essay questions and answers

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100 IELTS Essay Questions

Below are practice IELTS essay questions and topics for writing task 2. The 100 essay questions have been used many times over the years. The questions are organised under common topics and essay types. IELTS often use the similar topics for their essays but change the wording of the essay question.

In order to prepare well for writing task 2, you should prepare ideas for common topics and then practise applying them to the tasks given (to the essay questions). Also see model essays and tips  for writing task 2.

Below you will find:

• Essay Questions By Topic
• Essay Questions by Essay Type

Please also note that my new Grammar E-book is now available in my store along with my Ideas for Essay Topics E-book and Advanced Writing Lessons. To visit store, click here: Liz’s Store

1) Common IELTS Essay Questions

IELTS practice essay questions divided by topic. These topics have been reported by IELTS students in their tests. Essay questions have been recreated as accurately as possible.

• Art   (5 essay questions)
• Business & Money   (17 essay questions)
• Communication & Personality   (20 essay questions)
• Crime & Punishment   (12 essay questions)
• Education   (17 essay questions)
• Environment   (12 essay questions)
• Family & Children   (8 essay questions)
• Food & Diet (13 essay questions)
• Government (6 essay questions)
• Health   (9 essay questions)
• Housing, Buildings & Urban Planning (8 essay questions)
• Language (6 essay questions)
• Leisure (1 essay question)
• Media & Advertising   (12 essay questions)
• Reading  (5 essay questions)
• Society   (10 essay questions)
• Space Exploration (3 questions)
• Sport & Exercise   (6 essay questions)
• Technology  (6 essay questions)
• Tourism and Travel   (11 essay questions)
• Transport  (7 essay questions)
• Work (17 essay questions)

2) IELTS Essay Questions by Essay Type 

There are 5 main types of essay questions in IELTS writing task 2 (opinion essays, discussion essay, advantage/disadvantage essays, solution essay and direct question essays). Click on the links below to see some sample essay questions for each type.

• Opinion Essay Questions
• Discussion Essay Questions
• Solution Essay Questions
• Direct Questions Essay Titles 
• Advantage / Disadvantage Essay Questions

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Essay Exams

What this handout is about.

At some time in your undergraduate career, you’re going to have to write an essay exam. This thought can inspire a fair amount of fear: we struggle enough with essays when they aren’t timed events based on unknown questions. The goal of this handout is to give you some easy and effective strategies that will help you take control of the situation and do your best.

Why do instructors give essay exams?

Essay exams are a useful tool for finding out if you can sort through a large body of information, figure out what is important, and explain why it is important. Essay exams challenge you to come up with key course ideas and put them in your own words and to use the interpretive or analytical skills you’ve practiced in the course. Instructors want to see whether:

• You understand concepts that provide the basis for the course
• You can use those concepts to interpret specific materials
• You can make connections, see relationships, draw comparisons and contrasts
• You can synthesize diverse information in support of an original assertion
• You can justify your own evaluations based on appropriate criteria
• You can argue your own opinions with convincing evidence
• You can think critically and analytically about a subject

What essay questions require

Exam questions can reach pretty far into the course materials, so you cannot hope to do well on them if you do not keep up with the readings and assignments from the beginning of the course. The most successful essay exam takers are prepared for anything reasonable, and they probably have some intelligent guesses about the content of the exam before they take it. How can you be a prepared exam taker? Try some of the following suggestions during the semester:

• Do the reading as the syllabus dictates; keeping up with the reading while the related concepts are being discussed in class saves you double the effort later.
• Go to lectures (and put away your phone, the newspaper, and that crossword puzzle!).
• Take careful notes that you’ll understand months later. If this is not your strong suit or the conventions for a particular discipline are different from what you are used to, ask your TA or the Learning Center for advice.
• Participate in your discussion sections; this will help you absorb the material better so you don’t have to study as hard.
• Organize small study groups with classmates to explore and review course materials throughout the semester. Others will catch things you might miss even when paying attention. This is not cheating. As long as what you write on the essay is your own work, formulating ideas and sharing notes is okay. In fact, it is a big part of the learning process.
• As an exam approaches, find out what you can about the form it will take. This will help you forecast the questions that will be on the exam, and prepare for them.

These suggestions will save you lots of time and misery later. Remember that you can’t cram weeks of information into a single day or night of study. So why put yourself in that position?

Now let’s focus on studying for the exam. You’ll notice the following suggestions are all based on organizing your study materials into manageable chunks of related material. If you have a plan of attack, you’ll feel more confident and your answers will be more clear. Here are some tips: 

• Don’t just memorize aimlessly; clarify the important issues of the course and use these issues to focus your understanding of specific facts and particular readings.
• Try to organize and prioritize the information into a thematic pattern. Look at what you’ve studied and find a way to put things into related groups. Find the fundamental ideas that have been emphasized throughout the course and organize your notes into broad categories. Think about how different categories relate to each other.
• Find out what you don’t know, but need to know, by making up test questions and trying to answer them. Studying in groups helps as well.

Taking the exam

Read the exam carefully.

• If you are given the entire exam at once and can determine your approach on your own, read the entire exam before you get started.
• Look at how many points each part earns you, and find hints for how long your answers should be.
• Figure out how much time you have and how best to use it. Write down the actual clock time that you expect to take in each section, and stick to it. This will help you avoid spending all your time on only one section. One strategy is to divide the available time according to percentage worth of the question. You don’t want to spend half of your time on something that is only worth one tenth of the total points.
• As you read, make tentative choices of the questions you will answer (if you have a choice). Don’t just answer the first essay question you encounter. Instead, read through all of the options. Jot down really brief ideas for each question before deciding.
• Remember that the easiest-looking question is not always as easy as it looks. Focus your attention on questions for which you can explain your answer most thoroughly, rather than settle on questions where you know the answer but can’t say why.

Analyze the questions

• Decide what you are being asked to do. If you skim the question to find the main “topic” and then rush to grasp any related ideas you can recall, you may become flustered, lose concentration, and even go blank. Try looking closely at what the question is directing you to do, and try to understand the sort of writing that will be required.
• Focus on what you do know about the question, not on what you don’t.
• Look at the active verbs in the assignment—they tell you what you should be doing. We’ve included some of these below, with some suggestions on what they might mean. (For help with this sort of detective work, see the Writing Center handout titled Reading Assignments.)

Information words, such as who, what, when, where, how, and why ask you to demonstrate what you know about the subject. Information words may include:

• define—give the subject’s meaning (according to someone or something). Sometimes you have to give more than one view on the subject’s meaning.
• explain why/how—give reasons why or examples of how something happened.
• illustrate—give descriptive examples of the subject and show how each is connected with the subject.
• summarize—briefly cover the important ideas you learned about the subject.
• trace—outline how something has changed or developed from an earlier time to its current form.
• research—gather material from outside sources about the subject, often with the implication or requirement that you will analyze what you’ve found.

Relation words ask you to demonstrate how things are connected. Relation words may include:

• compare—show how two or more things are similar (and, sometimes, different).
• contrast—show how two or more things are dissimilar.
• apply—use details that you’ve been given to demonstrate how an idea, theory, or concept works in a particular situation.
• cause—show how one event or series of events made something else happen.
• relate—show or describe the connections between things.

Interpretation words ask you to defend ideas of your own about the subject. Don’t see these words as requesting opinion alone (unless the assignment specifically says so), but as requiring opinion that is supported by concrete evidence. Remember examples, principles, definitions, or concepts from class or research and use them in your interpretation. Interpretation words may include:

• prove, justify—give reasons or examples to demonstrate how or why something is the truth.
• evaluate, respond, assess—state your opinion of the subject as good, bad, or some combination of the two, with examples and reasons (you may want to compare your subject to something else).
• support—give reasons or evidence for something you believe (be sure to state clearly what it is that you believe).
• synthesize—put two or more things together that haven’t been put together before; don’t just summarize one and then the other, and say that they are similar or different—you must provide a reason for putting them together (as opposed to compare and contrast—see above).
• analyze—look closely at the components of something to figure out how it works, what it might mean, or why it is important.
• argue—take a side and defend it (with proof) against the other side.

Plan your answers

Think about your time again. How much planning time you should take depends on how much time you have for each question and how many points each question is worth. Here are some general guidelines: 

• For short-answer definitions and identifications, just take a few seconds. Skip over any you don’t recognize fairly quickly, and come back to them when another question jogs your memory.
• For answers that require a paragraph or two, jot down several important ideas or specific examples that help to focus your thoughts.
• For longer answers, you will need to develop a much more definite strategy of organization. You only have time for one draft, so allow a reasonable amount of time—as much as a quarter of the time you’ve allotted for the question—for making notes, determining a thesis, and developing an outline.
• For questions with several parts (different requests or directions, a sequence of questions), make a list of the parts so that you do not miss or minimize one part. One way to be sure you answer them all is to number them in the question and in your outline.
• You may have to try two or three outlines or clusters before you hit on a workable plan. But be realistic—you want a plan you can develop within the limited time allotted for your answer. Your outline will have to be selective—not everything you know, but what you know that you can state clearly and keep to the point in the time available.

Again, focus on what you do know about the question, not on what you don’t.

Writing your answers

As with planning, your strategy for writing depends on the length of your answer:

• For short identifications and definitions, it is usually best to start with a general identifying statement and then move on to describe specific applications or explanations. Two sentences will almost always suffice, but make sure they are complete sentences. Find out whether the instructor wants definition alone, or definition and significance. Why is the identification term or object important?
• For longer answers, begin by stating your forecasting statement or thesis clearly and explicitly. Strive for focus, simplicity, and clarity. In stating your point and developing your answers, you may want to use important course vocabulary words from the question. For example, if the question is, “How does wisteria function as a representation of memory in Faulkner’s Absalom, Absalom?” you may want to use the words wisteria, representation, memory, and Faulkner) in your thesis statement and answer. Use these important words or concepts throughout the answer.
• If you have devised a promising outline for your answer, then you will be able to forecast your overall plan and its subpoints in your opening sentence. Forecasting impresses readers and has the very practical advantage of making your answer easier to read. Also, if you don’t finish writing, it tells your reader what you would have said if you had finished (and may get you partial points).
• You might want to use briefer paragraphs than you ordinarily do and signal clear relations between paragraphs with transition phrases or sentences.
• As you move ahead with the writing, you may think of new subpoints or ideas to include in the essay. Stop briefly to make a note of these on your original outline. If they are most appropriately inserted in a section you’ve already written, write them neatly in the margin, at the top of the page, or on the last page, with arrows or marks to alert the reader to where they fit in your answer. Be as neat and clear as possible.
• Don’t pad your answer with irrelevancies and repetitions just to fill up space. Within the time available, write a comprehensive, specific answer.
• Watch the clock carefully to ensure that you do not spend too much time on one answer. You must be realistic about the time constraints of an essay exam. If you write one dazzling answer on an exam with three equally-weighted required questions, you earn only 33 points—not enough to pass at most colleges. This may seem unfair, but keep in mind that instructors plan exams to be reasonably comprehensive. They want you to write about the course materials in two or three or more ways, not just one way. Hint: if you finish a half-hour essay in 10 minutes, you may need to develop some of your ideas more fully.
• If you run out of time when you are writing an answer, jot down the remaining main ideas from your outline, just to show that you know the material and with more time could have continued your exposition.
• Double-space to leave room for additions, and strike through errors or changes with one straight line (avoid erasing or scribbling over). Keep things as clean as possible. You never know what will earn you partial credit.
• Write legibly and proofread. Remember that your instructor will likely be reading a large pile of exams. The more difficult they are to read, the more exasperated the instructor might become. Your instructor also cannot give you credit for what they cannot understand. A few minutes of careful proofreading can improve your grade.

Perhaps the most important thing to keep in mind in writing essay exams is that you have a limited amount of time and space in which to get across the knowledge you have acquired and your ability to use it. Essay exams are not the place to be subtle or vague. It’s okay to have an obvious structure, even the five-paragraph essay format you may have been taught in high school. Introduce your main idea, have several paragraphs of support—each with a single point defended by specific examples, and conclude with a restatement of your main point and its significance.

Some physiological tips

Just think—we expect athletes to practice constantly and use everything in their abilities and situations in order to achieve success. Yet, somehow many students are convinced that one day’s worth of studying, no sleep, and some well-placed compliments (“Gee, Dr. So-and-so, I really enjoyed your last lecture”) are good preparation for a test. Essay exams are like any other testing situation in life: you’ll do best if you are prepared for what is expected of you, have practiced doing it before, and have arrived in the best shape to do it. You may not want to believe this, but it’s true: a good night’s sleep and a relaxed mind and body can do as much or more for you as any last-minute cram session. Colleges abound with tales of woe about students who slept through exams because they stayed up all night, wrote an essay on the wrong topic, forgot everything they studied, or freaked out in the exam and hyperventilated. If you are rested, breathing normally, and have brought along some healthy, energy-boosting snacks that you can eat or drink quietly, you are in a much better position to do a good job on the test. You aren’t going to write a good essay on something you figured out at 4 a.m. that morning. If you prepare yourself well throughout the semester, you don’t risk your whole grade on an overloaded, undernourished brain.

If for some reason you get yourself into this situation, take a minute every once in a while during the test to breathe deeply, stretch, and clear your brain. You need to be especially aware of the likelihood of errors, so check your essays thoroughly before you hand them in to make sure they answer the right questions and don’t have big oversights or mistakes (like saying “Hitler” when you really mean “Churchill”).

