BLOSSOMS OF THE SAVANNAH ANALYSIS KCSE 2021

KCSE PAST PAPERS REVISION – Review of KCSE 2021- Blossoms of the Savannah -Henry Ole Kulet
 

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Misunderstandings in families can cause serious conflicts in relationships. Referring closely to the relationship between Ole Kaelo and his daughters in Blossoms of the Savannah, write an essay in support of this statement.

 

How to answer KCSE essay questions based on Blossoms of the Savannah

1. Read the question carefully so that you comprehend its demands
2. Identify the keywords which will aid in your correct interpretation of the question
3. Identify the MISUNDERSTANDING between Ole Kaelo and his daughters and link it to the resultant CONFLICT
4. Come up with the points of interpretation. What is the misunderstanding? What is the conflict?
5. Answer the question. Keep glancing at the question and keywords in the course of your writing to avoid digressions, irrelevance or narration.

The KEYWORDS in the question are MISUNDERSTANDING and CONFLICT

Show how Ole Kaelo has different values and opinions from those of his daughter Resian and Taiyo and how this different opinions (MISUNDERSTANDING)  lead altercations, squabbles, wrangles or arguments between them (CONFLICT)

The argument can be confrontational like in the case of Resian or simply about how the daughters feel after disagreeing with the father.

In each point, link the difference in opinion to the falling-out.

 

Why students lost marks in this question

• Some students failed to interpret the question correctly and ended up highlighting only one part of the question at the expense of the other (Either, misunderstanding or conflict)
• The examiner expected the candidate to give details of the CONFLICT that arises as a result of the MISUNDERSTANDING between Ole Kaelo and his daughter.

For example;

What is Taiyo's opinion about FGM? What does his father want instead? (MISUNDERSTANDING)

How does this result in CONFLICT? How does Taiyo feel after undergoing FGM?

Taiyo is opposed to FGM. She says, “I also don’t care whether I am counted among intoiye nemengalana … my body belongs to myself … only when I am dead would anyone mutilate my body. “ (Pg33).

Her father plans for her forcible circumcision. She is utterly displeased with him.

“They both find fault with their father for wanting to please Oloisudori to the detriment of his own children’s lives.” (Pg276)

These textual details show how misunderstanding in families can cause conflicts.

Use EPISODIC approach to master and internalize the events in each episode

Students who gave sufficient textual details scored full marks.

 

TASKS

1. Identify episodes where the father's and daughters' expectations are not in line. (MISUNDERSTANDING). What does the father want? What do the daughters want instead?
2. Bring out the CONFLICT that ensues from the misunderstanding. Give specific textual details on how Resian and Taiyo feel or behave following the misunderstanding.

 

Blossoms of the Savanah essays Analysis – how to write the introduction

1. Give your understanding of the question. Show how disagreement in the families causes wrangles.
2. Paraphrase: use your own words to unveil your interpretation of the question. Avoid repeating the question word for word.
3. Include the keywords in your introduction. Link the “misunderstanding” to the “conflict”.
4. Contextualize: mention some of the issues that result in misunderstanding e.g. FGM, early marriage, education etc.

Developing the body: Blossoms of the Savannah essay question KCSE 2021

1. Give at least four fully developed points.
2. Each point occupies a separate paragraph. Do NOT split a point into more than one paragraph.
3. Give adequate textual illustrations on the misunderstanding between Ole Kaelo and his daughters. Points on Mama Milanoi are invalid since the question limits the argument to Ole Kaelo. Cite enough details on the evidence of the conflict between Ole Kaelo, Resian or Taiyo.

 

The paragraph you write should have the following:

 

Line 1: answer the question (mention the misunderstanding)

Ole Kaelo disagrees  with Taiyo concerning the music extravaganza leading to a bitter fall out between them.

Ole Kaelo disagrees  (keyword 1: misunderstanding) with Taiyo concerning the music extravaganza (bone of contention) leading to a bitter fall out (keyword 2: conflict)

 

Illustration:

·       Details of what Taiyo wants

·       Details of her father’s conflicting opinion

·       Details of the resultant CONFLICT

 

Last line: sum up the paragraph with a clincher statement

e.g. Indeed Ole Kaelo’s disagreement with Taiyo leaves her embittered.  (capture the intent of the question)

 

Points of interpretation

1. Music extravaganza
2. University education
3. Baby boy
4. FGM
5. Marriage to Oloisudori

 

Paragraph Development

Let us learn how to identify relevant episodes to answer the question and specific textual details required to score a full mark in the paragraph.

 

Topic sentence: music extravaganza

Ole Kaelo disagrees with his daughter Taiyo over the music extravaganza leading to a bitter fallout.

 

Illustration: (Pg1-2, 4-5, 44-45)

·       Taiyo had a battle with her father when he denied her permission to travel to Mombasa with other young men and women who had been selected by an F.M. radio station to attend an extravaganza.

