Excerpt 5 Answers to Fathers of Nations
a. Before
After Asiya drops a bombshell
on him, Professor Kimani engages in an interior monologue. Kimani's vehicle is
again down, and the daughter cannot get a ride as anticipated. This angers
Asiya, who hints to Kimani about the reason behind his inability to get a
greener pasture as newborn.
After
The onlookers continue to
contemplate a better alternative to save Tuni. Attempts to pull off the trailer
from the bus fail. A male giant comes out of nowhere to help, but the minibus
collapses under the weight of the trailer.
b). i) The man
Brave
He tries to get Tuni out ofthe
bus when everyone else is struggling to save themselves.
ii)
Onlookers
Afraid
We are told every time the
trailer fell back down on the minibus, the onlookers closed their eyes in fear.
iii) The
drivers
Thoughtful
They ran away to avoid mob justice. The divers know
the mob would not have spared them for their recklessness.
c) Asiya blames Kimani for the death of Tuni. Before
Tuni embarks on the journey that leads to her death, she asks her father
whether she can use her father's car for her journey. However, Kimani says the
car is down once again. This stirs anger in Asiya, who erupts, comparing her
husband to Newborn, who had left the teaching profession to join, and now owns
four vehicles. On this premise, Asiya bases her allegations on Kimani's failure
to seek greener pastures to Tuni's death.
d) It brings out the minor characters' contribution to
driving forward the tension in the novel. The onlookers question one another
regarding what needs to be done to save Tuni from the misfortune, almost
squeezing her breath out. "A heavy trailer sits on her minibus, so how can
she be fine?" The onlookers contemplate a way out of the situation.
e) Personification
In the conversation of the onlookers, sitting on her
minibus, so how can she be fine?" This makes the inanimate object
'trailer' take up life and become realistic, making sense to the mind a sense
of realism.
f) It was ten o'clock in the morning.
g) i) To look at something or someone
in a stupid or rude way.
ii) Extremely interested, hypnotised, and mesmerised
by something or someone.
iii) Awake, aware of what is happening
around you, and able to think.