New Curriculum Third Term Literature-in-English examination for SS 1

Class: SS 1
Term: Third Term
Subject: Literature in English
Time: 2 hours 30 minutes
Total Marks: 70

SECTION A: OBJECTIVES (40 Marks)
Instruction: Answer all 40 questions. Each question carries 1 mark.

Questions are based on the four prescribed literary works and the term’s taught objectives.

1. In The Trials of Dedan Kimathi, presenting the Mau Mau struggle through conflicting voices enables the playwrights to … (a) treat the struggle as the unchallenged viewpoint of one hero   (b) replace the history with a detached account of court procedure   (c) explore colonial power and resistance from contested perspectives   (d) reduce colonial conflict to private misunderstanding
2. The figure of Kimathi is significant not only as a character but also as … (a) a symbol of organised resistance to colonial domination   (b) a symbol of the colonial court’s absolute legitimacy   (c) an unrelated narrator whose memories frame the action   (d) a neutral observer with no relationship to resistance
3. A production that gives the Woman a strong, recurring role is likely emphasising … (a) the idea that the play is detached from social mobilisation   (b) collective agency beyond a single heroic leader   (c) a portrayal of resistance exclusively through elite leaders   (d) the irrelevance of ordinary people to the political struggle
4. The interplay of Boy and Girl invites attention to … (a) the effects of political conflict on younger members of society   (b) the play’s exclusive concern with heroic leadership   (c) the private rivalries of colonial officials exclusively   (d) the absence of historical consequences for families
5. Which account best integrates history with dramatic technique? (a) The Mau Mau context gives the staged confrontations political significance   (b) The staging rules out competing ideological positions   (c) Historical context makes dialogue and conflict secondary to narration   (d) The dramatic characters function without any political context
6. All of the following may strengthen a performance of resistance except … (a) suspense around a decision with political consequences   (b) alternating dialogue that presents opposing pressures   (c) songs whose repetitions express collective commitment   (d) staging every conflict as a completely unrelated comic diversion
7. The main reason for examining the play’s dialogue is to … (a) identify an identical political belief in every speaker   (b) assume dialogue can only advance action, never characterise   (c) replace analysis of historical conflict with plot summary   (d) infer how language exposes ideology, fear and resistance
8. Which inference is more defensible than the claim that the play celebrates only one individual? (a) Its attention to ordinary people suggests a wider collective struggle   (b) the Boy and Girl serve only to delay the plot   (c) the Woman’s participation proves that leadership is unimportant   (d) the play treats resistance exclusively as a private dispute
9. In Great Expectations, Pip’s unease about his origins is central to the novel because … (a) his changing idea of gentility tests loyalty and self-worth   (b) his indifference to any class expectations   (c) his acceptance that birth always determines moral value   (d) his belief that loyalty should always be measured in money
10. Miss Havisham’s treatment of Estella and Pip is best interpreted as … (a) a source of impartial guidance for Pip’s moral development   (b) a model of trust untouched by her disappointments   (c) a character whose influence removes every emotional conflict   (d) emotional manipulation shaped by earlier disappointment
11. Which contrast most sharply exposes Pip’s moral conflict? (a) his desire for education compared with his memory of childhood   (b) Joe’s loyalty against the attraction of social prestige   (c) the urban setting compared with the marsh country   (d) Pip’s admiration for Miss Havisham compared with his view of Estella
12. The revelation about Pip’s benefactor challenges his assumptions because … (a) wealth and respectability do not come from the source he imagined   (b) the source of his expectations precisely matches his assumptions   (c) his moral choices become unimportant after receiving money   (d) his origins cease to influence his later judgments
