Fathers of Nations Excerpt 5 Questions
Read the excerpt below and answer the questions that follow
First,
there was a loud crash. Some moving object had hit another moving object. A
trailer hooked to a truck negotiating a turn at a roundabout had broken free,
spun outward, and ended up on top of a minibus in an adjacent lane. The drivers
of both vehicles had then run away. They had done so to avoid mob justice.
Now
the passengers in the unlucky minibus were struggling to get out, except for
one—a woman trapped in a seat. A man had seen her on his way out. He tried to
go back in and get her out, but all doors had jammed. He pulled a mobile phone
out of his pocket and called the mystical number — 999 — to report distress and
request help. The hour was ten in the morning.
Onlookers
started arriving. First, they only gawked, fascinated by the spectacle of a
trailer sitting on top of a minibus. Goodness, how did it get there! Later,
their attention moved down to the woman trapped inside the minibus.
"Look," said one onlooker. A beautiful girl was trapped in her seat.
She was still conscious. "She is fine, then," said another onlooker.
"Come on," said the first onlooker. "A heavy trailer is sitting
on her minibus, so how can she be fine?" When the onlookers became a
crowd, they tried to push the trailer off the minibus. They failed. Then a big
van appeared...
QUESTIONS
a)
Put
this extract in its immediate context. (4 marks)
b)
Give
the character traits of the following:
i)
The
man
ii)
The
onlookers
iii)
The
drivers (6 marks)
c)
From
elsewhere in the novel, how does conflict arise between Kimani and Asiya over
the death of their daughter? (4 marks)
d)
How
is dialogue significant in this excerpt? (4 marks)
e)
Explain
one stylistic device used in the extract. (2 marks)
f)
"The
hour was ten in the morning." Rewrite this statement beginning with (1
mark)
g)
Explain
the meanings of the following words as used in the excerpt. (3 marks)
i)
Gawked
ii)
Fascinated
iii)
Conscious