NECO 2021 LITERATURE IN ENGLISH ANSWERS

NECO LITERATURE SOLUTIONS

NUMBER 3

Lakunle’s role is to highlight the growing influence of Western culture on Africa, even in the remotest villages. An educated man who thinks that the tribal customs are outmoded and barbaric, Lakunle is determined to wean Sidi away from the old ways. Yet he fails, as Sidi chooses for her husband Baroka, the village chief, the epitome of everything Lakunle detests.
Lakunle’s failure to woo Sidi stands as a reminder of just how far Nigeria must go if it is to be a thoroughly modern, Westernized country. But the suggestion here is that for Western ways to gain a foothold in Africa, they must at least be properly understood, and even then must only be introduced gradually before being incorporated into traditional practices. Lakunle doesn’t understand any of this, which is ultimately why he is unsuccessful in gaining Sidi’s hand in marriage.

Lakunle is an educated young man who returns to the village to teach school. He is Baroka’s rival as a suitor to Sidi.
Lakunle represents the promises and pitfalls of independent Nigeria and embodies postcolonial identity. He is proud to be a modern man and calls attention to the negative features of traditional society. However, he seems eager to throw out the good with the bad. Advocating freedom for women, for example, he seems to Sidi to be bossy, unappreciative, and condescending. He rejects paying bride as an outmoded custom, but Sidi interprets his reluctance as disrespect for her value and an excuse meant to hide his inability to pay it. His education in the British system has diminished his ability to relate to his own people. Sidi rejects him in favor of Baroka.

Lakunle is the village schoolteacher and a proponent of Western civilization. He dresses like an Englishman and has a penchant for using “big words.” Wole Soyinka uses the protagonist, Lakunle, to criticize the native Nigerians, who are in a state of cognitive dissonance, as they cannot decide whether or not to embrace Western culture. Lakunle is representative of modernism, but his character and actions reveal how little he knows about Western modernization. Lakunle wears English clothing as opposed to native clothing. However, his English suit is deemed old-fashioned. In fact, it is described as “threadbare” and being “old-style,” which clearly shows how Lakunle is still stuck in the past, even though he tries to portray himself as a “civilized man.”
Further, Lakunle’s pursuit of Westernization is depicted in the fact that he does not want to pay Sidi’s bride-price. He uses a list of adjectives to express his hatred toward this African tradition:

A savage custom, barbaric, out-dated,Rejected, denounced, accursed,Excommunicated, archaic, degrading, Humiliating, unspeakable, redundant, Retrogressive, remarkable, unpalatable.

Lakunle is the village’s school teacher who has an affinity for Western civilization and culture. He wishes to modernize Ilujinle and attempts to marry Sidi without paying the bride-price. He is Baroka’s foil, and his character helps develop the theme of modernity versus traditional African culture. Lakunle is an outspoken conservative who speaks out against Yoruba culture. Although he claims to love Sidi, he is being insincere. At the end of the play, Lakunle’s true intentions of not paying the bride-price are revealed. He simply wishes to avoid payment under the pretense that it is a savage custom. Eventually, Baroka wins Sidi’s heart and ends up marrying her at the end of the play. Baroka’s wisdom and cunning are no match for Lakunle, and the Bale’s victory suggests that traditional African culture is stronger than Western ways of life.

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NECO LIT-IN ENG SOLUTION

(6)

Jimmy Porter is the “angry young man” of the play, usually found spouting tirades against the complacency of the British upper classes, and especially against his wife Alison and then his lover Helena. Born working class but highly educated, like his friend and roommate Cliff, but has an ambivalent relationship with his educated status, seeing himself mostly as a working class man and yet frustrated that his education can do nothing to affect his class status. “He is a disconcerting mixture of sincerity and cheerful malice, of tenderness and freebooting cruelty.” Jimmy “alienates the sensitive and insensitive alike,” and his “blistering honesty, or apparent honesty…makes few friends.” Jimmy is a frustrated character, railing against his feelings of alienation and uselessness in post-war England.

LITERATURE

SECTION IV

NUMBER 12
-[Pick any three]-
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(i) Freedom and Slavery:
The predominant theme of the poem is freedom. The first line depicts this by introducing “the free bird.” And the opposite theme is “slavery.” A caged bird in captivity “sings of freedom.” The caged bird was created for freedom as a free bird.
Nonetheless, it is in an unnatural situation, trapped in a cage. Not only is it trapped, but its body has been mutilated as well.

