Grusha Buys Milk For Michael (excerpt)

GRUSHA:     (to the CHILD): Noontime is meal time.  Now we’ll sit hopefully in the grass, while the good  Grusha goes and buys a little pitcher of milk.  (She lays the CHILD down and knocks at the   cottage door.  An OLD MAN opens it.)  Grandfather, could I have a little pitcher of milk?  And a                         corn cake, maybe?

OLDMAN:  Milk? We have no milk.  The soldiers from the city have our goats.  Go to the Soldiers if you want milk.

Woman of courage

“The River and the Source highlights the virtue of courage.” Using Akoko, justify this statement.

  The River and the Source portray Akoko as a woman of courage which helps her overcome some of the various challenges she faces.

 Akoko draws the attention of the village and defends herself against her mother-in-law Nyar Alego and brother-in-law Otieno Kembo’s allegations for using witchcraft to prevent Owuor Kembo her husband from marrying other wives. She leaves her matrimonial home, regardless of the absence of her husband, to show that she could not take the accusations anymore. This helps her to protect the image of her family, which had been questioned and to stamp her position so that her in-laws would respect her.

Christianity is a sanctuary to the oppressed

Christianity is a sanctuary to those oppressed by cultural practices” Basing your argument on the River and the source by Margaret A. Ogola. Discuss the validity of the above statement

The society in The River and the source had cultural practices that oppressed a section of that society.However, the advent of Christianity changes this as shown below. 

The new form of government, ‘Sirikal’ takes over from the chief and the council of Jodongo when Akoko is robbed of her wealth by Otieno, her brother in-law; she seeks and gets assistance from the sirikal’. He is stripped of his post and ordered to give back to her all he had taken from her.

Questions on oral narratives

Questions on oral narratives usually tested in Paper 1 or Paper 2. Thus, it is important that a candidate is conversant with the topic.

An oral narrative is a form (genre) of oral literature. Other genres of Oral Literature are Oral Songs/ Poetry and Short Forms. Oral narrative refers to a story or a tale. An oral narrative is passed from generation to generation through word of mouth. 

Click this link to download Oral Narrative Questions

Grusha Sacrifice Herself to Michael

Grusha goes through ten developmental steps. Each of these steps requires that she sacrifice a part of herself to Michael. She does this financially, emotionally, in terms of her promises to Simon, and in terms of her life.

1. The first step occurs when she gives up her money for the child, paying two piasters for milk.

Writing An Essay

 

 Essays allow students to demonstrate an in-depth knowledge of a topic based on research and reading. The essay is written in paragraphs and has a structure that includes: introduction, body and conclusion

                                               Introduction

      The introduction sets the scene for the whole essay. You should not rewrite the essay question. Instead, the purpose of the introduction is to identify the topic, the position being argued and the main reasons for that position. The introduction will normally move from more general statements related to the question, to a specific statement of the main idea or argument that will be discussed in the body.

Evils that exist in the society

Drawing illustrations from the play Betrayal in the City, Write an essay on the evils that exist in the society.

 

Evils are very bad habits or cruel behavior displayed by human beings. The society of Kafira in this play is dominated by evils such as moral decadence, corruption, and Oppression of the poor. It is a perfect representation of any society that we live in.

The Kafiran society suffers moral decadence. Mulili, a soldier and Boss’s cousin (Head of State) is disrespectful to the old people, Doga and Nina. He calls them stubborn old men’s and is not moved by Nina’s threat to make him blind by stripping. Mulili claims that he has seen many naked people and nothing has happened to him. Boss, the head of state is a womanizer and attempts to rape Regina when she goes to see him over the release of her brother, Mosese, who is imprisoned. To make matters worse Boss puts his wife to jail when she complains about the evil.

Cowardice usually condemns people to doom.

“In order to fight for your rights as a society, bravery is key. Cowardice usually condemns people to doom.” Validate this statement with reference to Francis Imbuga’s Betrayal in the city.

So many ills are propagated in the current society simply because a majority of people have chosen to be silent and do nothing about the problems facing them. The perpetrations of such ills are left to go Scot free. If the likes of Doga, Adika, Nina, Jusper, Jere and Mosese are absent in any society, the people either die poor, by the sword or as oppressed subjects of a selfish regime.

Setbook Notes

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The Road Not Taken

 Robert Frost

 

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth; 5

Ludovica

    

 AZDAK:                       (sitting down): I accept. (Sighing, the inkeeper hands him some money). Good.

                                    Now the formalities are disposed of. This is a case of rape?

      INKEEPER :         Your Honour, I caught the fellow in the act. Ludovica was in the straw on the                                         stable floor.

      AZDAK :                Quite right , the stable. Lovely horses! especially liked the little roan.

      INKEEPER :         The first thing I did, of course , was to question Ludovica. On my son’s behalf.

      AZDAK :                ( seriously ): I said I especially liked the little roan.

      INKEEPER :         ( Coldly ) : Really ? Ludovica confessed the stableman took her against her will.

      AZDAK :                Take your veil off, Ludovica. (she does so) Ludovica, you please the court. Tell                                     us how it happened.

