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ILT511S - INTRODUCTION TO LITERATURE 1A - 2ND OPP - JULY 2025 |
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nAm I BI A u n IVE RS ITV
OF SCIEnCE Ano TECHnOLOGY
FACULTY OF COMMERCE, HUMAN SCIENCESAND EDUCATION
DEPARTMENT OF COMMUNICATION AND LANGUAGES
QUALIFICATION: BACHELOROF ENGLISHAND LINGUISTICS
QUALIFICATION CODE: 07BENL
LEVEL: 5
COURSE CODE: ILT511S
COURSE NAME: INTRODUCTION TO LITERATURElA
SESSION:
JULY 2025
PAPER:
THEORY
DURATION:
3 HOURS
MARKS:
100
SUPPLEMENTARY /SECOND OPPORTUNITY EXAMINATION QUESTION PAPER
EXAMINER(S) Dr E. =l=Gawas
Mr F. Salomo
MODERATOR: Dr A. Nghikembua
INSTRUCTIONS
1. Answer ALL three {3) questions.
2. Write clearly and neatly.
3. Number the answers clearly.
4. Indicate whether you are a FM, PM or DI student on the cover of your
answer booklet.
PERMISSIBLE MATERIALS
1. Examination paper
2. Examination script
THIS QUESTION PAPER CONSISTS OF _5_ PAGES {Including this front page)
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Read the story Death by Scrabble by Charlie Fishand answer the questions that follow:
Question 1
[30]
It's a hot day and I hate my wife.
We're playing Scrabble. That's how bad it is. I'm 42 years old, it's a blistering hot Sunday
afternoon and all I can think ofto do with my life is to play Scrabble.
I should be out, doing exercise, spending money, meeting people. I don't think I've spoken to
anyone except my wife since Thursday morning. On Thursday morning I spoke to the milkman.
My letters are awful.
I play, appropriately, "BEGIN 11• With the "N 11 on the little pink star. Twenty-two points.
I watch my wife's smug expression as she rearranges her letters. Clack, clack, clack. I hate her. If
she wasn't around, I'd be doing something interesting right now. I'd be climbing Mount
Kilimanjaro. I'd be starring in the latest Hollywood blockbuster. I'd be sailing the oceans on a
yacht called New Horizons, I don't know, but I'd be doing something.
She plays "JINXED", with the J on a double-letter score. 30 points. She's beating me already.
Maybe
I should
kill
her.
If only
I
had
a
D 11 11
,
then
I could
play
"MURDER
11
•
That
would
be a sign.
That would be permission. I start chewing on my U. It's a bad habit, I know. All the letters are
frayed.
I play
"WARMER
11 for
22 points,
mainly
so I can keep chewing
on
my
"U
11
•
As I'm picking new letters from the bag, I find myself thinking - the letters will tell me what to
do.
If they
spell out
"KILL
11
,
or
"STAB
11
,
or her name, or anything,
I'll
do it
right
now.
I'll finish
her
off.
My
rack
spells
"MIHZPA
11
•
Plus the
"U 11 in my mouth.
Damn!
The heat of the sun is pushing at me through the window. I can hear buzzing insects outside. I
hope they're not bees. My cousin Harold swallowed a bee when he was nine, his throat swelled
up and he died. I hope that if they are bees, they fly into my wife's throat.
She
plays
"SWEATIER
11
,
using all
her
letters.
24 points
plus a 50 point
bonus.
If it wasn't
too
hot
to move, I would strangle her right now.
I am getting sweatier. It needs to rain, to clear the air. As soon as that thought crosses my mind,
I find a good word. "HUM/0 11 on a double-word score, using the "D 11 of "JINXED11• The U makes a
little splash of saliva when I put it down. Another 22 points. I hope she has lousy letters.
She tells me she has lousy letters. For some reason, I hate her more.
She
plays
"FAN
11
,
with
the
Fon
a double-letter,
and gets up to fill the kettle and turn on the air
conditioning.
It's the hottest day for ten years and my wife is turning on the kettle. This is why I hate my wife.
I play "ZAPS11, with the Z doubled, and she gets a static shock off the air conditioning unit. I find
this remarkably satisfying.
She sits back down with a heavy sigh and starts fiddling with her letters again. Clack, clack. Clack,
clack. I feel a terrible rage build up inside me. Some inner poison slowly spreading through my
limbs, and when it gets to my fingertips I am going to jump out of my chair, spilling the Scrabble
tiles over the floor, and I am going to start hitting her again and again and again.
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The rage gets to my fingertips and passes. My heart is beating. I'm sweating. I think my face
actually twitches. Then I sigh, deeply, and sit back into my chair. The kettle starts whistling. As
the whistle builds it makes me feel hotter.
She plays "READY" on a double-word for 18 points, then goes to pour herself a cup of tea. No I
do not want one.
I steal a blank tile from the letter bag when she's not looking, and throw back a V from my rack.