If you tend to go blank during exams, try studying in the same classroom in which the test will be given. Some research suggests that people attach ideas to their surroundings, so it might jog your memory to see the same things you were looking at while you studied.

Try good luck charms. Bring in something you associate with success or the support of your loved ones, and use it as a psychological boost.

Take all of the time you’ve been allotted. Reread, rework, and rethink your answers if you have extra time at the end, rather than giving up and handing the exam in the minute you’ve written your last sentence. Use every advantage you are given.

Remember that instructors do not want to see you trip up—they want to see you do well. With this in mind, try to relax and just do the best you can. The more you panic, the more mistakes you are liable to make. Put the test in perspective: will you die from a poor performance? Will you lose all of your friends? Will your entire future be destroyed? Remember: it’s just a test.

Works consulted

We consulted these works while writing this handout. This is not a comprehensive list of resources on the handout’s topic, and we encourage you to do your own research to find additional publications. Please do not use this list as a model for the format of your own reference list, as it may not match the citation style you are using. For guidance on formatting citations, please see the UNC Libraries citation tutorial . We revise these tips periodically and welcome feedback.

Axelrod, Rise B., and Charles R. Cooper. 2016. The St. Martin’s Guide to Writing , 11th ed. Boston: Bedford/St Martin’s.

Fowler, Ramsay H., and Jane E. Aaron. 2016. The Little, Brown Handbook , 13th ed. Boston: Pearson.

Gefvert, Constance J. 1988. The Confident Writer: A Norton Handbook , 2nd ed. New York: W.W. Norton and Company.

Kirszner, Laurie G. 1988. Writing: A College Rhetoric , 2nd ed. New York: Holt, Rinehart, and Winston.

Lunsford, Andrea A. 2015. The St. Martin’s Handbook , 8th ed. Boston: Bedford/St Martin’s.

Woodman, Leonara, and Thomas P. Adler. 1988. The Writer’s Choices , 2nd ed. Northbrook, Illinois: Scott Foresman.

You may reproduce it for non-commercial use if you use the entire handout and attribute the source: The Writing Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

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How to Write a Good Answer to Exam Essay Questions

Last Updated: March 17, 2024 Fact Checked

This article was co-authored by Tristen Bonacci . Tristen Bonacci is a Licensed English Teacher with more than 20 years of experience. Tristen has taught in both the United States and overseas. She specializes in teaching in a secondary education environment and sharing wisdom with others, no matter the environment. Tristen holds a BA in English Literature from The University of Colorado and an MEd from The University of Phoenix. This article has been fact-checked, ensuring the accuracy of any cited facts and confirming the authority of its sources. This article has been viewed 644,518 times.

Answering essay questions on an exam can be difficult and stressful, which can make it hard to provide a good answer. However, you can improve your ability to answer essay questions by learning how to understand the questions, form an answer, and stay focused. Developing your ability to give excellent answers on essay exams will take time and effort, but you can learn some good essay question practices and start improving your answers.

Understanding the Question

• Analyze: Explain the what, where, who, when, why, and how. Include pros and cons, strengths and weaknesses, etc.
• Compare: Discuss the similarities and differences between two or more things. Don't forget to explain why the comparison is useful.
• Contrast: Discuss how two or more things are different or distinguish between them. Don't forget to explain why the contrast is useful.
• Define: State what something means, does, achieves, etc.
• Describe: List characteristics or traits of something. You may also need to summarize something, such as an essay prompt that asks "Describe the major events that led to the American Revolution."
• Discuss: This is more analytical. You usually begin by describing something and then present arguments for or against it. You may need to analyze the advantages or disadvantages of your subject.
• Evaluate: Offer the pros and cons, positives and negatives for a subject. You may be asked to evaluate a statement for logical support, or evaluate an argument for weaknesses.
• Explain: Explain why or how something happened, or justify your position on something.
• Prove: Usually reserved for more scientific or objective essays. You may be asked to include evidence and research to build a case for a specific position or set of hypotheses.
• Summarize: Usually, this means to list the major ideas or themes of a subject. It could also ask you to present the main ideas in order to then fully discuss them. Most essay questions will not ask for pure summary without anything else.

• Raise your hand and wait for your teacher to come over to you or approach your teacher’s desk to ask your question. This way you will be less likely to disrupt other test takers.

Forming Your Response

• Take a moment to consider your organization before you start writing your answer. What information should come first, second, third, etc.?
• In many cases, the traditional 5-paragraph essay structure works well. Start with an introductory paragraph, use 3 paragraphs in the body of the article to explain different points, and finish with a concluding paragraph.
• It can also be really helpful to draft a quick outline of your essay before you start writing.

• You may want to make a list of facts and figures that you want to include in your essay answer. That way you can refer to this list as you write your answer.
• It's best to write down all the important key topics or ideas before you get started composing your answer. That way, you can check back to make sure you haven't missed anything.

• For example, imagine that your essay question asks: "Should the FIFA World Cup be awarded to countries with human rights violations? Explain and support your answer."
• You might restate this as "Countries with human rights violations should not be awarded the FIFA World Cup because this rewards a nation's poor treatment of its citizens." This will be the thesis that you support with examples and explanation.

• For example, whether you argue that the FIFA World Cup should or should not be awarded to countries with human rights violations, you will want to address the opposing side's argument. However, it needs to be clear where your essay stands about the matter.
• Often, essay questions end up saying things along the lines of "There are many similarities and differences between X and Y." This does not offer a clear position and can result in a bad grade.

• If you are required to write your answer by hand, then take care to make your writing legible and neat. Some professors may deduct points if they cannot read what you have written.

Staying Calm and Focused

• If you get to a point during the exam where you feel too anxious to focus, put down your pencil (or take your hands off of the keyboard), close your eyes, and take a deep breath. Stretch your arms and imagine that you are somewhere pleasant for a few moments. When you have completed this brief exercise, open up your eyes and resume the exam.

• For example, if the exam period is one hour long and you have to answer three questions in that time frame, then you should plan to spend no more than 20 minutes on each question.
• Look at the weight of the questions, if applicable. For example, if there are five 10-point short-answers and a 50-point essay, plan to spend more time on the essay because it is worth significantly more. Don't get stuck spending so much time on the short-answers that you don't have time to develop a complex essay.

• This strategy is even more important if the exam has multiple essay questions. If you take too much time on the first question, then you may not have enough time to answer the other questions on the exam.

• If you feel like you are straying away from the question, reread the question and review any notes that you made to help guide you. After you get refocused, then continue writing your answer.
• Try to allow yourself enough time to go back and tighten up connections between your points. A few well-placed transitions can really bump up your grade.

Community Q&A

• If you are worried about running out of time, put your watch in front of you where you can see it. Just try not to focus on it too much. Thanks Helpful 0 Not Helpful 0
• If you need more practice, make up your own questions or even look at some practice questions online! Thanks Helpful 0 Not Helpful 0

Tips from our Readers

• Look up relevant quotes if your exam is open notes. Use references from books or class to back up your answers.
• Make sure your sentences flow together and that you don't repeat the same thing twice!

You Might Also Like

• ↑ https://www.linnbenton.edu/student-services/library-tutoring-testing/learning-center/academic-coaching/documents/Strategies%20For%20Answering%20Essay%20Questions.pdf
• ↑ https://www.ius.edu/writing-center/files/answering-essay-questions.pdf
• ↑ https://success.uark.edu/get-help/student-resources/short-answer-essays.php

About This Article

To write a good answer to an exam essay question, read the question carefully to find what it's asking, and follow the instructions for the essay closely. Begin your essay by rephrasing the question into a statement with your answer in the statement. Include supplemental facts and figures if necessary, or do textual analysis from a provided piece to support your argument. Make sure your writing is clear and to the point, and don't include extra information unless it supports your argument. For tips from our academic reviewer on understanding essay questions and dealing with testing nerves, read on! Did this summary help you? Yes No

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• Focus and Precision: How to Write Essays that Answer the Question

About the Author Stephanie Allen read Classics and English at St Hugh’s College, Oxford, and is currently researching a PhD in Early Modern Academic Drama at the University of Fribourg.

We’ve all been there. You’ve handed in an essay and you think it’s pretty great: it shows off all your best ideas, and contains points you’re sure no one else will have thought of.

You’re not totally convinced that what you’ve written is relevant to the title you were given – but it’s inventive, original and good. In fact, it might be better than anything that would have responded to the question. But your essay isn’t met with the lavish praise you expected. When it’s tossed back onto your desk, there are huge chunks scored through with red pen, crawling with annotations like little red fire ants: ‘IRRELEVANT’; ‘A bit of a tangent!’; ‘???’; and, right next to your best, most impressive killer point: ‘Right… so?’. The grade your teacher has scrawled at the end is nowhere near what your essay deserves. In fact, it’s pretty average. And the comment at the bottom reads something like, ‘Some good ideas, but you didn’t answer the question!’.

If this has ever happened to you (and it has happened to me, a lot), you’ll know how deeply frustrating it is – and how unfair it can seem. This might just be me, but the exhausting process of researching, having ideas, planning, writing and re-reading makes me steadily more attached to the ideas I have, and the things I’ve managed to put on the page. Each time I scroll back through what I’ve written, or planned, so far, I become steadily more convinced of its brilliance. What started off as a scribbled note in the margin, something extra to think about or to pop in if it could be made to fit the argument, sometimes comes to be backbone of a whole essay – so, when a tutor tells me my inspired paragraph about Ted Hughes’s interpretation of mythology isn’t relevant to my essay on Keats, I fail to see why. Or even if I can see why, the thought of taking it out is wrenching. Who cares if it’s a bit off-topic? It should make my essay stand out, if anything! And an examiner would probably be happy not to read yet another answer that makes exactly the same points. If you recognise yourself in the above, there are two crucial things to realise. The first is that something has to change: because doing well in high school exam or coursework essays is almost totally dependent on being able to pin down and organise lots of ideas so that an examiner can see that they convincingly answer a question. And it’s a real shame to work hard on something, have good ideas, and not get the marks you deserve. Writing a top essay is a very particular and actually quite simple challenge. It’s not actually that important how original you are, how compelling your writing is, how many ideas you get down, or how beautifully you can express yourself (though of course, all these things do have their rightful place). What you’re doing, essentially, is using a limited amount of time and knowledge to really answer a question. It sounds obvious, but a good essay should have the title or question as its focus the whole way through . It should answer it ten times over – in every single paragraph, with every fact or figure. Treat your reader (whether it’s your class teacher or an external examiner) like a child who can’t do any interpretive work of their own; imagine yourself leading them through your essay by the hand, pointing out that you’ve answered the question here , and here , and here. Now, this is all very well, I imagine you objecting, and much easier said than done. But never fear! Structuring an essay that knocks a question on the head is something you can learn to do in a couple of easy steps. In the next few hundred words, I’m going to share with you what I’ve learned through endless, mindless crossings-out, rewordings, rewritings and rethinkings.

Top tips and golden rules

I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve been told to ‘write the question at the top of every new page’- but for some reason, that trick simply doesn’t work for me. If it doesn’t work for you either, use this three-part process to allow the question to structure your essay:

1)     Work out exactly what you’re being asked

It sounds really obvious, but lots of students have trouble answering questions because they don’t take time to figure out exactly what they’re expected to do – instead, they skim-read and then write the essay they want to write. Sussing out a question is a two-part process, and the first part is easy. It means looking at the directions the question provides as to what sort of essay you’re going to write. I call these ‘command phrases’ and will go into more detail about what they mean below. The second part involves identifying key words and phrases.

2)     Be as explicit as possible

Use forceful, persuasive language to show how the points you’ve made do answer the question. My main focus so far has been on tangential or irrelevant material – but many students lose marks even though they make great points, because they don’t quite impress how relevant those points are. Again, I’ll talk about how you can do this below.

3)     Be brutally honest with yourself about whether a point is relevant before you write it.

It doesn’t matter how impressive, original or interesting it is. It doesn’t matter if you’re panicking, and you can’t think of any points that do answer the question. If a point isn’t relevant, don’t bother with it. It’s a waste of time, and might actually work against you- if you put tangential material in an essay, your reader will struggle to follow the thread of your argument, and lose focus on your really good points.

Put it into action: Step One

Let’s imagine you’re writing an English essay about the role and importance of the three witches in Macbeth . You’re thinking about the different ways in which Shakespeare imagines and presents the witches, how they influence the action of the tragedy, and perhaps the extent to which we’re supposed to believe in them (stay with me – you don’t have to know a single thing about Shakespeare or Macbeth to understand this bit!). Now, you’ll probably have a few good ideas on this topic – and whatever essay you write, you’ll most likely use much of the same material. However, the detail of the phrasing of the question will significantly affect the way you write your essay. You would draw on similar material to address the following questions: Discuss Shakespeare’s representation of the three witches in Macbeth . How does Shakespeare figure the supernatural in Macbeth ?   To what extent are the three witches responsible for Macbeth’s tragic downfall? Evaluate the importance of the three witches in bringing about Macbeth’s ruin. Are we supposed to believe in the three witches in Macbeth ? “Within Macbeth ’s representation of the witches, there is profound ambiguity about the actual significance and power of their malevolent intervention” (Stephen Greenblatt). Discuss.   I’ve organised the examples into three groups, exemplifying the different types of questions you might have to answer in an exam. The first group are pretty open-ended: ‘discuss’- and ‘how’-questions leave you room to set the scope of the essay. You can decide what the focus should be. Beware, though – this doesn’t mean you don’t need a sturdy structure, or a clear argument, both of which should always be present in an essay. The second group are asking you to evaluate, constructing an argument that decides whether, and how far something is true. Good examples of hypotheses (which your essay would set out to prove) for these questions are:

• The witches are the most important cause of tragic action in Macbeth.
• The witches are partially, but not entirely responsible for Macbeth’s downfall, alongside Macbeth’s unbridled ambition, and that of his wife.
• We are not supposed to believe the witches: they are a product of Macbeth’s psyche, and his downfall is his own doing.
• The witches’ role in Macbeth’s downfall is deliberately unclear. Their claim to reality is shaky – finally, their ambiguity is part of an uncertain tragic universe and the great illusion of the theatre. (N.B. It’s fine to conclude that a question can’t be answered in black and white, certain terms – as long as you have a firm structure, and keep referring back to it throughout the essay).