·       She had stubbornly put up a spirited fight but she lost the battle.

·       That left a wound in her heart that was still too raw to probe.

·       Her rage was still seething in her.

·       The simple faith and certainty of childhood had failed her.

·       Her trust that her father would give her whatever she requested had been badly shaken

·       When Resian asked her to talk to their father about joining university, she recalled with bitterness how her father's refusal to allow her to go to Mombasa and participate in the musical extravaganza nearly damaged the father-daughter relationship that had always been remarkably close.

·       In her house school days, on several occasions she excelled in music festivals and she was awarded and garlanded.

·       Broadcasting stations recognized her talent and encouraged her to take music as a career.

·       On several occasions her parents applauded her when she won trophies on account of her performance … would not have any objection if she pursued the desire of her heart as a future career.

·       An FM radio station offered to sponsor her to attend a music extravaganza in Mombasa and thereafter attend a short course to gauge her abilities.

·       She thought the news would delight her parents but her father was furious. He curtly refused to grant her permission and angrily disallowed any further discussion on the matter, effectively crushing Taiyo's hope.

·       No daughter of Ole Kaelo would demean herself and her family as to perform in public in exchange for monetary gain.

·       It was OK to perform in school festivals, but to perform to a public gallery was one short step to harlotry

·       No amount of persuasion would change her father's mind

 

SAMPLE SET BOOK ESSAY QUESTION BASED ON BLOSSOMS OF THE SAVANNAH

Misunderstandings in families can cause serious conflicts in relationships. Referring closely to the relationship between Ole Kaelo and his daughters in Blossoms of the Savannah, write an essay in support of this statement.

Conflicts in families should be avoided by all means. We can achieve this when we communicate and show deliberate effort to understand one another’s feelings. In H.R. Ole Kulet's Blossoms of the Savannah, Ole Kaelo, as a father, fails to initiate effective communication with his daughters and fails to understand them. As a result, the relationship between a father and his daughters is ostensibly strained.  

First, Ole Kaelo fails to understand Taiyo's deep passion for music, denying her an opportunity to attend an extravaganza, resulting in a bitter fallout between them. The battle between them ensues when he denies her permission to go to Mombasa with other young men and women to attend an extravaganza. Since she is passionate about music, she puts up a spirited fight but loses the battle. Taiyo has always excelled in music festivals and been awarded. Owing to her talent, broadcasting stations encourage her to pursue music, the desire of her heart, as a career. She did not imagine that her parents could object this, since they have always applauded her whenever she wins trophies. An FM radio station offers to sponsor her to attend the music extravaganza. She thinks her parents would be delighted but there is a misunderstanding since her father is furious instead. He curtly denies her permission and disallows further discussion. Taiyo's fervid persuasions fall on deaf ears. Ole Kaelo opines that performing in public is demeaning oneself and her family. He has no qualms about performing in music festivals but feels that performing to a public gallery for monetary gain is one short step to harlotry. This results in a serious conflict since it leaves a raw wound in Taiyo's heart. She seethes with rage. She loses the simple faith and certainty she had in her father. Her trust in her father is badly shaken. The father-daughter relationship was remarkably close but the misunderstanding nearly damages it. This is sufficient proof that misunderstanding in families can cause conflict in relationships.

Secondly, there is a misunderstanding between Ole Kaelo and Resian concerning Resian's ambition of joining university. She wants to pursue veterinary medicine and become a veterinary doctor. She wishes to don the graduation regalia and flaunt the name Dr. Resian Kaelo. Thus, she nags Taiyo to persuade their father to allow them to join university (Pg4). She pleads persuasively since Ole Kaelo always listens to Taiyo (Pg5). Little does she know that he does not share the same opinion . He wants them to be circumcised and married. There is a clear misunderstanding between them.  Resian is not interested in peripheral things like a husband and children in the foreseeable future. They may come after she obtains her degree (Pg18). She knows that if they go back to Nakuru they would escape the archaic practice of FGM. She badgers Taiyo to talk to her father soonest (Pg33). The disagreement is imminent since Ole Kaelo on the other hand wants his daughters to be taught cultural paths since they have enough formal education. Resian is only interested in university education which is beneficial to all humankind. She waits impatiently for their mother or Taiyo to speak to Ole Kaelo but none of them does (Pg181). When her father calls her to speak to her about her future, she mistakenly thinks one of them had convinced him to allow them to join university. What a misunderstanding! The father was plotting to have her cut and married off (Pg 182-184). At his shop, she tries to beseech him to allow her to pursue her dream but he declines. She shouts, hollers and shrieks in outrage. She feels hated and betrayed(Pg 208). In the heat of confrontation, her father slaps her twice (Pg209). She swears that even if she is eighty she will go to university. The conflict between father and daughter arises from the misunderstanding.