13. ________ is an especially useful theme for explaining Pip’s changing judgments about people. (a) the incompatibility of retrospective narration and moral judgment   (b) a fixed identity untouched by social pressure   (c) the absence of tension between ambition and loyalty   (d) Social class and moral worth
14. An analysis of Great Expectations that mentions only the plot but not Pip’s retrospective narration misses … (a) the novel’s interest in outward actions alone   (b) Pip’s judgments being presented without hindsight   (c) the narrator having no awareness of his own earlier choices   (d) how memory and later judgment shape our understanding of events
15. Which event most convincingly develops the theme of misplaced expectations? (a) the novel’s conventional division into chapters   (b) Pip judges loyalty by wealth and later reassesses that judgment   (c) the description of a familiar landscape alone   (d) Pip’s original name at the start of the narrative
16. The main reason the setting matters in Pip’s movement through society is … (a) the characters’ values remain unchanged in each environment   (b) every setting presents the same form of social aspiration   (c) changes of place expose contrasting values and opportunities   (d) movement through different places prevents the reader from seeing class difference
17. In Niyi Osundare’s “Ours to Plough, Not to Plunder,” the contrast between “plough” and “plunder” primarily expresses … (a) responsible cultivation versus exploitative destruction   (b) an opposition between childhood and adulthood   (c) a contrast between rebellion and obedience to colonial law   (d) a distinction between narration and dramatic dialogue
18. The inclusive pronoun in the poem’s title invites readers to consider … (a) the poem’s concern only with the speaker’s private farm   (b) a stance that absolves readers of environmental responsibility   (c) shared human responsibility for the environment   (d) an argument that land belongs to no community
19. A writer discussing the poem’s ecological message should emphasise … (a) human decisions are irrelevant to ecological damage   (b) the long-term costs of treating nature solely as a resource to consume   (c) nature remains unaffected by repeated extraction   (d) short-term profit cancels long-term communal losses
20. A classroom presentation pairs images of damaged farmland with the poem. The images are most relevant when used to … (a) present the images as historical scenes from the poet’s childhood   (b) illuminate the poem’s critique of environmental exploitation   (c) substitute illustrations for analysis of imagery   (d) avoid discussing the difference between use and abuse of resources
21. The ________ created by an appeal to protect the earth is likely one of urgency and responsibility. (a) an amused view of greed as harmless   (b) an entirely detached, celebratory attitude toward exploitation   (c) tone   (d) a nostalgic refusal to discuss the natural environment
22. Which interpretation avoids turning the poem into a simplistic slogan? (a) the poem condemns every form of human contact with land   (b) the contrast between care and exploitation has no interpretive role   (c) the poem offers no perspective on human responsibility   (d) It links human dependence on land with the ethical limits of exploitation
23. The main reason poetic imagery is effective in an environmental critique is … (a) it offers a guarantee that all readers will interpret the image identically   (b) it replaces analysis of human action with detached description   (c) it rules out the possibility of discussing ethical responsibility   (d) it makes consequences and values concrete to the reader
24. All of these support a reading of the poem’s social implications except ________. (a) how damage may affect future generations   (b) how care of land relates to community welfare   (c) treating greed as beneficial regardless of environmental damage   (d) how shared resources create responsibilities
25. In John Donne’s “Death Be Not Proud,” direct address to Death works primarily as … (a) an impersonal description in third-person narration   (b) a metaphor comparing death to natural decay without direct address   (c) a simile that describes a grave   (d) apostrophe that confronts a feared power
26. The speaker’s challenge to Death creates a tone of … (a) admiring submission to Death’s power   (b) defiant confidence   (c) detachment from the fate of mortal beings   (d) reluctant acceptance that Death is invincible
