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 KCSE 2017 English Paper 2 Questions and Answers

Read the following narrative and answer the questions that follow.
A man had two daughters from two different wives. One of his daughters was motherless, her mother died when she was still a baby. The mother of the other daughter did not like the motherless girl. She did not like her because her daughter loved her stepsister more than she loved her. The woman therefore thought out some ways of eliminating her. One day the woman made an arrangement with a hyena. The hyena was to go and wait for the two girls somewhere in the bush. To the motherless girl she would tie a band like a bangle on the left arm and to her daughter she would tie one on the right arm. Then she told the hyena to catch, kill and eat the girl with the band on the left arm. After the hyena had gone to wait, she called the two girls, tied the bands accordingly and sent both of them to go and visit one of their aunts. She directed them to follow the path where she had asked the hyena to wait for them.

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Answer Text:
(a) Identify and illustrate four oral features in this narrative.
Personification /use of animal characters -the mother converses with the hyena Fantasy-there is use of imaginary characters. The hyena converse with human beings.
- Direct speech/use of dialogue/conversation, “we were by a hyena”.
- Didacticism - Has a moral lesson - what goes around comes around.
- Timelessness- The is use of ‘One day’ - Rhetorical question “Why should my mother...”
- Idiophone-“Aai. . .” - Repetition-she cried, wailed, wept and grieved.

(b) Explain two aspects of the culture of the community from which this narrative is drawn.
Polygamy is practiced. The father had two wives.
- The society has a system of justice. The elders were called to tackle the matter.
- Punishment by banishment. The Woman was banished from the village for her wickedness.
- Elders handle sensitive matters/administration through elders.
- Communal responsibility/ownership of children
-The society wears ornaments/bangles (on right hand).The woman tied the bangles on her daughters’ hands.

(c)What do we learn about the character of Nyawino from this narrative? Observant- She observes that the bangle on her sister’s arm is on the wrong arm. Curious/inquisitive -wonders why the bangle is on the left arm while ever body else ties on the right arm. Loving/friendly/caring - loved her step sister very much

(d) Describe the mood of this narrative.
The mood is sad/melancholic/somber/solemn/mournful/sorrowful-the grieving that follows Awino is inconsolable.

(e) Explain the role of the travelers in the narrative.
They develop the plot -they urge the girl to report her sister’s death to the parents. This triggers other events.
- Used to reveal the character of Awino as loving/caring.
- They enhance dialogue in the story. - They help her come to terms with the reality.
- Their action reveals that the members of the community are responsible/ communal responsibility.

(f) "She left the village crying with regret and shame." (Rewrite beginning: Crying…)
Crying with regret and shame, she left village.

(g) What moral lesson do we learn from the narrative in relation to Awino's conduct? Illustrate your answer.
We should be mindful of other people’s welfare. We should love our siblings
-Awino was concerned about her step sister to an extend that she exchanged the bangle which led to her death instead of her sister. We should heed good advice. She went home as advised and this led to the banishment of the Wicked woman.
We should act logically/reasonably/learn to accept loss
-Awino agrees to go home.


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