Strangely, another misunderstanding stems from the fact that Ole Kaelo wants a boy but a girl, Resian, is born instead. He had prayed for a boy as the second born to carry the Kaelo’s name to the next generation. He is utterly disappointed when nature gives him another baby girl. Resian grows up to be sullen, bewildered and resentful because she feels the absence of her father's love from  the onset. She is awkward and difficult to deal with and her father hates her even more. He wants to dispose of her as soon as possible since her body develops early. Ole Kaelo is harshly impatient towards her and in the face of frequent tongue lashing from the father, Taiyo is her shoulder to cry on. Her tempestuousness is as a result of this. She faces constant provocation and intimidation from Ole Kaelo(Pg34). Her father regards her contemptuously as an awkward, overblown, stupid child and wonders where they fetched her. He compares her to Taiyo who he considers exemplary.  His irrational hatred is evident when Oloisudori visits. Her excitement makes him wonder if she has run amok. He remarks that her behaviour borders on imbecility. This unfair treatment stems from a disagreement and results in conflict. Resian is unhappy because her father despises and hates her so much. She does not understand that the constant rebuke and ridicule results from her father's ludicrous desire to sire a son (Pg174). He sells her to Oloisudori because he does not respect her feelings. She screams bitterly accusing her father of betrayal and hatred. This leads to a serious disagreement between them. Such conflicts can be avoided if parents and children maintain meaningful conversations and avoid misunderstandings.

Also, Ole Kaelo fails to understand that the daughters do not want to undergo the loathsome culture of FGM when he plans to have them circumcised. This results in a disagreement. The strained communication between father and daughters results in misunderstanding and conflict. The girls don’t mind being counted among “intoiye nemengalana”. Taiyo remarks that her body belongs to her and can only be mutilated over her dead body. Unlike her father, she detests FGM. Resian wants them to return to Nakuru in order to escape FGM. Resian is disturbed because the threat of circumcision is becoming real after Ole Musanka’s speech. The sight of “olmurunya” is traumatising and Resian is scared of Enkamuratani. She declares that her claw-like hands would never touch her. Their father wants Joseph Parmuat to talk to the girls about their cultural norms. The girls on the other hand hold extremely divergent views. This is misunderstanding is a breeding ground for the dispute between them. In Parmuat's tale, FGM was initiated by women to prevent them from being lured to the “Ilarinkon's” immoral demands. Resian thus feels that FGM is useless to today’s woman. It a tool used by men to oppress women.  On the other hand, her other plans to circumcise her and marry her off, thus the misunderstanding. Taiyo is unlucky since she is forcibly circumcised. She is traumatised. Her mother and three women from Esoit trick her into circumcision, claiming Resian was on hunger strike and they needed her help. She is instead drenched in 20 litres of cold water, dragged from the hut, wrestled to the ground and circumcised. She faints after the heart wrenching operation. It is difficult to come to terms with the mutilation. Resian and she find fault with their father for forcibly circumcising her in order to please Oloisudori. This misunderstanding creates a wall of conflict between father and daughters.

Lastly, Ole Kaelo plans to marry off Resian to Oloisudori but Resian is against it and is resolute about joining Egerton university. Resian is resolute about what she wants. A husband and children are peripheral issues that may only come after she obtains her degree. According to Ole Kaelo, however, there is nothing better for parents than seeing their children settle in their own homes. The daughter on the other hand holds extremely divergent views on the issue. Whereas Ole Kaelo wants Parmuat to give them cultural lessons, Resian dismisses this as worthless. Ole Kaelo is determined to marry off Resian no matter what happens. He is part of the scheme to have her abducted in the event that he turns down Oloisudori's proposal. He totally misunderstands Resian when he equates her to a goat's kid that refuses to suckle after it is born. He mistakenly believes that Resian would be ensnared by Oloisudori's opulence and grandeur lifestyle. Resian does not want to get married. A confrontation emerges at her father’s shop following this misunderstanding . Resian hollers and shrieks in anger protesting her father's selfish idea. She feels hated and betrayed. Her father slaps her. Resian would rather die that get married to his father's reckless friend – ol-ushuushi. This bitter dispute develops because of lack of understanding.

In conclusion, failure to listen to one another with a view of understanding each other’s views, opinions and values may result in wrangles in a family. Family members ought to communicate freely to avoid such wrangles.

Read more on BLOSSOMS OF THE SAVANNAH ESSAYS

 

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THE PEARL ANALYSIS KCSE 2021

KCSE PAST PAPERS REVISION – Review of KCSE 2021: The Pearl - John Steinbeck

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True friendship is hard to find. Many people associate with us for what they stand to gain. With reference to John Steinbeck’s The Pearl, write an essay to support this statement.

How to answer KCSE essay questions based on The Pearl.