The final question asks you to respond to a quotation. Students tend to find these sorts of questions the most difficult to answer, but once you’ve got the hang of them I think the title does most of the work for you – often implicitly providing you with a structure for your essay. The first step is breaking down the quotation into its constituent parts- the different things it says. I use brackets: ( Within Macbeth ’s representation of the witches, ) ( there is profound ambiguity ) about the ( actual significance ) ( and power ) of ( their malevolent intervention ) Examiners have a nasty habit of picking the most bewildering and terrifying-sounding quotations: but once you break them down, they’re often asking for something very simple. This quotation, for example, is asking exactly the same thing as the other questions. The trick here is making sure you respond to all the different parts. You want to make sure you discuss the following:

• Do you agree that the status of the witches’ ‘malevolent intervention’ is ambiguous?
• What is its significance?
• How powerful is it?

Step Two: Plan

Having worked out exactly what the question is asking, write out a plan (which should be very detailed in a coursework essay, but doesn’t have to be more than a few lines long in an exam context) of the material you’ll use in each paragraph. Make sure your plan contains a sentence at the end of each point about how that point will answer the question. A point from my plan for one of the topics above might look something like this:

To what extent are we supposed to believe in the three witches in Macbeth ?  Hypothesis: The witches’ role in Macbeth’s downfall is deliberately unclear. Their claim to reality is uncertain – finally, they’re part of an uncertain tragic universe and the great illusion of the theatre. Para.1: Context At the time Shakespeare wrote Macbeth , there were many examples of people being burned or drowned as witches There were also people who claimed to be able to exorcise evil demons from people who were ‘possessed’. Catholic Christianity leaves much room for the supernatural to exist This suggests that Shakespeare’s contemporary audience might, more readily than a modern one, have believed that witches were a real phenomenon and did exist.

My final sentence (highlighted in red) shows how the material discussed in the paragraph answers the question. Writing this out at the planning stage, in addition to clarifying your ideas, is a great test of whether a point is relevant: if you struggle to write the sentence, and make the connection to the question and larger argument, you might have gone off-topic.

Step Three: Paragraph beginnings and endings

The final step to making sure you pick up all the possible marks for ‘answering the question’ in an essay is ensuring that you make it explicit how your material does so. This bit relies upon getting the beginnings and endings of paragraphs just right. To reiterate what I said above, treat your reader like a child: tell them what you’re going to say; tell them how it answers the question; say it, and then tell them how you’ve answered the question. This need not feel clumsy, awkward or repetitive. The first sentence of each new paragraph or point should, without giving too much of your conclusion away, establish what you’re going to discuss, and how it answers the question. The opening sentence from the paragraph I planned above might go something like this:

Early modern political and religious contexts suggest that Shakespeare’s contemporary audience might more readily have believed in witches than his modern readers.

The sentence establishes that I’m going to discuss Jacobean religion and witch-burnings, and also what I’m going to use those contexts to show. I’d then slot in all my facts and examples in the middle of the paragraph. The final sentence (or few sentences) should be strong and decisive, making a clear connection to the question you’ve been asked:

  Contemporary suspicion that witches did exist, testified to by witch-hunts and exorcisms, is crucial to our understanding of the witches in Macbeth.  To the early modern consciousness, witches were a distinctly real and dangerous possibility – and the witches in the play would have seemed all-the-more potent and terrifying as a result.

Step Four: Practice makes perfect

The best way to get really good at making sure you always ‘answer the question’ is to write essay plans rather than whole pieces. Set aside a few hours, choose a couple of essay questions from past papers, and for each:

• Write a hypothesis
• Write a rough plan of what each paragraph will contain
• Write out the first and last sentence of each paragraph

You can get your teacher, or a friend, to look through your plans and give you feedback . If you follow this advice, fingers crossed, next time you hand in an essay, it’ll be free from red-inked comments about irrelevance, and instead showered with praise for the precision with which you handled the topic, and how intently you focused on answering the question. It can seem depressing when your perfect question is just a minor tangent from the question you were actually asked, but trust me – high praise and good marks are all found in answering the question in front of you, not the one you would have liked to see. Teachers do choose the questions they set you with some care, after all; chances are the question you were set is the more illuminating and rewarding one as well.

Image credits: banner ; Keats ; Macbeth ; James I ; witches .

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50 Recent IELTS Essay Questions

Hey! It is so important that when you sit down to practice IELTS writing, you only use questions that are “genuine”. This means using either questions that come from the IELTS Cambridge 1 – 15   series or those that have been created by an exam writer like those in my 100 IELTS essay question blog post.  However, many students like to practice recent IELTS essay questions i.e. topics that have been reported by recent test-takers.

I understand why students want to do this – knowing what the recent IELTS essays questions are and checking that you can answer them is reassuring. However, unfortunately, test-takers rarely (if ever) manage to accurately remember the wording of the question that they had in their test.

Can they remember the general topic? Sure.

Can they remember the exact wording? Definitely not!

Sadly, changing even one word in a test can change the focus of a question and, therefore, make it impossible to answer! So, every month, I collect 50 recent IELTS essay questions from students in  My IELTS Classroom  , and edit them so that they are as close to perfect as possible.

Plus, I divide the questions into Academic and General Training (so you can be sure you are tackling the right type of questions) and have highlighted the main topic of each question for you.

This page is updated monthly and is now showing questions from 2021. If you want to see exam questions that reportedly appeared earlier in 2021, then you can look at our 2021 archive .

As always, these questions are provided so that you can check that you have ideas for the nw topics. If you are preparing with a teacher or want high-quality feedback on your  writing  then you should always use a question from the original IELTS Cambridge Series .

Academic IELTS Essay Questions (February 2021 – September 2021)

1. Some people think that criminal behaviour has genetic causes . Others believe that it is circumstances that lead people to commit a crime. Discuss both views and give your opinion.

2. Some people think that new houses should be built in the same style as older houses in an area. Others believe that local councils should allow people to choose different designs for their houses. Discuss both views and give your opinion.

3. Some people say that the best way to teach children to behave well is to punish them. Others argue that rewarding and praising children is a better way to teach them the difference between right and wrong. Discuss both views and give your own opinion.

4.  Some people believe that women should be able to join their country’s army and police forces . Others think that only men should be allowed to work in these areas. Discuss both views and give your opinion.

5.  In some countries, there are not enough medical or educational facilities in rural areas. Therefore, some people believe newly graduated teachers and doctors should be sent to work in rural areas for some time. Others think that people should be free to choose where they work after graduation. Discuss both views and give your opinion.

6. A lot of research has shown that overeating can have a number of negative effects on the body. Some people therefore believe that the advertising of certain foods should be banned in the same way that some countries have banned advertising cigarettes. Do you agree or disagree?

7 Some people think that parents should teach their children about the importance of recycling . Others believe recycling should be taught in schools. Discuss both views and give your opinion.

8. The media has the right to publish information about the personal life of celebrities . To what extent do you agree or disagree?

9. Some people say that instead of preventing climate change, we need to find a way to live with it. To what extent do you agree or disagree with this view?

10. Young people today mostly learn by reading books or watching movies and TV shows , rather than personal experience. To what extent do you agree or disagree with this statement?

11. Big companies should provide sports and social facilities for the local communities where they operate. To what extent do you agree or disagree with this statement?

12. Some people argue that thanks to the widespread accessibility of the internet, libraries are no longer necessary. Do you agree or disagree?

13. If asked to choose between a life without work and a life that involves working most of the time, people will always choose not to work. To what extent do you agree or disagree?

14. Eighteen is the appropriate age for children to finish school. To what extent do you agree or disagree with this statement?

15. Schools should stop using books to teach and use films, TV and computers in the classroom instead. To what extent do you agree or disagree with this statement?

Writing a good IELTS essay doesn’t have to be difficult. Follow our step-by-step guide to every type of essay to find out what the examiner expects and exactly what you can do to satisfy the band descriptors in our Task Two course. The first three lessons are free!

16. Nowadays foreign visitors show more interest in the museums of a country than its local residents do. Why is this? What can be done to attract more local residents to visit museums in their country?

17 Many companies sponsor sports teams and events to advertise their products or service . What advantages and disadvantages does this bring for the teams and individuals that these companies sponsor?

18. Most information today is available online whereas in the past it was stored in books or on paper. Do you think the advantages of this development outweigh the disadvantages?

19. The difference between countries is becoming less and less evident as people all over the world wear the same fashions, watch the same TV channels, use the same brands, and have similar eating habits. Do you think that the advantages of this trend outweigh the disadvantages?

20. Nowadays many people get the news online instead of reading it in newspapers or watching it on TV. Is this a positive or negative development?

21. In many countries today the proportion of older people in the population is higher than the proportion of younger people . Do you think this is a positive or a negative development?

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22. More and more tasks in the home and at work are being performed by robots . Why do you think this is the case? Is this a negative or positive development?

23. Nowadays tourists and scientists are allowed to travel to remote natural environments . Do you think the advantages of this development outweigh the disadvantages?

24. Due to population growth many people these days live in apartments with limited space and no outdoor areas. Do the advantages of this trend outweigh its disadvantages?

25. Every country in the world has its own road rules , but many drivers don’t obey them. What do you think are the reasons for this? What can be done to solve this problem?

BONUS In many countries, shopping is now one of the most popular types of leisure activity . Why do you so many young people like shopping? Is this a positive or a negative development?

What are the current Aacdemic writing trends?

My observation of the most recent IELTS essay questions from 2021 is that there have been A LOT of Discuss Both Sides and To What Extent questions. In fact, this is more or less all that I have seen in the first month of the new year, so be sure that you are ready to answer these.

GT IELTS Essay Questions (February 2021 – September 2021

1. Some people believe that individuals who earn a lot of money are the most successful in life . Others say that the individuals who contribute to the society (such as scientists or teachers) are more successful. Discuss both views and give your own opinion.

2. It is universally accepted that eating too much  sugar has a negative effects on people’s health . Therefore, some believe that the government should control the amount of sugar people consume. Others think that it is the responsibility of an individual to monitor their sugar intake. Discuss both views and give your opinion.

3. Some people say that the development of technology means that people no longer need to learn the skill of handwriting . Others believe that it is still necessary for people to learn how to write by hand. Discuss both these views and give your opinion.

4. Some people believe that individuals over 65 should not be allowed to continue working . Others think that people should be allowed to work for as long as they choose. Discuss both views and give your own opinion.

5. Some people think that it is a good idea for parents to help their children with their homework. Others believe that children should do their homework on their own. Discuss both views and give your opinion.

6. Some people think that the government should spend money on cultural activities such as music or art. Others think this is a waste of taxpayers’ money. Discuss both views and give your opinion.

7. Some people think that children should be taught how to become good parents at school . Do you agree or disagree?

8. Many mothers stay at home to take care of their family and don’t go out to work . Some people believe these mothers should be paid by the government. Do you agree or disagree?

9. In many countries, it is common for people to consume fast food. However, some people believe that fast food has too much influence on our lifestyle and diet. Do you agree or disagree with this statement?

10. Some people say that playing sports helps to prepare children for their future jobs . Do you agree or disagree?

11. Some people say that the Olympic Games no longer play a role in the 21st century . Do you agree or disagree?

12.   People’s behaviour (for example, their table manners and they way they dress) varies from country to country. When traveling to a different country, people should copy the behaviour and habits of the inhabitants of the country they  visit. Do you agree or disagree?

13.  The best way to increase road safety is to make car drivers retake their driving test every year. Do you agree or disagree?

14.  Some people believe that family is more important than friends . What do you think?

15.  The Internet is the best place to find information . Do you agree or disagree?

16.  In many countries traditional customs are being lost.  Why do you think this is? What can parents and schools do to keep traditional customs alive? 

17.  People who are learning a foreign language can face a number of difficulties. What are some of these problems? In your opinion, what are the best ways to overcome these difficulties?

18. Young people today are often less polite and show less respect than previous generations . Why do you think this is? What can be done to solve this problem? 

19. Developments in technology mean that more and more machines are being used in the workplace instead of human employees. Does this development have more advantages or more disadvantages?

20. In some countries, young people choose to move from their parents’ home to their own house at an early age. In other countries, young people stay with parents for a longer time. Do you think young people who leave their parent’s home at a younger age have more advantages or disadvantages than those who stay?