Questions Analysis.                                                                                             

Before this excerpt a case is presented to court whereby an innkeeper is accusing his stableman of raping his daughter – in – law Ludovica.        

                                                                  

‘I accept’ these are words used by Azdak as a way of soliciting for a bribe. It implies that he is ready and willing to be bribed.

Lavrenti informs Grusha that she must marry a dying man (excerpt)

 

GRUSHA:  He did, but I didn’t tell him anything.

         

LAVRENTI:  That’s good. I wanted to speak to you about Aniko. She has a good heart but she’s very, very sensitive. People need only mention our farm and she’s worried. She takes everything hard, you see. One time our milkmaid went to church with a hole in her stocking. Ever since, Aniko has worn two pairs of stockings IN church. It‘s the old family in her.(HE LISTENS)Are you sure there are no rats around? If there are arts, you couldn’t live here.(There are sounds as of dripping from the roof)What’s that dripping?

The woman’s role in the society has been that of marriage and child bearing

          

The woman’s role in the society has been that of marriage and child bearing. However, with time the woman has become a force to reckon with in the society.Write an essay in support of this statement using illustrations from Margaret Ogola’s The River and the Source.

Introduction

     The passing of time and inevitable changes in the way of life have also influenced the roles played by the women in the society.  They have been looked at as important as they bring in wealth at marriage and also ensure the continuity of the community in child bearing.  These roles have changed the woman gets empowered through education and takes up different roles even those played by men.  The women in “The River and the Source” have clearly embraced the new and become strong forces to reckon with in the society as evident in my essay.

Sacraments of the Catholic Church in Caucasian

Throughout the play are dispersed the Seven Sacraments of the Catholic Church.

CONFIRMATION- The first one appears when Simon and Grusha agree to become engaged. The engagement is sealed when Simon gives her his silver chain. This represents the act of Confirmation, and it is the first of the seven Catholic sacraments that will appear in the play.

BAPTISM- When Grusha flees with Michael to the mountains, she finally decides he belongs to her and performs a Baptism, saying: “I'll wash you and christen you/ With glacier water” (Scene 3) This is not the Church’s baptism but a human bond recognized by Grusha towards the child

COMMUNION- (the service of christian worship at which bread and wine are consecrated and shared) Azdak shares wine with Granny and Irakli. The Singer comments that "Broken law like bread he gave them." This is almost a direct comparison of Azdak to Christ

Cases Solved By Azdak

The first case is between an invalid and a doctor. The invalid says the doctor caused his stroke because he paid for the doctor’s education and then had a stroke when he heard that the doctor was practicing for free. He wants his investment back. Azdak rules that the invalid has to pay 1000 piasters as a fine, and that the doctor must treat him for no charge if he suffers another stroke.

The other case is that of a blackmailer who demanded money from a landowner who had raped his own niece. However, the blackmailer will not tell the name of the landowner. The blackmailer has to pay the court half of his blackmailing fees to keep the landowner's name quiet. 

The next case is brought by an innkeeper who charges that his stableman raped his daughter-in-law, Ludovica. He caught the stableman in the act, he says. Azdak hints he would like a bribe from the innkeeper; he asks for the innkeeper’s little roan horse. The innkeeper refuses. Azdak tells Shauwa to drop a knife, and then asks Ludovica to pick it up. Ludovica’s hips sway suggestively, and then Azdak rules that the rape is proven. Ludovica obviously committed the crime with her fat bottom. Azdak fines the innkeeper the roan horse and takes Ludovica to the stables to investigate the scene of the crime for himself.

Granny, an old peasant woman next tells Azdak that several miracles have occurred at her house. She was given a cow, a ham flew into her house through the window, and the landlord waived her rent. Three farmers claim, on the other hand, that Granny's brother-in-law Irakli stole the cow, the ham, and threatened the landlord until he waived the rent money. Azdak fines the farmers for not believing in miracles and drinks a bottle of wine with Granny and her brother-in-law, Irak.

The Fifth Case Involves an old couple who have lived together for forty years but now don’t like each other and want a divorce.  AZDAK signs the divorce papers but Shauwa points out to him that he has made a mistake. He has divorced Grusha from Jussup instead of the old couple. Azdak apologizes but says he never retracts a judgment.

The last case Azdak calls for the chalk circle test. He explains, “The true mother is she who has the strength to pull the child out of the circle, towards herself” Natella pulls the child out of the circle. Azdak accuses Grusha of not pulling. He orders the test again, and again, Grusha lets go. She explains, “I’ve brought him up! Am I to tear him to

THE SOUNDS OF POETRY

Poets use sound in a variety of ways to enhance their poems. Here are some examples of sound
techniques poets use to create mood, tone and images. Use the guide when you are interpreting
poetry or selecting poems for choral reading.

Rhyme Scheme:
Poets organize rhyming words in a variety of patterns called rhyme schemes. End rhyme is the
rhyming of words at the ends of lines of poetry. Internal rhyme is the rhyming of words within
one line of poetry. Here are some examples of end rhymes. Can you find examples of internal
rhyme?