1. Read the question carefully for comprehension/in order to understand the demands
2. Identify the keywords in the question with a view of interpreting the question correctly
3. Identify the FAKE FRIENDSHIPS and the OPPORTUNISM
4. Come up with points of interpretation. Who is the fake friend? How do they stand to gain?
5. Answer the question. Keep glancing at the question and the keywords in the course of your writing to avoid digressions and narration

Some of the KEYWORDS in this question include TRUE FRIENDSHIP, HARD TO FIND and GAIN.

Show how characters like the DOCTOR and the PRIEST get involved with KINO with a view of profiting from his priceless fortune, the pearl of the world. 

Show the distinct change in behaviour of the character based on how they behave before Kino gets the pearl and how they PRETEND to be his friends after he gets the pearl.

In each point, link the insincere association to how the character hopes to gain.

Why students lost marks in this question

Some students' essays lacked textual illustrations and background information. The examiner demanded illustration on how Kino's insincere friends associated with him BEFORE he got the pearl.

Students who had read and mastered the episodes garnered full marks per point. Always try to point out relevant specific details (characters’ actions, reactions, words, feelings) when reading the text.

For example how the doctor remarks that he has better things to do other than cure insect bites for “little Indians”. He is a doctor, not a veterinary. He asks his servant to see if Kino has any money. “No, they never have any money. I, I alone in the world am supposed to work for nothing" (P28)

Show his change of heart when the news comes to him. Where is he and what is he doing? What does he say when he is told who Kino is?

When he is told who Kino is, the doctor grows “stern and judicious at the same time” and says, “He is a client of mine. I am treating his child for a scorpion sting"(P42)

How does he stand to gain? He wants the pearl. The things he says betray his avarice.

“When do you think you can pay this bill?”

“You have a pearl? A good pearl?”

“Perhaps, you would like me to put it in my safe?” (P56)

Use episodic approach.

Students who cited adequate specific textual details scored full marks.

TASKS

1. Identify the insincere/hypocritical friend
2. Give the BACKGROUND INFORMATION on how the character associated with Kino before he got the pearl. (Give sufficient textual backup)
3. Show how the character pretends to be Kino’s dependable/trustworthy friend AFTER he finds the pearl.
4. What does he stand to gain? (Textual evidence)
5. Show how the doctor, priest, pearl buyers, neighbours and beggars associate with Kino before and after he gets the pearl.

The Pearl Essay Analysis: How to write the introduction

1. What is your interpretation of the question? Show how true friends are hard to find. Who associates with Kino for selfish reasons?
2. Paraphrase: use your own words to demonstrate your understanding of the question. Avoid repeating the question word for word.
3. Include the keywords in your introduction. Link the “hypocritical friendship” to “what they stand to gain”
4. Contextualize: mention the disloyal friends e.g. doctor, priest, pearl buyers, neighbours or beggars.

Developing the body: The Pearl essay question KCSE 2021

1. Give at least four well illustrated points
2. Each point falls on a separate paragraph. Do not split one point into two paragraphs.
3. Give adequate textual illustrations on the insincere friendship. Show how the character behaved or treated Kino before he got the pearl. Then show how he pretends to be Kino's friend later on. Demonstrate that Kino gets many friends after he gets the pearl but the friendship is not in good faith. His new “friends” are dishonest. They plan to gain from his newly found fortune. Point out how each of them hopes to gain.

The first line of each (body) paragraph must answer the question.

• Who is the selfish friend?

• What do they stand to gain?

Points of interpretation

• Doctor
• Priest
• The pearl buyers
• Beggars
• Neighbours

Paragraph Development

• Using their knowledge or comprehension of the text, the student was required to fetch evidence from relevant episodes in order to answer the question.
• [Topic sentence] Fake friend: The PRIEST associates with Kino only because he hopes to profit from the pearl.
• Illustration: (P41, 47, 48, 68)
• The news comes to him when he is walking in his garden. It puts a thoughtful look in his eyes and a memory of certain repairs necessary to the church.
• He wonders what the pearl would be worth
• He wonders whether he had baptized Kino’s baby or married him (P41)
• The priest considered these people children and treated them like children
• He tells Kino, “Kino, thou art named after a great man and a great Father of the Church.” He makes it sound like a benediction.
• He adds: “Thy namesake tamed the desert and sweetened the minds of thy people, didst thou know that? It is in the books.” (P47)
• He asks about the pearl, his sole purpose of visiting Kino: “It has cone to me that you have a great fortune, a great pearl.”
• The priest gasps a little at the size and the beauty of the pearl.
• He says, “I hope thou wilt remember to give thanks, my son, to Him who has given thee this treasure, and to pray for guidance in the future.”
• Juana replies softly “We will, Father. And we will be married now.”
• The priest is delighted. “It is pleasant to see that your first thoughts are good thoughts. God bless you, my children.”
• Kino's hand had closed tightly on the pearl again, and he was glancing about suspiciously (P48)
• Selling the pearls away from La Paz was a good idea but it was against religion.
• According to the priest, the loss of the pearls was a punishment
• Each man and woman is like a soldier sent by God to guard some part of the castle of the Universe.
• Each one must remain faithful to his post.
• The priest makes this sermon every year to discourage the fishermen from selling the pearls away from La Paz.