(ii) Despair and Hope:
The caged bird is in a state of despair. Being tied up in the cage compromises his movement. He is hopeful that it will transform into a free bird.
That is why he sings of the anticipated freedom. Freedom seems out of reach, and his “tune is heard” in the distant hill. This tells us that the bird is hopeful one day he will fly over to the distant hill just like his voice.

(iii) Fear and Courage:
While the free bird finds it easy to fly and enjoy his freedom by claiming the sky, the caged bird lives in fear.
However, he is courageous enough to keep singing and use the power of his throat to fight for his freedom

(iv) Adversity and Good Fortune:
Sometimes it takes hardship to find out your abilities and strengths, like the caged bird. Sometimes you enjoy the good fortune of using all your abilities, like the free bird.
The caged bird uses his voice to the fullest to help him through hard time, but the free bird has time to enjoy himself with his free body. This can also explain the theme of power and powerlessness.

No 1
An Account of The Ascension Of Yoko to Chiefdom

Yoko is one of the thirty seven wives of Chief Gbanya. She is his favourite wife. The chief does whatever Yoko tells him to do. This does not go well with Lamboi and Musa. They look for ways to kill the Chief and take over the reign of Mende Kingdom. Their opportunity comes when the Chief is flogged mercilessly in their presence by the Governor. He sustains injuries during the flogging.
Lamboi and Musa mix a poisonous concoction using alligator gall. They give it to him. He drinks it. Before he dies, he hands over his Chiefdom to Yoko after she persuades him. This does not go well with Musa and Lamboi. They look for ways of removing her from the throne. Meanwhile, Yoko upon ascending the throne, sacrifices her womb as it is in line with the tradition. During her reign, she is able to conquer more territories and add them to her kingdom. She also maintains a cordial relationship with the Governor and act according to the dictates of the imperial representative. In a plot to dethrone her, Musa and Lamboi kidnap and kill Jeneba and lied to the people that it is Madam Yoko that use her for ritual. This allegation makes Queen Yoko to be subjected to humiliation and disgrace from her subjects. She finally goes to the poro bush and clears her name of the allegation. In a bid to avoid further embarrassment and disgrace, she asks her maid to prepare for her a poisonous concoction. She drinks it and takes her own life. She says it is better than facing further humiliation.

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Maxson.

Jim Bono

Troy’s best friend of over thirty years. Jim Bono is usually called “Bono” or “Mr. Bono” by the characters in Fences. Bono and Troy met in jail, where Troy learned to play baseball. Troy is a role model to Bono. Bono is the only character in Fences who remembers, first-hand, Troy’s glory days of hitting homeruns in the Negro Leagues. Less controversial than Troy, Bono admires Troy’s leadership and responsibility at work. Bono spends every Friday after work drinking beers and telling stories with Troy in the Maxson family’s backyard. He is married to a woman named Lucille, who is friends with Rose. Bono is a devoted husband and friend. Bono’s concern for Troy’s marriage takes precedent over his loyalty to their friendship.

NECO LIT-IN-ENG SOLUTION

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i. THE DESTRUCTIVE NATURE OF UNCONTROLLED JOY:
The poet persona is obviously happy and joyous about his retirement from service after thirty five years in service. This explains why he organises a party to mark his retirement. However, his joy gets the better of him and he drinks to stupor, something he has been able to control for over thirty-five years in government employment. His over-joyousness lands him in his grave. Thus, in everything we do, there is need for moderation. Had the retiree been moderate while rejoicing and compliant to his erstwhile driving code, he would have enjoyed his retirement in peace. All his years he “pummeled his boozy throat” in compliance with his duty rules just went to waste.

ii. THE DANGER OF DRUNK DRIVING:
This is another significant theme in A Government Driver on His Retirement. The poem expresses the universal driving rule that drivers should not drive when drunk. It is widely believed that driving when drunk makes the driver(s) susceptible to auto-crash as in the case of our newly retired government driver. Driving when drunk pushes him to his early grave. His drunkenness “sent him home to rest in peace”. The poem exposes us to the dangers of driving when drunk and of course, that of careless driving.

iii. DEATH:

Towards the tail end of the poem, the theme of death manifests. Death is an inevitable phenomenon every human being must undergo. Every one of us will die someday. However, the poet persona hurries his death time as a result of his carelessness and unrestrained joy