21. In many parts of the world, more and more large supermarkets are opening and smaller local shops are closing down. Does this development have more advantages or more disadvantages for local people?

22. In some countries it is illegal to stop people applying for a job because of their age . Is this a positive or a negative development?

 23.  In many countries, people are earning more money today than in the past, so they are able to buy more things. Is this a positive or a negative development?

24. Nowadays, people prefer to shop at large shopping centres rather than in local shops or markets. Why is this? Is this a positive or negative development?

25. Nowadays in many countries traditional customs are becoming less popular than in the past . Do you agree or disagree? What can parents and teachers do about this?

BONUS –  Playing team sports at school can teach students a number of lessons that are useful outside of sport. What values can students learn from playing team sports? How can they apply these values in the future? 

What are the current GT writing trends?

So far this year, I have noticed two main trends for the recent IELTS essay questions for General Training students. First, there continue to be more 2-part questions than in the Academic test, and the topics seem to be more and more diverse.

Also, the test writers seem to making small changes to the wording of questions, which don’t actually change what you are expected to do, but may confuse some students. For example, in the past, you were always asked “Is this a positive or negative trend?” but recently the same question has been phrased as:

• Is this a good thing or a bad thing?
• Do you think this is right or wrong?
• Do you think this this a good or bad use of public money?

If you enter the exam room and feel confused by the question, my advice is always to simply answer the question that you have been given.

Yes, there are question types that repeat, but if you are given a direct essay question or a type of question that is unfamiliar, simply focusing on answering the question/s you have been given clearly is always the best approach!

Looking for an IELTS school run by native speakers who have a proven track record of helping students achieve their potential in IELTS? Then come join the students at  My IELTS Classroom  who are using our unique video courses, live lessons and marking service to maximise their scores. 

OK – those are the 50 most recent IELTS essay questions. I will try to do this every month so that you can be sure you have ideas for every possible IELTS question in your exam. Well, maybe not to every question, but at least by practicing with these, you will have sharpened your idea-generation skills . Plus, you can help me by adding any questions that you can remember from a recent IELTS exam in the comments below 🚀

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Sample essays

Sample essay questions and suggested reading

Here are a few sample essay questions for you to think about. Remember that you get 40 minutes to write a recommended maximum of 750 words – ideally about 500-600 words .  We also have sample answers to some of these questions. See download links at bottom of this page.

• How should judges be appointed?
• Make the best case you can for public funding of the arts.  Answer
• Does it matter if some animal and plant species die out?  Answer
• ‘It is right that students should contribute to the cost of their degrees.’ Do you agree?
• What disciplinary sanctions should teachers be allowed to use?
• ‘We must be prepared to sacrifice traditional liberties to defeat terrorism.’ Discuss.
• Should the law require people to vote in general elections?
• Should private cars be rationed? If so, how?
• What is ‘political correctness’ and why does it matter?  Answer
• There are more essay topics on our practice tests .

When you reach the Review screen, do not click on End Review unless you have completed your essay and wish to end your session. If you wish to review or edit your essay response, click on the question number that it relates to.

As part of your preparation you may also like to look at some materials on critical thinking. Here is a selection. Some of them include exercises that can help you develop your LNAT skills.

A. Fisher,  Critical Thinking: An Introduction  (Cambridge University Press 2001) ISBN 0521009847

R. van den Brink-Budgen,  Critical Thinking for Students  (How to Books 2000) ISBN 1857036344

N. Warburton,  Thinking From A to Z  (Routledge 2000) ISBN 0415222818

P. Gardner,  New Directions: Reading, Writing, and Critical Thinking (Cambridge University Press 2006) ISBN 0521541727 (mainly for those who have English as a second language)

Sample answer: Make the best case you can for public funding of the arts

Sample answer: Does it matter if some animal and plant species die out?

Sample answer: What is 'political correctness' and why does it matter?

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Writing Task 2 Sample

IELTS Writing Task 2 ( also known as IELTS Essay Writing ) is the second task of your IELTS Writing test. Here, you will be presented with an essay topic and you will be scored based on your ability to respond to the topic.

You need to write at least 250 words and justify your opinion with arguments, discussion, examples, problem outlining, proposing possible solutions and supporting your position. You will have approximately 40 minutes to finish your Essay Writing. IELTS Writing Task 2 carries more weights than Writing Task 1.

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FREE TRAINING: How I Secured 6-Figures in Scholarships & Graduated Debt-Free

The Scholarship System

Paying for college begins here

10 Common Scholarship Essay Questions and How to Answer Them

Scholarships & Financial Aid

Updated on July 15th, 2022

When your student applies for scholarships, writing the essay often feels like the most challenging part. Luckily, it doesn’t have to be. By learning about common scholarship essay questions and how to answer them, your student can be prepared for most of the topics they’ll need to address.

Knowing how to answer common scholarship essay questions is only part of the battle. You also have to track down great scholarships to pay for college. If you and your student want to learn more about exciting scholarship opportunities,  sign up for our free college scholarship webinar ! Just head to http://thescholarshipsystem.com/freewebinar and reserve your spot today .

If your student wants to get ahead of the curve and write winning scholarship essays , here’s a look at ten common scholarship essay questions and how to tackle them.

• 1.1 1. Tell Us About Yourself
• 1.2 2. How Will This Scholarship Make a Difference for You?
• 1.3 3. Can You Tell Us About a Time You Failed? What Did You Learn from That Experience?
• 1.4 4. Tell Us About a Contribution You’ve Made to Your Community
• 1.5 5. What Are Your Academic (or Professional) Goals?
• 1.6 6. Tell Us About a Time Where You Stepped Up as a Leader
• 1.7 7. Who Has Been Your Biggest Influence (or Inspiration)?
• 1.8 8. Why Do You Want to Go to College?
• 1.9 9. How Are You Planning on Financing Your College Education?
• 1.10 10. Why Do You Deserve This Scholarship?
• 2 Using Common Scholarship Essay Questions to Prepare

1. Tell Us About Yourself

This is possibly one of the trickiest college scholarship essays to write, not because it’s complicated, but because it’s so broad. Students have a lot of freedom with this prompt, so it’s easy to become overwhelmed about how to proceed.

Typically, students shouldn’t just give an overview of their life stories. Instead, they need to provide the committee with insights about their passions and drives, events that shaped their perspective, and relevant successes or achievements.

It’s also wise to be a bit future-focused, discussing not just where they’ve been but where they hope to go. Students can touch on valuable personality traits along the way, too, as that helps the reader gauge who they are as a person.

2. How Will This Scholarship Make a Difference for You?

Generally, students have a few options for addressing this question. First, they could showcase how the scholarship helps them overcome a relevant financial hardship. This can include being able to afford tuition, get needed equipment or supplies, or access a program at a college that may otherwise be out of reach.

Second, they could concentrate on how the scholarship will help them achieve their academic or professional goals. For example, your student might want to discuss how the award would allow them to pursue their preferred field.

Students should focus on how the scholarship eliminates roadblocks, though the exact type of obstacle can vary. Additionally, they should discuss what they’ll be able to achieve if they receive the award, both in the short- and long-term.

3. Can You Tell Us About a Time You Failed? What Did You Learn from That Experience?

For many students, even figuring out how to start a scholarship essay introduction for this topic is hard, let alone writing the whole thing. It’s difficult discussing a failure with others, so many students hold back if they are given this prompt.

However, honesty is the best policy. Additionally, even when talking about a failure, it’s possible to keep the essay positive.

Students should start by outlining the scenario and giving an overview of how the failure occurred. The misstep can be academic, personal, or professional, as long as it’s clear that something went wrong along the way.

After the overview, it’s all about a quick pivot. Students should explain the lessons they learned and what they would do differently if faced with a similar situation again. That helps them demonstrate their self-awareness and growth, along with their ability to persevere.

4. Tell Us About a Contribution You’ve Made to Your Community

This scholarship essay prompt is incredibly common for volunteering scholarships or awards focused on service. Students need to share insights about their community service-oriented activities, as well as the positive impact created by their participation.

Additionally, it’s smart for students to spend some time explaining how the experience impacted them. They may also want to touch on any plans they have to continue to remain active in their community, as that can help them stand out.

5. What Are Your Academic (or Professional) Goals?

With this common scholarship essay question, students need to clearly outline what they want to achieve, either academically or professionally, depending on exactly what they are asked. Usually, it’s best to start off with the basics. Students should explain what they want to study or the career path they hope to have.

However, they shouldn’t stop there. It’s also wise to dig a bit deeper, diving into precisely what motivated them to head in this direction. Some students do this by sharing their epiphany moment, while others talk about how it’s the culmination of a life-long passion. As long as it paints a great picture, any approach is potentially a winner.

6. Tell Us About a Time Where You Stepped Up as a Leader

Leadership is a hot topic for college scholarship essays. Many committees ask questions like this one to see what applicants bring to the table. Usually, your student needs to provide a clear example of when they took on a leadership role.

There are a lot of options for approaching this. Heading up a school project counts, as well as captaining a sports team. Coordinating volunteer efforts may work, along with a wide variety of work-related activities.

Again, exactly what your student chooses is less important than how they describe it. It’s all about sharing a story, ensuring the reader can get a good gauge on what happened and how your student’s involvement made a difference.

7. Who Has Been Your Biggest Influence (or Inspiration)?

Many scholarship essay questions want students to talk about their heroes. While it may seem odd to ask students to discuss someone other than themselves, it’s actually a great way to learn more about an applicant’s passions.

As they describe why the person influenced or inspired them, they incidentally talk about how they are motivated, their priorities, and their values. It also allows the reader to learn more about what shaped your student’s goals and aspirations, which can be quite enlightening.

Ideally, students want to be story-oriented. While they can certainly discuss the person’s traits and background, the focus should largely be on moments that inspired or influenced their way of thinking. That makes the essay more meaningful.

8. Why Do You Want to Go to College?

For some students, this question is surprisingly tough. Many students saw college as a must from a relatively young age, essentially viewing it as anything as optional. However, students do have choices about how they move forward after high school.

Scholarship committees want to know that heading to college isn’t an afterthought or something a student is doing solely because they were pressured in that direction. Ideally, students should discuss personal motivations or goals that made college the right choice for them. That way, their passion can shine through.

9. How Are You Planning on Financing Your College Education?

If a scholarship is focused on financial need, your student may face questions about how they intend to fund their education. This can be a difficult topic, particularly for students who may not be able to afford school without outside support, such as scholarships or grants. It’s hard to talk about financial hardship, but this question makes it necessary.

Students should actually start their essay by giving the committee insight into their situation, particularly regarding personal or household circumstances that make affording college difficult. After the overview, students should outline all of their efforts to secure enough funding. That can include everything from applying to scholarships, exploring work-study, getting a part-time job, or anything else.

Often, scholarship committees appreciate it when students are taking every chance to find ways to pay for college. It lets them know that the student is passionate enough to go the extra mile and demonstrates that they aren’t afraid of challenges if it means achieving their goals. So, students should touch on everything they are doing to make their college dream possible.

10. Why Do You Deserve This Scholarship?

Writing an essay about why they deserve a scholarship can be hard for any student. However, it’s a topic they need to be ready to discuss. This is one of the most common scholarship essay questions around.

Previously, The Scholarship System took a deep dive into how to write an essay on “Why I deserve this scholarship,” making that a great resource for any student who wants to prepare. As an overview, it’s about showcasing their perspective without coming across as arrogant and discussing achievements (academic or otherwise) that highlight why they are a standout applicant.

Using Common Scholarship Essay Questions to Prepare

Simply knowing what the common scholarship essay questions are usually isn’t enough. Instead, students should take extra steps to prepare to write their essays.

First, it’s wise to spend a little time brainstorming about the topics. That way, students can develop several ideas that they may want to explore and see if one approach resonates more than another.

Second, checking out some scholarship essay examples that won money is an excellent idea. This helps students learn more about what scholarship committees connect with, as well as more about how to tackle certain topics.

Finally, it’s wise to learn more about essay writing techniques. Along with reviewing how to write scholarship essays , it doesn’t hurt to research college personal statements , as those can be very similar to scholarship (and college application) essays. Similarly, checking out scholarship essay formats is a smart move. It will help your student figure out how to start a scholarship essay introduction, how to end a scholarship essay, and everything in between.

By doing that additional research, they’ll have as much information as possible. And, in the end, that could increase the odds that their essay will be a winner.

Related Videos:

• 7 College Scholarship Essay Ideas to Win More Funding
• How to Reuse Scholarship Essays & Win Over and Over

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March 9, 2021 at 6:35 am

Thanks for sharing this nice piece of information i personally believe scholarships are very improtant for every student

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General Essay Questions and Sample Essays with Answers - Blossoms of the Savannah

« Previous Topic Sample and Practice Excerpts and Extracts With Answers - Blossoms of the Savannah

SAMPLE ESSAYS

1. “though resian goes through the valley of death, her determination leads her to a victorious life.” write a composition to show the validity of this assertion..

Resian in the  Blossoms of the Savannah seems to experience several challenging situations in her life. In the scenarios she seems resolute in her actions as shown in the following ways

Oloisudori declares his intention of marrying her at an early age. This follows after he changes his initial plan: extorting Kaelo. He demands that she should first be circumcised so as to get rid of her state as nemengalana intoiye.  He intends to use anesthesia to make her unconscious and grab her. Resian resolves not to be married.  She tells Oloisudori point blank that she cannot be his wife. She returns the gifts that he had earlier brought and escapes to her father’s shop. Her father beats her so as to submit to the marriage, but Resian remains steady is her decision.