Sample set book essay question based on The Pearl by John Steinbeck

True friendship is hard to find. Many people associate with us for what they stand to gain. With reference to John Steinbeck’s The Pearl, write an essay to support this statement.

It is good to have friends. They are sources of inspiration, emotional and material support. Good friends would stick with you in the face of adversity while bad ones would forge relationships with the intention of exploiting us. In The Pearl, Kino is a victim of fake friendship. People who interact with him harbour malicious intentions. They are selfish and opportunistic.

First, the doctor is a pretentious friend who develops perfunctory concern for Kino only because he hopes to gain from his pearl. He is obviously not a genuine friend because at first he refuses to treat Kino's baby. He says he is a doctor, not a veterinary to treat insect bites for “little Indians”. He asks if Kino has any money and concludes that they never have any money. He is not willing to work for nothing. Kino has eight small misshapen ugly pearls, that are flattened and almost valueless. The doctor refuses to treat the baby. His servant claims he has gone out because he was called to a serious case. The doctor treats Kino with contempt and indifference before he gets the pearl. When he gets wind of Kino's pearl, the doctor grows stern and judicious at the same time. About Kino he says, “ He is a client of mine. I am treating his child for a scorpion sting.” He imagines himself in a restaurant in Paris enjoying some wine, probably using proceeds from the sale of the pearl. He visits Kino and pretends to show concern for his child. Lying that he was not in when Kino came in the morning, he says he has come at first chance. “I know the sting of a scorpion, my friend and I can cure it.” (P50) Kino reluctantly allows him to treat the child after he scares him about the curious effects of the sting. The doctor makes the baby’s condition worse in order to rip off Kino. He gives him some white powder enclosed in a capsule of gelatine. He gives him pulque to drink. This makes the baby very sick. The doctor is back after an hour and “treats” him using three drops of ammonia in a cup of water. He later inquires about the bill. Kino will pay after he sells his pearl. The doctor pretends to be oblivious about the pearl but offers to put it in his safe for him. He warns Kino that it may be stolen. He even stares at Kino’s eyes for a hint as to where it was hidden. Clearly, the doctor only associates with Kino to profit from the pearl. Surely, true friends are hard to find and most people only pursue selfish interests.

Secondly, the priest pretends to be Kino’s sincere friend only after he gets the pearl. He is walking in his garden when the news comes to him. It puts a thoughtful look in his eye and memory of certain repairs necessary to the church. He wonders about the worth of the pearl. He also develops dishonest concern for Kino’s family. He wonders whether he baptized Kino’s baby or married him for that matter. He then visits Kino’s family only because he hopes to benefit from his fortune. The priests tells Kino, “Thou art named after a great man and a great Father of the Church.” He makes it sound like a benediction. He adds that Kino’s namesake calmed the desert and sweetened the minds of his people. Kino is illiterate so the cunning priest slyly says, “It is in the books.” The priest considers Kino and his people children and treats them like children (P47). The priest inquires about the great fortune. He gasps a little at it's size and beauty. He tells Kino, his son, to remember to give thanks to God and to pray for guidance. He is pleased about their “good thoughts” when Juana says they will and they will now get married. The same priests makes a sermon every year to deter the poor fishermen from pooling their pearls and selling them at the capital, with a view of gaining from their hard work. The priest is a hypocritical friend who harbours an ulterior motive of profiting from Kino’s pearl. Indeed, it is hard to find genuine friends.