27. The central paradox of the poem suggests that … (a) death is represented as a permanent and unanswerable victory   (b) mortality can be overcome through political resistance alone   (c) the speaker regards dying as entirely irrelevant to faith   (d) what appears final may be overcome within its religious outlook
28. A reading attentive to the poem’s Christian perspective will connect immortality with … (a) the total absence of a Christian worldview   (b) the idea that death’s apparent power is beyond challenge   (c) the belief that physical life continues unchanged forever   (d) spiritual triumph over the apparent finality of death
29. The poem’s personification of Death allows the speaker to … (a) argue against Death as though it could hear and respond   (b) establish that the poem contains no figurative language   (c) report a historical account of someone named Death   (d) describe Death without any possibility of response
30. Which difference between Donne and Osundare is most defensible? (a) Donne challenges mortality; Osundare challenges human exploitation of nature   (b) both treat their subjects through the perspective of a single historical character   (c) Donne primarily advocates environmental stewardship while Osundare examines Pip   (d) neither poem uses an assertive speaking voice
31. The phrase “Death, thou shalt die” is paradoxical because … (a) the speaker withdraws the claim of immortality   (b) Death is presented solely as the successful destroyer of hope   (c) Death is imagined as subject to the extinction it imposes   (d) the poem refuses to personify the abstract idea
32. The concept of persona helps a reader avoid assuming that … (a) the tone of a poem can differ from its literal meaning   (b) figurative language may convey an argumentative position   (c) every statement of a speaking voice is automatically a literal autobiography   (d) literary devices can create a distinct speaking voice
33. A student’s comparison of the prescribed works should analyse … (a) the identical sequence of historical events in the four works   (b) how different genres represent power, morality and responsibility   (c) the claim that every narrator speaks autobiographically   (d) the specific rhyme scheme used in every genre
34. Which observation most clearly identifies a technique shared by drama and poetry? (a) both genres always include a third-person omniscient narrator   (b) both require the same lineation and stanza pattern   (c) Both can exploit repeated language to intensify conflict or argument   (d) both exclude a speaking audience from interpretation
35. The Woman in the Kimathi play can be compared with the speaker in Osundare’s poem insofar as both … (a) they are each presented as Pip’s retrospective narrative   (b) they address identical colonial events through different genres   (c) invite consideration of responsibility beyond private interests   (d) they both reject the idea of collective responsibility
36. Which claim about Pip is NOT supported by the novel? (a) wealth alone is presented as a dependable measure of moral character   (b) the contrast with Joe helps assess Pip’s moral growth   (c) Pip eventually questions some earlier assumptions   (d) social aspiration shapes Pip’s perception of people
37. Which question best tests understanding of a poem’s tone? (a) Which literary genre most commonly uses personification?   (b) How many lines occur before its final sentence?   (c) How does the choice of confrontational verbs shape the speaker’s attitude?   (d) Which rhyme scheme appears most frequently in its opening stanza?
38. The correct first step in comparing two literary texts is to … (a) treat their narrators and speakers as interchangeable   (b) establish a shared issue and identify evidence from each   (c) compare their conclusions without examining evidence   (d) assume the texts share one unchanging historical context
39. ________ provides a valid basis for explaining a literary interpretation in an examination. (a) A possible moral chosen before reading the text   (b) Textual evidence linked to a clear argument   (c) An unqualified personal preference about the writer   (d) A list of characters without any interpretive claim
40. A student’s essay claims that Kimathi’s struggle and Pip’s ambition are identical. The strongest correction is that … (a) Pip’s pursuit of social status is a form of colonial resistance   (b) the works involve different contexts and kinds of power, despite possible themes of identity   (c) the contexts of the works make comparison of identity impossible   (d) Kimathi’s motivations are primarily those of a Victorian gentleman