She gives me a suspicious look. She sits back down with her cup of tea, making a cup-ring on the
table, as I play an 8-letter word: "CHEATING", using the A of "READY". 64 points, including the
SO-point bonus, which means I'm beating her now.
She asks me if I cheated. I really, really hate her.
She plays "IGNORE" on the triple-word for 21 points. The score is 153 to her, 155 to me.
The steam rising from her cup of tea makes me feel hotter. I try to make murderous words with
the letters on my rack, but the best I can do is "SLEEP".
My wife sleeps all the time. She slept through an argument our next-door neighbours had that
resulted in a broken door, a smashed TV and a Teletubby Lala doll with all the stuffing coming
out. And then she bitched at me for being moody the next day from lack of sleep.
If only there was some way for me to get rid of her.
I spot a chance to use all my letters. "EXPLODES", using the "X" of "JINXED". 72 points. That'll
show her.
As I put the last letter down, there is a deafening bang and the air conditioning unit fails.
My heart is racing, but not from the shock of the bang. I don't believe it - but it can't be a
coincidence. The letters made it happen. I played the word "EXPLODES", and it happened - the
air conditioning unit exploded. And before, I played the word "CHEATING" when I cheated. And
"ZAP" when my wife got the electric shock. The words are coming true. The letters are choosing
their future. The whole game is - "JINXED".
My wife plays "SIGN", with the N on a triple-letter, for 10 points. I have to test this. I have to
play something and see if it happens. Something unlikely, to prove that the letters are making it
happen. My rack is "ABQYFWE". That doesn't leave me with a lot of options. I start frantically
chewing on the B.
I play "FLY", using the L of "EXPLODES". I sit back in my chair and close my eyes, waiting for the
sensation of rising up from my chair. Waiting to fly.
Stupid. I open my eyes, and there's a fly. An insect, buzzing around above the Scrabble board,
surfing the thermals from the tepid cup of tea. That proves nothing. The fly could have been
there anyway.
I need to play something unambiguous. Something that cannot be misinterpreted. Something
absolute and final. Something terminal. Something murderous.
My wife plays "CAUTION", using a blank tile for the N. 18 points.
My rack is "AQWEUK", plus the B in my mouth. I am awed by the power of the letters, and
frustrated that I cannot wield it. Maybe I should cheat again, and pick out the letters I need to
spell "SLASH" or "SLAY".
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Then it hits me. The perfect word. A powerful, dangerous, terrible word.
I play "QUAKE" for 19 points.
I wonder if the strength of the quake will be proportionate to how many points it scored. I can
feel the trembling energy of potential in my veins. I am commanding fate. I am manipulating
destiny.
My wife plays "DEATH" for 34 points, just as the room starts to shake.
I gasp with surprise and vindication - and the B that I was chewing on gets lodged in my throat.
I try to cough. My face goes red, then blue. My throat swells. I draw blood clawing at my neck.
The earthquake builds to a climax.
I fall to the floor. My wife just sits there, watching.
https://www.eastoftheweb.com/short-stories/UBooks/DeatScra.shtml
1.1 Plot
1.1.1 What is the central conflict in the story?
{2)
1.1.2 How does the story end?
(2)
1.2 What is the climax of the story?
(2)
1.3 What is the setting of the story?
(2)
1.4 Characters
(4)
1.4.1 Who are the main characters in the story?
1.4.2 Name two ways in the narrator is characterized?
1.5 What point of view is used in the story? Motivate your answer.
(2)
1.6 What is one major theme in the story? Motivate your answer.
(2)
1.7 What does the scrabble game symbolize?
(2)
1.8 The following metaphor means destiny being shaped by seemingly random or trivial (1)
actions. True or False.
1.9 How is hyperbole used in the story?
(2)
1.10 Which phrase is repeated in the story and why?
(2)
1.11 What type of irony is present in the ending?
(2)
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1.12 Early mentions of death like Harold choking on a bee is an example of foreshadowing.
True or False.
(1)
1.13 Identify and correctly quote example of the following:
1.13.1 Metaphor
{2)
1.13.2 Onomatopoeia
{2)
QUESTION 2
[35]
In Sophocles' Oedipus Rex, hubris, or excessive pride, is a central theme that drives the
protagonist's downfall. Oedipus's arrogance blinds him to the truth, leads him to defy divine
warnings, and causes him to alienate those who try to help him.
Please write a well-structured essay in which you discuss three instances in which Oedipus'
"hubris" was evident and at play. Substantiate your discussion by making reference to the play.
QUESTION 3
[35]
In Wole Soyinka's The Lion and the Jewel, Baroka, the cunning village chief, decides to trick Sidi
for several reasons. His actions reflect the broader themes of power dynamics, tradition versus
modernity, and gender roles within the play.
Write a well-structured essay of 350-400 words in which you discuss the following reasons
Baroka decides to trick Sidi: to assert his dominance, preserve tradition, and satisfy his personal
vanity, in Wole Soyinka's The Lion and the Jewel. Motivate with references to the text.
END OF QUESTION PAPER
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