The pearl buyers are fake friends who appear genuinely friendly when they offer Kino the “best” prices but their hidden agenda is to cheat him out of his great pearl. In their little offices, they cackle and shout until they reach the lowest prices. When they hear about Kino’s pearl, their eyes squint and their fingers burn a little. They care less about the fisherman’s welfare. They are avaricious and selfish. There is only one buyer who keeps many agents to create a semblance of competition. The agents plan to replace their patron and each one hopes to raise the capital once he sells Kino’s pearl (P42-43). There is one buyer with many hands because the happiest pearl buyer is one who buys for the lowest prices (Pg64). The buyers become stiffened and alert when Kino and the procession approach their little dark offices. Kino is greeted by a stout slow man, “Good morning, my friend.” His face is fatherly and benign, and his eyes twinkle with friendship. He is a caller of good-mornings, a ceremonious shaker of hands, a jolly man who knew all jokes but whose eyes would wet with sorrow at the memory of your aunt’s demise. He gives Kino a steady cruel gaze, eyes unwinking as a hawk, but the rest of his face smiling in greeting. As much as he appears amiable, his true colours show when he tells Kino his pearl is fool's gold – a large clumsy curiosity that no one would buy and only good for a museum. For a pearl Kino thinks is 50,000 pesos, the dealer offers a measly 1000 pesos. He pretends there is no collusion with his fellow conniving conspirators. The first dealer, a dry stringy man, tosses the pearl contemptuously back into the tray. Refusing to make an offer, he calls it a monstrosity. The second one, a little man with a shy voice, claims better pearls are made of paste. Kino’s pearl is soft and chalky and will die soon. He examines it under a microscope. The third dealer says he could sell it at 600 pesos to a client who likes such things. He offers 500 pesos. The friendly dealer raises his offer to 1500 pesos. Kino refuses to sell his pearl there after seeing through their lies. He realizes they are not genuine friends. The dealers know they played too hard. They pretend to give Kino the best prices yet they had conspired to buy his pearl at the lowest price. Truly, it is not easy to find true friendship.

Also, the four beggars follow Kino around only because of the hope they harbour in Kino's pearl. They seem interested in Kino yet before they saw him and Juana as poor people. The great experts in financial analysis look at Juana's old blue skirt, green ribbon, torn shawl, Kino’s aged blanket and the thousand washings of his blanket and dismiss them as poor people. The only reason they follow him to the doctor’s place is to witness the drama that would ensue. After that, they go back to the steps of the church, indifferent to his plight (Pg28). However, when they hear about Kino’s pearl, they know they would benefit from it. They giggle with pleasure for they know that there is no alms giver in the world like a poor man who is suddenly lucky (Pg42). Since they sit in front of the church, the beggars hope to gain from the pearl by taking the tithe of the first fruit of the luck (Pg63). The beggars join the procession to the buyers not as Kino’s friends, but as vultures hoping to gain from the sale of the pearl. Without doubt, many people only associate with us for what they stand to gain.

Kino's neighbours are not honest friends but casual opportunists hoping to profit from his fortune. They follow Kino and Juana to the doctor's house. The thing had become a neighbourhood affair (Pg24). They follow him only to witness if Kino would do the remarkable by getting the doctor. They are not here to help him. They hang around Kino’s home till dusk and are reluctant to leave. The neighbours watch Kino through the crevices of their houses and dress up to accompany him - if they don’t go it would be a sign of “unfriendship”. They accompany Kino to sell the pearl, together with their little boys, peering around the doorway, window bars and around Kino’s legs (Pg71). The neighbours pretend to be Kino’s friends but they are only spying on him with the aim of getting the pearl. Kino is attacked at the beach by someone from the neighbourhood (Pg84-86). His bought is also destroyed causing him searing rage. This is evil beyond thinking (Pg 87). As if that is not enough, someone burns Kino’s house. The seemingly friendly neighbours are out to get Kino’s pearl by any means. As Kino’s house goes up in flames, all they do is save their own houses (Pg88). Juan Tomas warns Kino not to use the shore since there was a search party there looking for him. The neighbours that were initially uninterested in Kino’s affairs before now try to wrestle the pearl out of Kino’s grasp. This goes to prove that true friendship is indeed hard to find.

In conclusion, many people display questionable closeness with Kino’s family which can only be explained in the light of selfishness and opportunism. This friendship is aimed at benefitting them and not Kino and Juana. Not all our friends have benevolent reasons.

Read more on The Pearl KCSE Essays here 

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Memories we Lost 2021 KCSE Analysis

MEMORIES WE LOST: LIGHT ANALYSIS

KCSE PAST PAPERS REVISION: Review of KCSE 2021: Light-Lesley Nneka Arimah

 

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Distance between parents and their children can be an obstacle to effective parenting. With reference to Lesley Nneka Arimah's story, “Light”, write an essay in support of this statement.

 

How to answer KCSE essay questions based on Memories we Lost

1. Read the question keenly
2. Identify KEYWORDS to help you interpret the question correctly
3. Come up with points of interpretation

The keywords in the questions include “distance” and “obstacle in parenting”.

The candidate is required to identify the challenges the child goes through because of the distance between her and the mother.

In this case, distant parenting is different from single parenting.

The candidate was to point out the challenges the MOTHER has in raising her DAUGHTER brought about by her physical absence.

 

The points you give must be related to the events in the short story “Light”.

 

You can only score a full mark in each point if you cite adequate specific textual illustrations.

 

TASK

1. Identify challenges experienced by Enebeli's daughter
2. Tie each challenge to her mother’s physical absence

 

Reason why students lost marks in this question

• Many students read and interpreted the question correctly.
• However, most of them could not give sufficient textual illustrations despite it being a rather short story with few details.

The examiner did not demand too many details but as usual, the textual illustrations in short stories have to be specific and based on the episodes.

