is through Fofo that the reader is drawn into the harsh world of Sodom and Gomorrah, the Accra slum, and the dangers faced by girls who live on the streets. Her story frames and drives the narrative.

Victim of the streets. Fofo embodies the vulnerability of the abandoned girl-child. She scrapes a living on the streets, is exposed to hunger and danger, and narrowly escapes rape when a man attacks her in the dark, an experience that shocks her and turns her towards seeking a better path. Her suffering dramatises the perils that destroy such children.

Catalyst for the investigation. Fofo's determination to discover the truth about her sister's death links the street world to the NGO called MUTE and to Kabria and her colleagues. By pursuing the mystery of Baby T's murder, Fofo sets in motion the investigation that uncovers the network of exploitation, negligence and abuse behind it. She is thus the thread connecting the different strands of the plot.

Figure of transformation and hope. Unlike Baby T, who is lost to prostitution and death, Fofo is rescued. Taken in and supported by MUTE, she is given the chance of schooling and a decent life. Her transformation from ragged street urchin to a girl with hope offers the novel's most positive note and its faith in intervention and rehabilitation.

Conclusion. Fofo's role is therefore pivotal. As victim, investigator and symbol of hope, she carries the novel's exposure of the suffering of street children and its plea for the protection and rescue of the vulnerable girl-child.

Bayanin Amsa

In Richard Wright's Native Son, Bigger Thomas has a hostile and dismissive attitude towards religion. To him the Christianity of black America offers no answer to the oppression and fear that define his life, and he rejects it as an evasion rather than a comfort.

Scorn for his mother's faith. Bigger's first exposure to religion is his mother's devout Christianity. She sings hymns, prays, and urges him to trust in God, but Bigger regards her piety with impatience and contempt. He sees her religion as a way of enduring suffering rather than ending it, a means of accepting misery instead of fighting the conditions that cause it.

Religion as escapism and passivity. To Bigger, Christianity keeps black people submissive. He believes it teaches them to look for reward in heaven while accepting humiliation and poverty on earth, blinding them to their real situation. He wants to face the hard facts of his life directly, and he feels that religion would only lull him into passivity, robbing him of the energy of his anger.

Rejection of the cross in prison. In prison, the Reverend Hammond brings Bigger a cross and urges him to seek salvation. For a moment the old comfort tempts him, but Bigger ultimately rejects it. His revulsion is deepened when he associates the cross with the burning cross of the racist mob and the Ku Klux Klan, so that the very symbol of Christian salvation becomes for him a sign of white hatred. He throws the cross away, refusing the consolation of faith.

Seeking meaning in himself. Instead of religion, Bigger searches for meaning in his own actions and in a bleak self-understanding. Even his crimes give him a terrible sense of identity and freedom that religion never offered him.

Conclusion. Bigger's attitude to religion is therefore one of rejection and contempt. He sees Christianity as an opiate that pacifies the oppressed, and tainted by the hypocrisy of a racist society, and he turns away from it to confront his existence on his own harsh terms.

Bayanin Amsa

In Richard Wright's Native Son, the Daltons are portrayed as wealthy white philanthropists whose well-meaning charity is undercut by a deep blindness to the systemic racism from which they profit. Wright uses them to expose the hypocrisy and limits of white liberal goodwill.

Rich benefactors and employers. Mr. Henry Dalton and his wife are a rich Chicago family who employ Bigger Thomas as their chauffeur, part of what they see as their programme of helping poor black people. They give to black charities and pride themselves on their generosity, and they offer Bigger a job and the chance of night school.

Profiteers of the ghetto. Their charity is deeply hypocritical. Mr. Dalton owns, through the South Side Real Estate Company, the very slum housing in which the Thomas family and other black people are forced to live at extortionate rents in overcrowded, rat-infested flats. The wealth he gives away in charity is drawn from the exploitation of the black poor he claims to help, and he never questions the segregation that keeps them confined and overcharged.