A number of callous youth in Nasila wish to assault Resian and Taiyo. In the first days, Resian and Taiyo take a walk around uncle Simiren compound.  All of a sudden a young man emerges from the blues and grabs Taiyo. Resian order the callous young man to release Taiyo immediately. The Young man has no option but to give in though he promises to revisit his grave decision.

Though in a dream, enkamuratani and other two women surround Resian to circumcise her holding an olmurunya. Although Resian is in a strange land and is defenseless she does her best to combat the situation. Determined, Resian twists enkamuratani’s hand with an intention of ensuring that she does not initiate other girls in the future. She knocks the old witch using a mallet as well as fights the third woman until she disappears.

Olarinkoi disappears with Resian to a far hut in the forest. He locks her up and returns very late in the night while drank. Once he returns, he is in his mission of raping her. He unzips and this gesture sets her trembling. She bites Olarinkoi’s thumb so that the pain reduces his action of rape. Owing to the fact that Resian had earlier witnessed Olarinkoi’s fiery attacks when he dealt with two callous men, it calls for a lot of determination on the part of Resian to tackle him.

In summary, from the above illustrations it is evident that Resian suffers rough challenging times in her life but she deals with all these situations with determination.

2. “The strong bond between Resian and Taiyo contributes significantly to their triumph.” Write an essay in support of the statement.

No man is an island. Human beings were created to relate mutually. The close friendship between Resian and Taiyo is the key to overcoming stormy times that present themselves in their lives as follows

In their new environment at Nasila, the girls meet unique challenges. They are not used to the communal life for all along they have stayed in an urban set up where life is individualistic. At Nasila, they have to get used to impromptu visitors and superior male counterparts. It is the love between the two girls that helps in these scenarios. The duo stay together most of the times. By so doing, they share a lot Taiyo counsels Resian on using kind language on Yeiyo Botorr her aunt. The two girls discuss about danger that lurks from the hostile youth especially because of their uncircumcised condition.

In overcoming the challenge of female genital mutilation (FGM), their friendship bond comes in handy. When Resian goes on a hunger strike she says it is only Taiyo who can change her stand. When Taiyo is informed of Resian’s condition, she does not hesitate to offer herself for Resian’s redemption even when there are risks all over. While at Nasila, they have a lot of time sharing their views towards FGM. The discussions must have strengthened their hard stands towards FGM. It is from these discussions that they vow never to give in to FGM.

In the incident when Taiyo and Resian are accosted by two callous young men their coordination and friendship save them. The incident finds them while they are walking together where they had visited Maiso for lunch. If the struggle had between two men versus one girl probably she would have been surmounted. Although most of the salvation is largely brought by Olarinkoi the fact that the two girls where together makes it easier for them to go about the ordeal. Their joint screaming and their escape unhurt is partly contributed by their togetherness. 

The two birds of a feather hatch a scheme to outwit Oloisudori. They wrap the gifts he had brought them into a box and title it as a gift. They then plan how to execute the plan. They arrange on how Resian is to thank Oloisudori and give him the gift. They discuss the aim of the gesture; to clarify to Oloisudori the fact they cannot be cheated with gifts. From this co-operation, Resian manages to trick Oloisudori and tells off her father and later with Olarinkoi, they manage to leave Nasila.

It is clear from the above illustration that strong friendship bonds can help friend go about hard experiences and overcome them in their lives.

3. Bad decisions can adversely affect our lives. Write an essay in support of the statement with illustrations from the novel. 

The Choices we make can affect us positively or negatively. Bad choices definitely have adverse effects on our future. A character like Ole Kaelo makes several bad choices which not only affect his life but also his daughters. 

Ole Kaelo is advised by his friend what kind of man Oloisudori is. He is told that he is not a man of integrity and warns him about doing business with him. He even warns him to keep his daughters from him. Oloisudori is unheeding to this warning. He goes on to sign business contracts and receiving a loan from him. Later, this man causes him great worry when he threatens to bring his business down if he does not give him his daughter in marriage.

Ole Kaelo makes the bad choice of agreeing to give his daughter Resian in marriage to Oloisudori. He does this to save his business empire and to acquire more wealth as dowry from him. This unleashes a myriad of problems in his family. He keeps assuring himself that his choice of Oloisudori is good and that the man is not all bad but inwardly, he has reservations about such a marriage. His decision worsens the already poor relationship between him and his daughter, who ran away and gets into more trouble with Olarinkoi. Taiyo also has her life ruined by being forcefully circumcised before being forced to marry Oloisudori. Finally, he loses his daughters trust and his fate is unknown because Oloisudori might come for him in person. 

Olarinkoi is not known by the Kaelos yet nobody asks questions about him. He seems a mystery and with time becomes like a member of the family. This earns him trust among the Kaelos to the point that Resian trusts him to take her to Minik’s ranch. This man who the family trusted so much turns into a beast by raping Resian and even planning to circumcise her by force before marrying her. If the Kaelo’s had not trusted the stranger, Resian suffering in his hands would have been avoided.

Mama Milanoi makes a bad choice of giving over her daughter Taiyo to three strange women cheating her that she was being taken to her sister. Her plans is to have Taiyo circumcised before being married by Oloisudori. This action makes her lose the trust her daughters had for her. The wound she has caused them will definitely take time to heal. They too are angry with her that they vow that they would not want to be like her in marriage.

Bad decisions made knowingly or unknowingly will definitely have negative impact in our lives or on those that are dear to us. 

4. Gender inequality is tantamount to violation of human rights. Write an essay in support of the assertion drawing your illustrations from Blossoms of the Savannah. 

Today’s position on the male and female gender is that men and women are equal and none of the gender should dominate over the other. In Blossoms of the Savannah, women are culturally forced to be subservient to men, a practice that denies them some fundamental rights as human beings. 

A wife has the right to state his position on any matter even if it is contrary to the husband’s position. This is not the case with Mama Milanoi, wife to Ole Kaelo. She admits that she did not know which man her husband was doing business with and even if she did, she would not do anything about it for he was the one who carried the family’s vision. She thus leaves every aspect of decision making to him whether those decisions are good or bad.

A woman is a being to be loved and not to love back. Although Ole Kaelo genuinely loved Mama Milanoi when he saw her first, her feelings on him are immaterial. Women were not expected to resist a man’s advances according to Nasilian culture. This is a great violation of her right to love or hate. In her case there is no room for that. It is also expected that Resian should give in to Oloisudori’s plans to marry her. Refusal is regarded as stubbornness. In fact, Oloisudori claims that none of his wives put any resistance in his interest in them. This means that their feelings for him did not matter a great violation of their freedom to choose their marriage partner.

Resian and Taiyo are forced to undergo cultural coaching by Joseph Parmuat. Resian rebels this citing inequality in the plan. She opines that if they were boys, such a thing would not be done on them. Instead, they would be freely roaming Nasila with nobody bothering them. In their case, there is no such option simply because they are girls. Their right to choose what to and not to learn is violated. Girls are taught how to cook for their men but there are no lessons for boys on how to please women. Resian opposes such arrangements saying she would not be taught to solely please men. She claims that even boys should be taught how to please women.

Gender inequality in this society elevates man over the woman to the extent that Resian says that it made men assume that they had right over the body of any woman. This has reduced women to be objects of sex to be exploited by men at will. This practice started with the Ilarinkon warriors who sexually exploited women after arousing their desires. Taiyo and Resian undergo several rape attempts with Resian ending up being raped by Olarinkoi who assumes he has every right over her body. These inequalities have greatly undermined women’s right to privacy and to choose whom to have sexual relation with. 

Gender inequality does not just stop at that. Instead, it is a major cause of violation of basic human rights that all should be accorded a chance to enjoy. Women in the novel have most of their rights curtailed as a result of gender imbalance between men and women.

5. Help can come when least expected. Discuss.

Most people reach the end of the tether in difficult situations and are just about to give up when help comes. Most instances of help appear coincidental but nonetheless; they change the course of life of the character as well as shaping the rest of the novel.

Olarinkoi seems to be at the right place at the right time. He happens to be the savior of Resian and Taiyo when they need help most. He comes to the rescue of the two girls when they are coming from their father’s shop and are about to be raped by two men. Olarinkoi single-handedly saves the girls by fighting the men. Resian and Taiyo are much grateful and would not want to imagine what would have happened if he had not come at that time, even fearing that they would have been infected with HIV. 

Olarinkoi again comes to the rescue of Resian when she discovers her father’s betrayal by planning to marry her off to Oloisudori. He comes to her rescue when she is even contemplating committing suicide by drowning herself into the river. At the same time, Oloisudori and his men are looking for her to abduct her. Olarinkoi promises to take her to Minik whom she had been yearning to meet someday. Although the help turns disastrous with Olarinkoi turning against her, she is able to escape the current wrath of Oloisudori. 

Taiyo is rescued from the hands of her circumcisers by Minik’s men. Minik’s rescue team use tricks to rescue her from the well-guarded home which she would not have escaped in her sickly state.  Were it not for Minik’s intervention, Taiyo would surely have been forcefully married off to Oloisudori after healing. The rescue gives Taiyo a new lease of life, reunion with her sister and of course quicker physical and emotional recovery. 

Minik’s help to Resian and Taiyo perhaps is the most important event that completely changes their lives. She gives refugee to the girls in her ranch hence protecting them from marauding men like Oloisudori and Olarinkoi. She gives Resian a job in the ranch hence giving her something to live on and promises her a scholarship from the ranch. Most importantly, she is able to have the two girls enrolled at Egerton University, their dream university. These kind gestures create a happy ending in a novel that has been dominated by sad events.

When people are about to despair, that is usually the point when help comes. No matter how belated characters like Resian and Taiyo get help, their lives are greatly impacted and changed by those interventions. 

6. In the novel, Blossoms of the Savannah, Ole Kulet goes out of his way to castigate some Maa way of life. Write an essay to show the validity of this statement with close reference to the novel. (20marks)

Introduction -2mks

• Must display that they understand the question
• Can either be general or contextualized?
• Accept any plausible introduction

Body -12 marks

F.G.M was valued by Maa people. No girl would get married before going through the rite.

It was a tool to fight against sexual harassment by Olarinkoi warriors Resian and Laiyo fail to see its purpose and try to run away from it Minik has a ranch where over five hundred girls have been resolved from circumcision.

Resian manages to escape from circumcision through Nabaru who sneaks her away.

Though Mama Milanoi has undergone the rite, she is apprehensive against her daughters Undergoing it.

Heinous acts in the society

Ole kulet castigates heinous acts in the society. When Taiyo and Resian are almost raped by two vagabonds, Tara Muyo and Lante, the society is mad at them and they are almost killed.

Ole Kaelo almost kills them, but later is relieved that he has not caused the death of the man for this could have brought a curse which could not be cleansed.

When Olarinkoi attempts to rape Resian, she almost bites off his finger, He is banished from the village for some time and he misses the opportunity of making her his wife. Kulet portrays that this behavior is unacceptable in the society.

Old men marrying young daughters

Ole Kulet castigates this vice of old men marrying girls young enough to be their daughters.

Mama Mitanoi in her anguish about Oloisudori's wish to marry Resian remembers that in the past, such a thing would not have happened. She could have appealed to the elders' court which would have ruled in her favour.

Oloisudori's effort to marry either Resian or Taiyo does not succeed. He ends up losing his vehicle and fleeing for his life.

Kulet Castigates forced early marriages. Emakererei has rescued over five hundred girls whose dowry their father had taken. She has kept them in her ranch and taken them back to school.

Prejudice against Women

Women in the book have no place in decision making. Mama Milanoi has to accept everything that her husband does.

Taiyo and Resian are also not given their space. Their father refuses to give Taiyo permission for the extravaganza. He is also not bothered about their education.

Resian and Emakererei break the tyrannical regime by making their own decision. Emakererei campaigns against F.G.M and early marriages. Resian defies the dominance of her father by refusing to marry Oloisudori.

Kulet develops these characters to water down male dominance in the society.

Mark 4 well illustrated point 3:3:3:3:3 = 12 marks

-Accept any relevant conclusion

-It must be linked to the marks of the body i.e. 0-4 = 1 mark 5-6= 2 marks 7-9 = 3 marks 10 - 12 = 4 marks

7. Some cultural practices are archaic and outdated, With evidence from the Blossoms of the Savanna, Write a composition in support of this statement.

Introduction : Give a general introduction of the retrogressive cultural practices imposed on the people on diverse cultural practices.

Context based:  Highlight the main points of discussion.

Points of interpretation

i) Female genital mutilation which is depicted as a compulsory rite of passage which a girl must undergo in order to be married to a man.

(ii) Under age marriages where young girls are denied their rights to pursue their ambitions e.g. Resian and Taiyo are sold off by their father at their young age to the Monstrons Oloisudoni.

(iii) Barring people to get married even if they belong to the same tribe but have no blood relations e.g. Taiyo and Joseph Parmuat.

(iv) Male Chauvinism where men feel that they are superior than women e.g. Ole Kaelo being very hard on Mama Milanoi.

(v) Seeing girl child education as waste of money and opportunities. Where we find Ole Kaelo not regarding their daughters not to join Egerton University.

Give a general opinion whether to shed off the said archaic traditions. Or Recap of the points discussed as topic sentences.