Students are encouraged to read the short story carefully and master the relevant details in each EPISODE.

For example, the note Enebeli's daughter sends to sends reads “Buki, I love you, I will give you many sons” (P28) or how “They SURVIVE the CRIME SCENE of the girl's first ‘MOON TIME”(P28).

Notably, more and more students are getting it right.

 

Memories we Lost essay: Light – introduction

1. What is your interpretation of the question? What challenges do the children experience when one parent is away? With reference to “Light”, what are the challenges of distant parenting?
2. Include the keywords in your introduction. Show how “distance” and the “obstacles” that come with it hinder effectual parenting.
3. Paraphrase: do not simply rewrite the question and pass it off as an introduction.
4. Contextualize: mention some of the obstacles.
5. Be brief. (It carries only 2 marks)

 

Developing the body: Memories we Lost essays

1. Give at least four well developed points
2. Each point falls on separate paragraphs
3. Give adequate textual illustrations on the obstacles to effective patenting caused but the distance between parents and children. Tie this to the episodes.

 

NB: Answer the question on the first line of each (body) paragraph, before you try to illustrate.

 

Points of interpretation

 

• Boyfriend
• Communication
• Resentment
• House girl
• Lessons
• Grooming
• Taking sides

 

Paragraph development

Obstacle: The girl is fourteen now and is in trouble for engaging in a boy-girl relationship.

The mother tries to correct the girl, but the long absence dilutes much of her influence

Illustration (P28,29,30,32)

• Three long years have passed since the mother went away
• The girl is 14 and there is a boy
• Enebeli has been invited to discuss the misdemeanor and now he is seated in the lobby to the head teacher’s office
• The girl is in trouble for sending a boy notes, it's not the first time
• The boy not appealing. He is short, one ear is larger than the other and he has a terrible hair cut. He is confused about the girl’s attention (P28)
• The note reads, "Buki, I love you, I will give you many sons."
• He promises to chastise the girl, assures the head teacher it will not happen again
• It happens two more times, the girl later learns to pass notes better
• Enebeli deems his daughter his brightest ember, he will not dim her
• Mother attempts to correct her
• Much is lost in transmission over the wire
• Her influence is diluted by the DISTANCE
• Enebeli and his wife disagree on training up of the girl (P29)
• The girl opens up to the mother about the boy, strings out his virtues (P30)
• He is finally learning to kiss well
• Her mother silences her, did not think she would not raise such a girl
• This dampens her
• “And there is a little less light to her”.

 

The girl is involved in a boy-girl relationship (challenge) but the mother is too far (DISTANCE) hence she cannot correct her effectively and her influence has waned (OBSTACLE)

 

Sample set book essay question based on Memories we Lost (Light – Lesley Nneka Arimah)  

Distance between parents and their children can be an obstacle to effective parenting. With reference to Lesley Nneka Arimah’s story, “Light”, write an essay in support of this statement.

Parents may find themselves separated from their children because of work or study. The distance normally hinders effective parenting because it reduces communication between parent and child. “Light” by Lesley Nneka Arimah brings to light the effects of this separation.

The first challenge the girl experiences is a boy-girl relationship. Three years after her mother went to America to study for a Masters in Business Administration, the girl is now fourteen. Her father has been invited to school since the girl is in trouble for sending a boy a note and it is not for the first time. In Enebeli's eyes, the boy is not appealing. He is short and one of his ears is significantly larger than the other. He also spots a terrible haircut. He is saved from Enebeli only because, like everybody else, he is confused about the girl's attention. This particular note reads, “Buki, I love you, I will give you many sons.” Enebeli struggles not to guffaw but wonders where the girl gets all these – definitely not from her  mother or him. Assuring the head teacher that it will not happen again, he promises to chastise her. It happens two more times before the girl learns to pass notes better. Enebeli deems his daughter his brightest ember and will not dim her. Her mother attempts to correct her but much is lost in transmission over the wire. Her influence as a mother has been diluted because of the long absence and distance. She disagrees with Enebeli concerning the training up of the girl. Later, trying to close the distance between her mother and her, she tells him about the boy, stringing out his virtues like Christmas lights. He is shorter so he has to obey her and he is finally learning how to kiss better. The mother is disappointed. She says she did not think she would raise that kind of a girl. This remark dampens the girl till Enebeli is worried. “And there is a little less light to her”. The mother’s absence is surely an obstacle to effective parenting.