Symbolic blindness. Mrs. Dalton is literally blind, and Wright makes her blindness a powerful symbol of the moral and social blindness of the whole family and of white liberal society. The Daltons cannot see the reality of black life or recognise how their own actions sustain the oppression they deplore.

Naive liberalism in Mary. Their daughter Mary, though friendly and full of progressive sympathy, treats Bigger with a careless, patronising familiarity that ignores the dangerous racial gulf between them, and her naivety helps precipitate the tragedy of her death.

Conclusion. The Daltons are portrayed as generous yet blind, philanthropists whose charity masks their complicity in racial exploitation. Through them Wright criticises a paternalistic white liberalism that offers piecemeal kindness while upholding the unjust system that produces a Bigger Thomas.

Bayanin Amsa

In Bayo Adebowale's Lonely Days, the men of Kufi behave towards their women in ways that reflect the entrenched patriarchy of the traditional community. Through the widow Yaremi's experience and her reflections, the novel exposes the domination, exploitation and unequal treatment women suffer at the hands of the men.

Men as masters, women as subordinates. In Kufi the men regard themselves as the natural masters of their wives. Women are expected to be submissive, to serve their husbands and to accept the authority of men without question. A woman's status is defined largely by her relationship to a man, so that widowhood, the loss of a husband, exposes her to particular vulnerability.

Oppressive widowhood practices. The harshest treatment falls on widows. After Ajumobi's death, Yaremi is subjected to degrading and painful widowhood rites imposed by tradition and enforced by the community. Widows are made to undergo humiliating mourning customs, are sometimes suspected of causing their husbands' deaths, and are pressured over inheritance and remarriage, all reflecting how little control a woman has over her own life.

Polygamy and women as property. The practice of polygamy in Kufi treats women almost as possessions to be acquired, and the men's readiness to inherit or remarry widows shows an attitude in which women are valued for their usefulness rather than respected as equals.

Yaremi's resistance. Yet the novel does not present the women as wholly passive. Yaremi resists the pressure to remarry and to submit meekly to the widowhood customs, asserting her dignity and independence. Her strength stands as a criticism of the men's oppressive conduct and of the traditions that support it.

Conclusion. The men of Kufi behave towards their women with dominance and, especially towards widows, with harshness and disregard, upholding patriarchal customs that subordinate and exploit women. Through Yaremi's dignified resistance, Adebowale exposes and questions this unjust treatment.

Bayanin Amsa

In Amma Darko's Faceless, the Agbogbloshie Market in Accra is far more than a physical setting; it is a symbol of urban poverty and the moral decay that drives the plight of street children, especially girls. Its significance runs through the whole novel.

• It is the harsh home of the street children. Agbogbloshie is where Fofo, the young protagonist, and other homeless children struggle to survive by petty trading and other means. The market embodies the neglect of these "faceless" children whom society has abandoned.
• It is the scene of exploitation and danger. The market and its surrounding slum expose girls to abuse, prostitution and violence. It is here, in this world of predators, that Fofo's sister Baby T is drawn into sexual exploitation and finally meets her death, the crime that sets the plot in motion.
• It is a microcosm of a failing society. The squalor, crime and lawlessness of Agbogbloshie mirror the larger failures of the nation: broken homes, poverty, corruption and the collapse of moral responsibility. The market makes visible what the comfortable city would rather ignore.
• It drives the novel's central investigation. The mystery of Baby T's murder, pursued by Fofo with the help of the NGO, is rooted in the life of the market. Agbogbloshie thus becomes the ground on which the novel exposes and questions society's treatment of its vulnerable.
• It sharpens the theme of the "faceless." The anonymous crowds of the market reinforce the title's meaning: children who live and die there are without face or voice, unremembered by the society that produced them.

Conclusion. Agbogbloshie Market is central to Faceless because it concentrates the novel's concerns, poverty, the abuse of street girls, and social neglect, in a single vivid location. As setting, symbol and stage for the tragedy, it gives the novel its moral weight and its urgent social protest.