8. Alienation is a theme that runs through the novel, Blossoms of the Savannah. Discuss.

Introduction

To be alienated implies a state of separation of a person from a former position, state or object of attachment. There is an aura of enstrangement that runs through the novel in relation to the family of Kaelo and their cultural establishment.

At the start of the novel, Parsimei Kaelo who has been in Nakuru for a number of years is alienated from his ancestral family and roots. His younger brother, Simiren who remains in Nasila, had been more appreciated and was considered the cultural head of the community by the Kaelo's. Simiren, Parsimei's younger brother happens to be the one who represents the family in the Ilmolelian clan to which they belong. He performs sacred rituals like initiation of girls, circumcision of boys or bethrothal ceremonies on behalf of Parsime. We are also told that Simiren, unlike Parsimei is a strict adherent to his people's customs amd traditions.

The Kaelo daughters, Taiyo and Resian, are also alienated from their roots. Mama Milanoi's women friends refer to the girls as Intoiye Nemengalana (girls who are not circumcised) contemptuously. In their culture, it was expected that females be circumcised, something that has not happened to Taiyo and Resian. In fact it is a taboo to remain an uncut woman/girl. The young man that Taiyo and Resian meet at Nasila also refers to them as Intoiye Nemengalana (girls who are not circumcised). This societal expectation is so critical so much that Joseph Parmuat is given the responsibility of talking to Taiyo and Resian about their tradions. (Pg 71). However, the girls are so alienated that they don't see the gravity of being uncircumcised and that Resian thinks of is her enrolment to Egerton University.

Parsimei Kaelo is also alien. They are alienated to the clan dictates on marriage. Elders term Parsimei's decision to remain married to only one wife who had borne him two daughters as a reckless one. This is alien in a society where polygamy is practiced and boy children are cherished. For instance, Simiren has 4 wives and 16 children or so; Ole Supeyo has 6 wives and about 30 children. It is this alienation that makes Parsimei enlist the help of Simiren and several senior elders of the community to re-establish links and also blessings for his family. (pg 37). He decides to do this by throwing a party. It is in this party that Ole Musanka blesses the Ole Kaelos and advises them to re-assimilate themselves to their peoples' culture. (pg 52)

Minik ene Nkoitoi 'wasp' is alienated to her community. She is regarded as the devil incarnate. She is hated and reviled for campaigning vigorously against traditions that she says abuse the right of the girl child - namely - girls' circumcision and early marriages. (pg 62). This puts her in direct collision with the people of Nasila.

Finally, Mama Milanoi is also alienated from the cultural expectations of her community. She lets her daughters remain uncircumcised in a society where this is considered a taboo. She is also accussed of being aloof and selective on the aspects of Nasila culture that they choose to interact with. (pg 145) ((Plus any plausible argument)

9. Man is the defacto leader of the family and when he faulters many things are bound to go wrong. Using Ole Kaelo for your illustrations show how the faults by the head of family affect

INTRODUCTION

In the Africa set up men is assured to be the family head. He makes major decisions concerning the family and doesn't have to consult. Ole Kaelo in Blossoms of the Savannah is a perfect example of such a man.

Unfortunately for him he faulters and the effects are clear.

Ole Kaelo solely opts to move his family to Nasila from Nakuru. He assumes that they will be comfortable and that by taking them to his newly build house will make them happy. Unfortunately, the family does not know joy there. Pressure from the community to have the girls circumcised is overwhelming and denies them joy. Sex also abounds.

Ole kaelo gets financial and from Oloisudori, an evil man against all expectations.

The result demands to have over his daughter Resian to him. Something that eventually collapses his family.

Ole Kaelo opts not to educate his daughters further and instead hoping that they will get good Nasila man to marry them. This is against the expectation of the girls. Resian tells him in his fate that she will join University. This decision that he makes affects the family unity and his image before them. In the end the family breaks up as the girls opt out.

Ole kaelo resolves to have his daughters circumcised and later handover Resian to Oloisudori to be married by him. This is against her wish as the man is old and she does not love him. Her wish is to join Egerton University to further her studies. It is because of this that Resian leaves and is later followed by Taiyo.

Ole Kaelo blindly makes decision that affects his family as seen above

10. "Diligence and determination are the key to success." Write an essay in support of this saying with illustrations from H. R. Ole Kulet's "Blossoms of the Savannah."

When a person desires to achieve something, no amount of obstacle can deter him/her as long as the ambition lives on. Resian succeeds in fighting FGM, forced marriage, attempted rape and her desire to join university because of her strong determination. `Accept any other valid introduction POINTS OF INTERPRETATION

• Resian is determined to go back to Nakuru and join Egerton University She is determined to take a course in Veterinary Science and become a veterinary doctor. She wants to read everything that there is to be read and put on the graduation regalia at the end of four years. She therefore requests her sister to persuade their father to allow them go back to Nakuru and join the university. Discussing polygamy, Resian reminds Taiyo that she doesn’t want to be a parent in the foreseeable future but wants to study emphasizing that such peripheral matters as marriage will come only after she will have obtained her degree. She enlists for the help of her mother who later becomes elusive. When Taiyo fails to find the most opportune moment to speak to their father, she decides to take the bull by the horns by facing her father at the shop to ask him about her plans of taking her to university. Ole Kaelo tells her she has had enough formal education. Instead, he has sold her to Oloisudori. Unbowed, she tells him she will still go to the university and hopes that his father will be there to witness her graduation. Olarinkoi’s abduction doesn’ t stop her either. She shares her afflictions and dreams with Nabaru. Touched by her physical and mental courage, Nabaru promises to help her do what she intends to do or go where she wants to go once she is back onto her feet, with or without the enkoiboni’s predictions. She later procures a lorry with which she helps recue her out of Olarinkoi’s tentacles and takes her to Minik’s ranch which is a safe haven for young girls escaping female genital mutilation and early marriage. Minik later calls her with her sister and shows them two envelopes containing their letters of admission at the university where they are to report on fifth of September. On the very day, they board Minik's vehicle and travel to the university. They cannot believe that their long cherished ambition and adoration had at long last become a reality. Resian says prayerfully that all is well that ends well. 4, 18, 71, 87, 206-207,279,281,284*
• Resian wins against the attempted sexual assault by Olarinkoi After being abducted by Olarinkoi, Resian is consoled by a dream in which she meets the Emakererei who promises her all kinds of wonderful things. Her sweet dream is, however, interrupted rudely and violently by Olarinkoi. Drunk, he walks to the terrified Resian, gets holds of her shoulders and shakes her violently glaring at her with his glittering eyes. He tells her that she is his wife and he will find out how educated her body is. He gets hold of her, drags her into the other room and begins unfastening her buttons with his rough trembling hands. Panicking and terrified, Resian tries to get away from him, but he holds her effortlessly as he brutally continues to fumble with her dress, trying to loosen it. Resian screams as loud as she can in vain as her abductor holds her more firmly with his strong arms and against her loud protests, he tears her garments and begins to push her towards the bed. Resian doesn’t give in, however. She desperately takes her last chance of self-defense and self-preservation. She musters all her strength, thrusts his thumb into her mouth, sinks her teeth into the flesh like a ferocious animal and tenaciously holds onto it, tugging at it fiercely like a lioness and tears it. She clings unto the thumb as Olarinkoi howls in pain, tries to push away but she holds on, digging deeper into the flesh, nearly severing the limb as Olarinkoi cries loudly. Olarinkoi struggles to escape the wrath of Resian’s teeth. He knocks and manages to escape. Although she faints, she manages to prevent Olarinkoi from defiling her. later, feeling embarrassed, Olarinkoi apologizes and assures her that he will not repeat what he tried to do. p.220, 212, 215, 222, 223, 240-241, 245, 248, 249
• Resian successfully fights forced marriage. Oloisudori who is hugely owed by Ole Kaelo gets attracted to Resian upon seeing her when he visits Kaelo’s home. He takes advantage of Ole Kaelo’s assurance that he cannot be denied anything in his home by telling his host that he is interested in his daughter, Resian. Grudgingly, Ole Kaelo consents. Later, he arrives and pays dowry for Resian. The briefcase of five hundred thousand shillings plus other princely gifts like a pretty golden brooch and twelve lengths of different kinds of materials, a golden pendant, golden bracelet a cutely designed golden ring for Resian to seal the marriage. Determined to ward off any possible marriage plans, Resian swears to show Oloisudori that she was a chattel to be secured by the content of a briefcase. With her sister, she intends to show him that they were not on sale and that they were not equal to the prize the briefcase. They are determined to show him that they were young women who had their own pride, self-respect and self-esteem and not rudderless objects drifting in the sea without direction. P196. Determinedly, Resian asserts that she will try to face him bravely and tell him what she thinks of him they plan to repackage the gifts and return them to the monster-Oloisudori. P. 195-198 Oloisudori invites the Kaelo’s to his palatial home in Nakuru Milimani area to show them the magnificent house he had been building for Resian. He had been beautifying it in order to make Resian fall in love with upon seeing it. So much that on seeing it, Ole Kaelo is attracted so much to the wealth that he decides that he was not going to allow his daughter’ s ignorance to destroy her future. He declares that as a father, he had a Godgiven duty to guide her to a secure future; to lead her to the honey pot that would be part of her future. A plan to ensnare Resian is hatched. Kaelo would prepare the ground for Oloisudori’s coming to persuade Resian into the marriage. If she refused, his men would arrive in the evening, pounce on and abduct Resian and drive her to her house in Nakuru. When she refuses, the three-Oloisudori, Kaelo and Mama Milanoi connive and agree on abducting Resian and forcefully marrying her. In his third visit, Oloisudori reveals to Resian that she is his wife and that their fate is sealed and that only death shall par them. Resian screams at him telling that he is mad…stark mad to think that she is his wife. She adds that she can only be his wife over her dead body and that he and her father can kill her and take her body to Oloisudori’s palatial home. Excruciatingly pained by Oloisudori’s remarks, Resian storm out of the house and heads to the shop to confirm this plans from her father. He confirms her fears by telling her that Oloisudori has asked to marry her. she interrupts her father by shouting and screaming. She tells him to better kill her than hand her over to Oloisudori. Even the revelation by her father that he has already taken dowry from Oloisudori and that she is his wife whe likes it or not doesn’t deter Resian. She walks out on her father and rushes to Nasila river as she contemplates committing suicide. She is prepared to die than marry Oloisudori. Luckily, Olarinkoi appears and saves her. She later reveals to Nabaru her dreams of meeting Minik. However, Olarinkoi is determined to fulfil her mother’s prophesy of marrying Resian and living with her in Tanzania. Olarinkoi’s abduction doesn’t stop her either. She shares her afflictions and dreams with Nabaru. Touched by Resian’s physical and mental courage, Nabaru promises to help her do what she intends to do or go where she wants to go once she is back onto her feet, with or without the enkoiboni’ s predictions. She later procures a lorry with which she helps recues out of Olarinkoi’s tentacles to Minik’s ranch where she finds a safe haven for young girls escaping female genital mutilation and early marriage. P.93-95,194,192,197,195,203-210,213215,222-224,245-247,248-249.
• Resian manages to fight female genital mutilation. Her mother tells her that F.G.M is in everyone’s lips in Nasila. It is so entrenched that Resian and her sister experience so much contempt from the vagabond who first accosts them. For Ole Supeyo and his ilk, circumcision was "an important practice which tamed an otherwise wild gender." P.22. he says that"...a certain measure of docility was necessary to keep more than of lots of poisons." P.22. He and Ole Musanka castigate Minik who protects girls from this practice. It is therefore difficult for Resian to escape especially when her father, after the cultural reception declares that after his wife "prepares his daughters to appreciate and accept their future responsibilities as mothers and home builders" and after Joseph Parmuat "teaches them a few home truths", they will "...call the enkamuratani to play her part before we give them away..." P.61 Aware that men "...are the creators of the labyrinth the women continue to meander around...P.91 she promises to escape going through this barbaric practice. Resian declares that the enkamuratani’s "…withered, claw-like hands would only touch her over her dead body..."P.58. she declares that over her dead body will she be circumcised. She says she would rather live in a noisy place than live anywhere near a vagabond who would accost her ...with the intention of mutilating her sexuality. P.33 • Resian and Taiyo vow to join Minik in fighting against F.G.M. P.87 To escape, she constantly reminds her sister to persuade their father to allow them travel back to Nakuru. However, this doesn’t go through. Even so, her determination sees her escape from home through the ‘ help’ of Olarinkoi. When she later learns from about the mono-eyed woman and her son’s determination to clip that erogenous salacity from you that destroys homes… in order …. become a respectable woman worthy..."P.229 • Resian's determination to live through the challenge inspires Nabaru to support her escape "...I am willing to help you do what you intend to do or go where you want to go once you are back onto your feet..."P. 233. She finally manages to escape from Olarinkoi and meets her mentor Minik, the anti-crusader of F.G.M. pgs: 224-225,232-234, 242,245-249 253, 277278*
• Resian’s wins in her will to meet her mentor; Minik, the Emakererei. She first hears about Minik when Ole Musanka places a voluble on Minik contemptuously referred to the wasp on account of her advocacy to maintain intoiye nemengalana amongst their daughters. Resian and her sister, Taiyo wonder who Minik is and why she evokes so much virulent hatred amongst Nasila people.52,53. When her further confirms that he has already sold her to Oloisudori, she contemplates ending her life. However, Olarinkoi finds her at Nasila river and offers to help her fulfil her dream of meeting Minik. However, Olarinkoi changes his mind and decides that she is his wife and even attempts to rape her. The rape attempt wears her down. However, Olarinkoi’s abduction doesn’t stop her from meeting her mentor. She shares her afflictions and dreams with Nabaru. Touched by her physical and mental courage, Nabaru promises to help her do what she intends to do or go where she wants to go once she is back onto her feet, with or without the enkoiboni’s predictions. She later procures a lorry with which she helps recues out of Olarinkoi’s tentacles to Minik’s ranch where she finds a safe haven for young girls escaping female genital mutilation and early marriage.
• Minik’s determination to save girls/Taiyo from F.G.M and forced marriage respectively pays off. In her efforts to save young girls from retrogressive customs, she had come to persuade Ole Supeyo not to circumcise his five daughters. She is so insistent that the old man has to forcefully eject her out of hiss homestead, threatening to clobber her. p. 21,22 despite being abhorred in Nasila she doesn’t relent in her efforts to save the helpless girls who are circumcised and married off at an early age. A case in point is Taiyo whom she rescues from Olosudori who has already managed to have her circumcised and is planning to marry her off against her will. She had sent her rescue team to trace Taiyo. It was easy to find her as for the home in which she was kept was being guarded day and night by fierce armed men. The rescue team had to retreat to Nasila to find Parmuat, their contact man who had initially directed them to Esoit. They make several attempts to save Taiyo and almost giving up when Parmuat manages to help them rescue Taiyo by luring Oloisudori’s the whole team of guards into a beer party, leaving Taiyo unguarded. They team strikes and scampers away with Taiyo like men fleeing from a burning village for three kilometres, to spot where they had left their vehicle. They escape the stones that are thrown at them. Later, when Oloisudori shows up at the ranch to take one of Ole Kaelo’s daughters, Minik does not allow him. She orders him to get out of the place fast for his own safety and the safety of his expensive machines, adding that the two girls are under her charge and that none of them will be taken away from her. she steels herself and looks into his eyes with an unwavering stare. when he orders his men to get Resian, her four hundred energetic workers who had just eaten to their fill surged forward and in no time reduced Oloisudori’s convoy into smouldering shells and acrid smell of burning tyres besides clobbering Oloisudori and his men thoroughly to the extent that they had to run away. P. 281-284
• Nabaru's determination helps Resian escape F.G.M, forced marriage to Olarinkoi and take her to Minik, her mentor. Frustrated by her father's determination to sell her ofc to Oloisudori, Resian runs to Nasila where she contemplates suicide. Olarinkoi finds her there and offers to help her fulfill her dream of meeting Minik. However, Olarinkoi changes his mind and decides that she is his wife and even attempts to rape her. The rape attempt wears her down. Luckily, she finds a God-given mother in Nabaru, who is so much touched by her physical and mental courage that she promises to help her do what she intends to do or go where she wants to go once she is back onto her feet, with or without the enkoiboni’s predictions. She feeds her well and nurses her until she regains her strength, which was necessary for her escape. She later procures a lorry with which rescues her. Olarinkoi hangs on the lorry, threatening fire and termination, but Nabaru's will sees Resian escape to Minik’s ranch where she finds a safe haven for young girls escaping female genital mutilation and early marriage. (Accept any 4 well illustrated points. Mark 3;3;3;3) Total 12 marks Grammar and Presentation- 4 marks