Secondly, when Enebeli’s wife goes to the US and stays for a few years, there is a serious strain in communication between her daughter and her. The first month she had gone to the States, the family would speak to each other several times a day. The mother and daughter would have their cordial time, full of tears and I miss yous and affectionate questions like “When are you coming home?”. When she returns for Christmas holidays, the girl barely leaves her side.  However, the parents make their first big mistake when they decide that the mother stays in the US until she completes her studies. The girl then learns how to survive without her mother. For one relationship to thrive, another must not. The conversations between mother and daughter via Skype dwindle. They become merely friendly conversations where they exchange news and update each other on situations. There is a whiff of distance as if the girl is talking to a favourite aunt whom she loves dearly but would not tell about a boy. The distance causes difficulty in communication between the mother and daughter.

Thirdly, the mother’s attempt to prepare the girl for the world causes resentment between them instead. As much as she is still a girl, she is almost a woman who needs a mother’s guidance and counsel. The mother tries to teach her not to laugh too loudly or to chew carelessly that she can hear it all the way in America. She also tells her that she is old enough to be cooking and that Daddy should not make her breakfast. The distance between the two widens until she does not enjoy talking to the mother anymore. It begins to feel like a chore. Since the mother is far, she faces hurdles in giving her daughter the necessary life lessons vital for the growth and development of a teenage girl.

Also, the mother is worried about the house girl whom she thinks will influence her daughter negatively.  Despite having a house girl, father and daughter share household chores. They are too intimidated by the sullen house girl who spends most of the time watching 'Africa Magic' while mopping a small section of tile till it gleams. When not pretending to clean, she talks to the girl in whispers. Enebeli is not concerned since they cannot cause much trouble as long as they are in the house. He muses that talk is just talk when he tells his wife about this. The wife is terrified that the daughter could acquire inappropriate traits from the house girl. She nags until Enebeli sends her packing. The daughter becomes sullen after this. She waits with crossed arms for the Skype calls to end. This strained relationship is caused by the distance between them.

Due to her mother’s absence, the girl misses important life lessons necessary for a teenage girl. Such lessons are better taught by mothers. Enebeli does not understand what the world does to daughters. Enebeli and his daughter survive much in the absence of the mother who is in America studying for a Masters in Business Administration. The girl is only eleven. They survive the disturbance at the market when two warring women cause a commotion that sees them separated for hours. They also survive an adult talk when an uncle makes a careless joke at a wedding. The curious girl has questions so Enebeli labours to answer lest she asks somebody else who may take it as an invitation to demonstrate. The mother would have been better placed to handle this trial. They also survive the crime scene of the girl's first “moon time”. It seeps all the way through the other side of the mattress. They survived the girl discovering it would happen every month. Had the mother been around, she would have taken her through the relevant lessons and prepared her for the changes. Distance hinders effectual parenting.

Furthermore, because of her mother’s absence, the girl fails to learn basic grooming and etiquette. The mother cautions her against chewing carelessly and laughing rather too loudly. She becomes nit-picky, struggling to ease her daughter’s passage. She is concerned about what the girl is wearing. She advises her to sit with her legs crossed at the ankle. She also wonders when the girl last had a relaxer as her hair is scattered. Enebeli panics when the wife suggests that she would call her sister. The sister is a terrifyingly competent woman with three polished boys and the money to take another child. In his fit of panic, Enebeli buys cream to attempt and fix the girl's hair. He massages it into her scalp like lotion and the smell makes both their eyes water. When he washed it out, half of her hair comes out. When the mother’s sister comes, she silently notices the over processed mess and the scab forming on the girl's forehead. When she bring her back her hair is shorn and cut close to the scalp. She turns her head, preening. The mother admits that she has a lovely shaped skull but ruins everything when she adds that she can’t wait for the hair to grow back so that she looks like a proper girl again. This causes another fight between her and Enebeli. They feel like strangers. The distance contributes to this fallout.

Lastly, the girl is forced to take sides when the parents fight. When she comes back from her aunt’s, everyone including the mother agree that her skull has quite the lovely shape. However, the mother ruins it when she says she can’t wait for the hair to grow back so that she looks like a proper girl again. This starts another argument between the parents. The mild fight peppers with time. Distance subtracts warmth, context and history. Husband and wife feel like they are arguing with a stranger. The girl stops talking to her mother after that remark. Naturally, the mother pleads with Enebeli to soften her. He agrees but does not comply. He enjoys when the girl is angry at her mother, and when she is on his side. As much as the girl does not hold grudges, the distance between her and the mother widens an is now akin to something curious. Arimah refers to it as an elephant of mistrust and awkwardness.

In conclusion, the tension between mother and daughter is as a result of the distance between them. A child needs both parents in order to grow properly. A teenage girl needs her mother to guide her otherwise she battles a myriad of challenges. 

Read KCSE ESSAYS ON MEMORIES WE LOST

Read the analyses of the following stories. Use the links below:

Memories we Lost

How Much Land Does Man Need?

Light

My Father's Head

The Umbrella Man

Window Seat

The Folded Leaf

Hitting Budapest

Missing Out

No Need to Lie 

The Handsomest Drowned Man in the World

Stones Bounce on Water