SECTION B: THEORY (30 Marks)
Instruction: Answer Question 1 and any other TWO questions. Each question is worth 10 marks.

Question 1. Analyse political conflict in The Trials of Dedan Kimathi:
(a) Explain how Kimathi and the Woman contribute to the play’s presentation of resistance (6 marks)
(b) Discuss one dramatic technique and its effect on an audience (4 marks)

Question 2. Consider Pip’s moral development in Great Expectations:
(a) Discuss how social ambition affects Pip’s understanding of Joe and one other character (6 marks)
(b) Explain why the identity of Pip’s benefactor matters to the novel’s theme (4 marks)

Question 3. Compare nature and responsibility in Ours to Plough, Not to Plunder:
(a) Explain how the poem contrasts stewardship with exploitation (6 marks)
(b) Describe two consequences of environmental greed suggested by the text (4 marks)

Question 4. Discuss mortality in Death Be Not Proud:
(a) Analyse apostrophe, personification and paradox as parts of the speaker’s argument (6 marks)
(b) Explain the relationship between the speaker’s defiant tone and Christian belief in immortality (4 marks)

Objective Marking Scheme
Question 1 – ✅ (c) explore colonial power and resistance from contested perspectives
Question 2 – ✅ (a) a symbol of organised resistance to colonial domination
Question 3 – ✅ (b) collective agency beyond a single heroic leader
Question 4 – ✅ (a) the effects of political conflict on younger members of society
Question 5 – ✅ (a) The Mau Mau context gives the staged confrontations political significance
Question 6 – ✅ (d) staging every conflict as a completely unrelated comic diversion
Question 7 – ✅ (d) infer how language exposes ideology, fear and resistance
Question 8 – ✅ (a) Its attention to ordinary people suggests a wider collective struggle
Question 9 – ✅ (a) his changing idea of gentility tests loyalty and self-worth
Question 10 – ✅ (d) emotional manipulation shaped by earlier disappointment
Question 11 – ✅ (b) Joe’s loyalty against the attraction of social prestige
Question 12 – ✅ (a) wealth and respectability do not come from the source he imagined
Question 13 – ✅ (d) Social class and moral worth
Question 14 – ✅ (d) how memory and later judgment shape our understanding of events
Question 15 – ✅ (b) Pip judges loyalty by wealth and later reassesses that judgment
Question 16 – ✅ (c) changes of place expose contrasting values and opportunities
Question 17 – ✅ (a) responsible cultivation versus exploitative destruction
Question 18 – ✅ (c) shared human responsibility for the environment
Question 19 – ✅ (b) the long-term costs of treating nature solely as a resource to consume
Question 20 – ✅ (b) illuminate the poem’s critique of environmental exploitation
Question 21 – ✅ (c) tone
Question 22 – ✅ (d) It links human dependence on land with the ethical limits of exploitation
Question 23 – ✅ (d) it makes consequences and values concrete to the reader
Question 24 – ✅ (c) treating greed as beneficial regardless of environmental damage
Question 25 – ✅ (d) apostrophe that confronts a feared power
Question 26 – ✅ (b) defiant confidence
Question 27 – ✅ (d) what appears final may be overcome within its religious outlook
Question 28 – ✅ (d) spiritual triumph over the apparent finality of death
Question 29 – ✅ (a) argue against Death as though it could hear and respond
Question 30 – ✅ (a) Donne challenges mortality; Osundare challenges human exploitation of nature
Question 31 – ✅ (c) Death is imagined as subject to the extinction it imposes
Question 32 – ✅ (c) every statement of a speaking voice is automatically a literal autobiography
Question 33 – ✅ (b) how different genres represent power, morality and responsibility
Question 34 – ✅ (c) Both can exploit repeated language to intensify conflict or argument
Question 35 – ✅ (c) invite consideration of responsibility beyond private interests
Question 36 – ✅ (a) wealth alone is presented as a dependable measure of moral character
Question 37 – ✅ (c) How does the choice of confrontational verbs shape the speaker’s attitude?
Question 38 – ✅ (b) establish a shared issue and identify evidence from each
Question 39 – ✅ (b) Textual evidence linked to a clear argument
Question 40 – ✅ (b) the works involve different contexts and kinds of power, despite possible themes of identity

Theory Marking Scheme
Question 1
(a) Kimathi resistance symbolism 3; Woman and collective struggle 3 — 6 marks.
(b) Dialogue, suspense, song or staged confrontation; example 2 and effect 2 — 4 marks.

Question 2
(a) Relevant development and comparison, 3 marks each — 6 marks.
(b) Identify mismatch with expectation 2; moral implication 2 — 4 marks.

Question 3
(a) Contrast with implications and relevant poetic imagery or title: 6 — 6 marks.
(b) Two distinct, explained impacts, 2 each — 4 marks.

Question 4
(a) Each device and interpretive role, 2 each — 6 marks.
(b) Tone evidence 2; connection to immortality 2 — 4 marks.