Conclusion In conclusion, Resian and Minik succeed to achieve their goals due to their unwavering determination. Accept any other valid conclusion-2 marks

11. Basing your illustrations on Blossoms of the Savannah, write an essay to negate the saying “Blood is thicker than water” (20 marks)

Actions by some characters in Blossoms of the Savannah tend to negate the saying ‘blood is thicker than water.’ We expect family bonds to be the strongest and the loyalty to be true yet that is not the case. Ole Kaelo and Mama Milanoi put their daughters Taiyo and Resian through harrowing experiences and ironically, they get help from strangers such as Nabaru and Minik ene Nkoitoi.

Ole Kaelo’s actions go against the saying blood is thicker than water. Although he is Resian’s father, he abhors her for no apparent reason. Ole Kaelo intimidates Resian so much and she only finds solace in her sister Taiyo. Ole Kaelo teams up with Oloisudori to hatch an evil plan to kidnap Resian, anesthetize her and have her circumcised should she turn down Oloisudori’s proposal. He is against her ambitions of joining Egerton University with the intention of marrying her off to an old man she hates. This indeed negates the saying; blood is thicker than water.

Mama Milanoi’s actions also negate the saying blood is thicker than water. In the face of Resian’s constant intimidation by her own father, Mama Milanoi fails to protect her. Resian constantly rushes to Taiyo for a shoulder to lean on. She also deceives Taiyo using Resian’s plight, to accompany the three women to Esoit where she is savagely circumcised against her will. Surprisingly, Taiyo is rescued by Joseph Parmuat, who is not a blood relative; sadly, he loses his life. Indeed, this is a testament that family bonds may sometimes be the weak link in a relationship.

Taiyo’s experiences in Nasila prove that sometimes family ties are not the strongest ties. Her father is clearly inconsiderate of her feelings and needs when he denies her a chance to attend a music extravaganza in Mombasa. When she is kidnapped, help comes from unexpected quarters. She is rescued by Minik ene Nkoitoi’s team. Joseph Parmuat, a distant clan member, sacrifices himself for Taiyo’s sake when her parents seem indifferent. Indeed; this negates the saying blood is thicker than water.

Lastly, Nabaru the enkabaani cares for Resian more than her mother does. Resian even calls her a “God given mother”. Although they are not related, Nabaru proves to be caring and motherly. She tends to Resian following the nasty beating she received from Olarinkoi. When her father tries to forcefully marry her off to Oloisudori, Resian escapes to Inkiito with the help of Olarinkoi; little does she know that he has ulterior motives. He attempts to rape her and hurts her badly. During her 3 weeks stay at Inkiito, Resian receives tender care in terms of medical attention and food from Nabaru. She is not only a loving and caring mother to her, but also a valuable friend and confidant. She also rescues her from the hands of Olarinkoi and his evil mother Enkoiboni despite the fact that she has been paid handsomely in order to be part of the scheme. This also negates the popular belief that blood is thicker than water.

To sum up, Mama Milanoi and Ole Kaelo prove that family members can turn out to be our greatest enemies and occasionally help comes from people who are not necessarily related to us.

12. Determination leads to victory. Write an essay to qualify this claim basing your illustration on H.E Ole Kulet’s Blossoms of the Savannah (20 marks)

Trying to achieve something difficult relentlessly and resolutely always results in success. In other words, steadfastness pays off. In Blossoms of the Savannah Resian’s strength of will pays off when she beats all the challenges and manages to go to the university against all odds. She breaks the shackles of unsupportive parents, archaic cultural practices of FGM and early marriages and cruel patriarchal beliefs to achieve her dream of enrolling at Egerton University.

Resian is determined to join Egerton University to pursue a course in Veterinary Medicine, a dream she manages to achieve. From the onset, Resian is resolute about her ambition of joining Egerton University. She obstinately urges her sister to talk to their father about their prospect of returning to Nakuru to enroll at Egerton University. Although her father does not support this, she still fights determinedly until she achieves her dream. Her determination makes her trust Olarinkoi who has promised to take her to Ntare-naaju ranch to meet Emakererei who is to aid her pursue her dream. The journey is tumultuous but she beats all odds and finally departs for Egerton on 5th September.

Resian is determined to cheat the cultural expectations and remain uncircumcised, a feat she manages to achieve. When Ole Kaelo relocates to Nasila from Nakuru, there is immense pressure on him to circumcise his girls to evade the derogatory title of father to intoiye nemengalana (uncircumcised girls). He is torn between the Nasila culture and his daughter’s liberty and needs. Some men like Ole Supeyo circumcised all their girls and married them off to prominent men in Nasila. He says that women have to be circumcised to control their wild nature. Ole Musanka, a dignified elder insists that girls must be circumcised. Other women like Enkamuratani, Enkasakatoni and Enkaitoyoni also vehemently support the cut. She risks her life by blindly trusting Olarinkoi with sheer need to escape the cut. She manages to escape from Nasila to Ntare-naaju albeit through difficult situations. Eventually, she escapes both FGM and early marriage.

Resian also manages to escape the suffocating chains of patriarchy when accosted by Oloisudori; she manages to escape forced marriage to an old man due to her steely steadfastness. Oloisudori hatches a heartless plan to have Resian kidnapped and even anesthetized if need be. He plans to forcefully have her circumcised and to marry her as a sixth wife. He manages to arm twist Ole Kaelo into accepting the deal by using gifts including 500,000 shillings and a mansion for Resian in Milimani-Nakuru. Resian is neither lured nor sucked in by Oloisudori’s pompous show of financial might. She calls him mad and says she can only marry him over her dead body. Even though Oloisudori, Ole Kaelo and Mama Milanoi conspire to have her married to Oloisudori, her sheer determination helps her to avoid this.

Resian manages to fight off Olarinkoi who is led to believe that their impending marriage is destiny as prophesied by her diviner mother. She prophesied that Olarinkoi would live with the Kaelos and later marry one of his daughters. He kidnaps her and hides her in a dungeon in the sleepy village of Inkiito after deceiving her. He even tries to rape her. Resian’s courage and determination is seen when she fights bravely and bites him badly while defending herself. She endures harrowing life in Olarinkoi’s hut that is crawling with rats, lizards and snakes. She remembers the Biblical story of Job and how he triumphed because of perseverance. Eventually she manages to escape with the help of Nabaru the enkabaani. Inspired by her bravery and determination, Nabaru walks through the dangerous Inkiito terrain until she finds and convinces a lorry driver to make a detour in order to help Resian. Finally, she meets Minik ene Nkoitoi, who helps her to enroll at Egerton University.

Resian beats all odds and achieves her dreams. Surely, determination leads to victory.

13. “Our greatest enemies are those close to us.” Basing your argument on H.E Ole Kulet’s Blossoms of the Savannah write an essay to qualify this assertion. (20 Marks)

More often than not, we are harmed or betrayed by those close to us. Our close family members, trusted friends, or other relatives sometimes turn out to be our biggest adversaries. In Blossoms of the Savannah Mama Milanoi betrays her own daughter Taiyo when she deceives her and has her savagely circumcised against her will. Other characters that highlight this vice are Oloisudori and Ole Kaelo.

Parsimei Ole Kaelo is an enemy to his own daughter Resian. He has abhorred her since she was born because he expected a boy. He plans to have Resian forcefully circumcised and married off to a sly and cunning extortionist Mr. Oloisudori, a man she vehemently hates. Oloisudori financed Ole Kaelo’s businesses and helped him to acquire a magnificent home in Nasila. He uses his guile and money to lure Ole Kaelo and Mama Milanoi into accepting his odd demand. Ole Kaelo schemes with Oloisudori to have his own daughter kidnapped and anesthetized should she turn down his proposal. He equates her to a stubborn kid that refuses to suckle. Ultimately, Ole Kaelo fails in his bid to please Oloisudori and to fulfill his own avarice since Resian escapes, leaving them reeling in turmoil.

Oloisudori Loonkiya turns out to be an enemy to Ole Kaelo. They are friends and business allies. Although he knows that Oloisudori is a criminal, he does not expect him to betray their friendship. When Oloisudori visits Ole Kaelo’s home and meets Resian he falls in love with her and demands to marry her. She also has to be circumcised. Oloisudori is an old man while Resian is still a teenager. Ole Kaelo is shocked by this strange demand and beseeches him to drop it and ask for anything else. Oloisudori uses his financial strength and emotional blackmail to convince Ole Kaelo to bless the union. He gives him 500,000 shillings as dowry. This evil scheme fails when Resian tells Oloisudori off in his face and escapes. Oloisudori later faces the wrath of Minik ene Nkoitoi and his vehicles are destroyed.

Olarinkoi betrays Resian’s trust. He looks odd but seemingly harmless. He is accepted into the Kaelo homestead where he visits freely and eats together with them. He deceives them with food supplies. He earns Resian’s trust when he rescues Taiyo and her from their would-be rapists Ntara and Lante. He turns out to be Resian’s foe when he deceives and kidnaps her taking her to Inkiito instead of Ntare-naaju. He plans to have her circumcised and to marry her and escape with her to Tanzania. He attempts to rape her and causes grievous bodily harm on her. His evil scheme also fails when Nabaru helps Resian to escape from his home. He is also forced into hiding after his shameless rape attempt.

Mama Milanoi is an adversary to her own daughters. She fails to speak up for them but instead selfishly guards her marriage. She is scared to ask her husband to let them join Egerton University. In the face of constant intimidation, she fails to offer her protective wings to Resian who only finds solace in Taiyo. She is privy to the evil scheme to have Resian kidnapped and forcefully circumcised and married to Oloisudori but she remains callously indifferent. She laughs when Ole Kaelo compares her to an obstinate kid. She also blatantly lies and convinces Taiyo to follow the three women to Esoit where she is brutally circumcised. Surely, our family members turn out to be our biggest foes.

Lastly, Ntara son of Muyo betrays Resian and Taiyo. He is their relative. Although he is of the Ilukumae clan, he is their first cousin. He is a son of Mama Milanoi’s sister who married Muyo an elder. He accosts them while in the company of Lante son of Kanyira and attempts to rape them. In the scuffle that ensues, the girls are injured. They are rescued by Olarinkoi. It is odd that he tries to rape his own cousins. He is later apprehended and beaten up mercilessly. He is also fined three heifers.

In conclusion, the events in Blossoms of the Savannah prove that those close to us turn out to be our greatest adversaries.

• Oloisudori betrays Ole Kaelo. Though they were close business friends. Oloisudori blackmails Ole Kaelo so that Ole Kaelo has no option but to marry off his daughter to Oloisudori.
• Mama Milanoi who is the mother to Taiyo betrays her by allowing her to accompany three women to take her to Resian only for her to end up being forcefully subjected to F.G.M.
• Ole Kaelo, father to Taiyo refuses to allow his daughter Taiyo to travel to Mombasa with the other youth selected by an FM radio station for a music extravaganza. To him participating would be like engaging in prostitution.
• Ole Kaelo also betrays his daughter's ambitions to join Egerton University preferring instead to marry them off to Oloisudori. This shows he is not ready to help them realize their dreams as a father should do.
• Ole Kaelo betrays Resian. He openly shows his resentment to Resian. Constantly rebuking her for even the slightest of mistake she makes. He hates because he expected a boy child not a girl child. This leaves Resian with a low self-esteem and fearful.
• Olarinkoi, who is occasionally accommodated by the Ole Kaelo's and is even though he is not part of their family, later betrays the Ole Kaelo's when he abducts Resian with the intention of eloping with her. This is betrayal to a family that had hosted him. 

14. “Individuals who are selfless and determined are always rewarded in life”. Using illustrations from the novel Blossoms of the Savannah, write an essay in support of this statement. (20 Marks)

Some individuals show great concern for other people by sacrificing their valuable time and possession for others. Their steadfast spirit coupled with their selflessness always results in success. In Blossoms of the Savannah Minik ene Nkoitoi and Nabaru are characters who are rewarded for such acts of kindness. They achieve what they set out to do.

Minik ene Nkoitoi is not only selfless but also determined. Her resoluteness pays off. First, she manages to go to Makerere University to pursue a course in veterinary medicine, which is no mean feat for a Maa woman. For instance, all of Ole Supeyo’s daughters were circumcised and married off to prominent Nasilian elders. Although Minik was also circumcised, that does not hinder her from achieving her dreams. She manages a sheep ranch at Ntare-naaju. Unlike other Maa women who subserviently coil before men, ene Nkoitoi remains an assertive individual who succeeds because of her resoluteness.

Apart from her success in education and career, Minik also succeeds in her fight against needless cultural practices like FGM. She relentlessly puts up a spirited fight against FGM and early marriages. She faces stiff resistance from conservative chauvinists such as Ole Supeyo, Ole Musanka and Oloisudori but she stays steadfast in her quest to abolish the inessential traditions. Even fellow women like enkamuratani, enkasakatoni and enkaitoyoni fuel the practices further. Minik has been labeled entagoroi (wasp) but she does not relent. Due to her selflessness she manages to rescue five hundred thousand girls and sacrifices her valuable time and resources to make them comfortable. Resian and Taiyo also benefit from her selfless nature. She accommodates and feeds them and enables them to join Egerton University. Indeed, Selfless and determined characters always succeed.

Nabaru is also both selfless and determined. When Olarinkoi deceives and kidnaps Resian and takes her to Inkiito instead of Ntare-naaju, Nabaru’s help comes in handy. She nurses and feeds Resian like her own daughter. She gives her water, milk, bits of olpurda, pounded mutton and ugali. She reveals the evil plan that enkoiboni has for Resian. She selflessly nurses and feeds Resian for over 12 days. Although she has been paid handsomely, she abandons the initial plan and chooses to help Resian. In her Resian finds not only a loving and caring mother but also a valuable friend and confidant. She makes Resian comfortable by making her a bed using her two blankets. She manages to make Resian’s stay at Inkiito a bit bearable. She succeeds since selfless individuals more often than not achieve success.

Nabaru is also determined to help Resian escape the cut and marriage to Olarinkoi; she succeeds. She walks a long distance to the next shopping centre to find a driver, Lebutu, and convinces him to help her rescue Resian. She makes a daring and determined trek considering the terrain was dangerous and riddled with wild animals. She succeeds since she ensures Resian arrives safely at Ntare-naaju and meets her role model Minik ene Nkoitoi, the emakererei. Resian refers to her as yeiyo-ai-nanyorr which means my beloved mother. Nabaru’s resolute spirit helps Resian evade circumcision and marriage and instead get chance to join her dream institution- Egerton University. Olarinkoi and enkoiboni fail terribly but Nabaru succeeds.

In conclusion, it is indeed true to say selfless and determined individuals are usually rewarded in life.

15. “Bad deeds always go unrewarded.” Write a composition to support this assertion basing your illustration on HR Ole Kulet’s Blossoms of the Savannah. (20 Marks)

Individuals who commit atrocities more often than not fail to achieve whatever they are trying to achieve. Some individuals do shocking or cruel things due to their selfishness but they never succeed. In Blossoms of the Savannah, Olarinkoi, who tries to rape Resian, is hurt and humiliated and he fails to marry her. Ole Kaelo and Oloisudori’s atrocities also fail to bear fruits.

Oloisudori plans to forcefully circumcise and marry Resian against her will but he fails terribly. Oloisudori is a sly extortionist tricks Ole Kaelo (Resian’s father) into a business partnership. After helping Ole Kaelo secures several lucrative contracts, he demands to marry Resian forcefully. Resian hates him since he acts suggestively when the first meet. Ole Supeyo had earlier cautioned Ole Kaelo about his randy traits. He tries to woo her with gifts such as a golden brooch and bracelet and a spectacular house which she duly hands back. He hatches a callous plan to have Resian kidnapped and anesthetized should she turn down the proposal. He fails terribly since Resian calls him mad and says he can only marry her over her dead body. Even after spending millions of shillings and using unethical means to get a wife, Oloisudori fails to get Resian hand in marriage.

Olarinkoi, who kidnaps Resian with a view of marrying her, is unrewarded. Olarinkoi is a wolf in sheep’s clothing. He pretends to be a friend to the Kaelos when he lives with them. He rescues Taiyo and Resian when Ntara and Lante try to rape them thus earning Resian’s trust. He tricks Resian into believing that he will take her to Ntare-naaju to meet Minik ene Nkoitoi, and avoid circumcision and marriage to Oloisudori. Instead he takes her to Inkiito village where he tries to rape her and assaults her until she passes out. Resian’s journey to Inkiito and the stay there is harrowing. Luckily she escapes with the help of Nabaru. Thus Olarinkoi fails to marry her. He is also forced into hiding due to shame and nearly loses a finger when Resian almost severs it. Surely, bad deeds always go unrewarded.

Ole Kaelo’s greed for material possession does not bear fruits. Ole Kaelo is sucked in by Oloisudori’s opulence and apparent generosity that he fails to see the danger he exposes himself and his family into. After getting into a business partnership with Oloisudori, he is thrown into turmoil when Oloisudori demands to marry Resian. He is faced with a dilemma of either losing his daughter’s faith and love or losing his lucrative contracts and possibly his magnificent house. After visiting Oloisudori’s palatial homes, Ole Kaelo chooses wealth over Resian’s happiness. He warms up to the idea of having Resian kidnapped and anesthetized. He receives 500, 000 shillings among other gifts but fails to have Resian marry Oloisudori. She runs away from home leaving his father confused! His evil plans prove futile.

Mama Milanoi selfishly guards her marriage at the expense of her daughter’s happiness. She is a conservative conformist who remains subservient and fails to protect Taiyo and Resian. When they move to Nasila, she is delighted since her daughters would be married by prominent men. She is, however, stuck between the devil and the deep, blue sea of either losing her daughters’ faith and love or going against the Nasila traditions. She deceives Taiyo and aids three women to abduct her and whisk her away to Esoit village where she is forcibly and brutally circumcised. She hopes to have her married to Oloisudori so that they keep the business contracts and maintain the enviable living standards in Nasila. Her plan fails since Taiyo is rescued by Minik ene Nkoitoi’s team and taken to Ntare-naaju where she joins other girls. Resian and she swear never to be subservient like their mother! Indeed, bad deeds always go unrewarded.

In conclusion, bad deeds never bear any fruits instead the perpetrators fail terribly.

16. Irresponsible decisions can lead to serious consequences. Referring closely to H.R. Ole Kulet's Blossoms of the Savannah, write an essay in support of this statement.

When people make decisions that are devoid of good judgement the results are usually adverse. People like Ole Kaelo and Oloisudori suffer as a result of their rash decision.

Ole Kaelo makes an irresponsible decision when he engages in business with Oloisudori. When Ole Kaelo is retrenched from Agribix Limited, he chooses to relocate to Nasila, his native home, with his family. Here, he opens a shop dealing in Agricultural products. His business is funded by Oloisudori. Oloisudori also helps him to secure some business contracts. He helps Ole Kaelo to secure a 4 years' contract to supply all government institutions in Nasila with agricultural inputs like fertilizer, seeds, herbicides, fungicides et cetera. His mentor Ole Supeyo warns him against his involvement with Oloisudori. He says that Oloisudori is corrupt. He equates him to a hyena and a randy he-goat and cautions Ole Kaelo to keep him away from his daughters. Ole Kaelo does not heed. This decision haunts him when Oloisudori asks for his daughter Resians' hand in marriage. Resian has to be circumcised first. Her dream is to enrol at Egerton University. When she learns of her father's plan, she confronts him at his shop and he slaps her, further straining their relationship. She runs to Nasila river where she contemplates suicide. Olarinkoi finds her and promises to take her to Ntare naaju to meet Minik ene Nkoitoi, who could help her pursue her education. Ole Kaelo's rash decision makes him to lose his daughter. She leaves Nasila with Olarinkoi.

Mama Milanoi makes an unwise decision when she keeps a low profile when her daughters are subjected to punitive cultural practices. When they relocate to Nasila after Ole Kaelo is retrenched, Taiyo and Resian suffer the stigma of being labelled "intoiye nemengalana". Ole Kaelo plans to circumcise Resian and marry her off to Oloisudori. Mama Milanoi knows that her dream is to join Egerton university and pursue a degree in Veterinary medicine. She however fails to defend Resian against the pressure from society to have her circumcised and married off against her will. She succumbs to the pressure of the Nasilian culture. She knows that FGM is a tortorous and painful experience but she still fails to speak to Ole Kaelo against it. She is privy to the details of having Resian abducted and forcefully circumsised but she still remains silent. The painful outcome of her subservience is that Resian esacpes from home with the help of Olarinkoi and she eventually manages to meet Minik ene Nkoitoi and to enrol at Egerton University. Mama Milanoi loses her daughter's trust.

Ole Kaelo suffers when he chooses to deny Resian and Taiyo a chance to pursue their education at Egerton university. Parsimei Ole Kaelo instead asks Joseph Parmuat, a teacher, to teach them cultural aspects of Nasila in preparation for circumcision and marriage. Resians coaxes her sister Taiyo to speak to their father about the prospect of joining Egerton University on so many occasions, because she burns with passion for education. When she tries to ask her father, he gets so angry at her. He warms up to the idea of marrying her to Oloisudori. Ole Kaelo receives gifts and money from him. He fails to protect her daughter from advances by the corrupt extortionist. Resian finally escapes from Nasila with the help of Olarinkoi and later manages to meet Minik ene Nkoitoi who helps her to finally leave for Nakuru to join Egerton university. Oloisudori loses her as a result.

Oloisudori errs in his decision to follow Resian and Taiyo all the way to Ntare naaju ranch. When his first choice for a wife, Resian, runs away with Olarinkoi, the Kaelo's offer Taiyo as a replacement. Minik's men manage to rescue her from Esoit village but not before she is circumcised. When he loses both of them, Oloisudori pursues them upto Minik ene Nkoitoi's ranch. He knows that Minik is referred to as 'entangoroi' or wasp but still chooses to confront her. He demands for either Resian or Taiyo saying he has paid dowry enough for both. Minik says that she will not release them even to their own father. She asks Oloisudori to leave. He asks his men to grab Resian and then a pandemonium ensues. Minik's 400 workers descend upon them and clobber them thoroughly before torching his expensive vehicles and reducing them to smouldering shells. Oloisudori loses his vehicles and still fails to get a wife even after spending a lot of money, time and effort.

Olarinkoi makes two foolish decisions. First, he abducts Resian and then he tries to rape her. When Resian runs away from home and is contemplating her next course of action by the Nasila River, Olarinkoi arrives and tells her that Oloisudori's men are looking for her all over. He offers to take her to Ntare naaju to meet Minik her icon. She complies owing to the fact that she trusts him since he has been a regular visitor at their home and he saves Taiyo and her when the vagabonds, Ntara Muyo and Lante, try to rape them. Olarinkoi does not keep his word. He instead takes her to Inkiito. He locks her up in a dingy hut. That night he comes back stone drunk insisting that Resian is his wife. He mocks her about her education and he forcefully grabs her tearing her clothes and pushing her to the bed. She defends herself by pushing his thumb into her mouth and sinking her teeth into it until he bleeds. She almost severes the thumb. Olarinkoi suffers physically and also emotionally when he is admonished by his mother until he goes into hiding due to shame. Nabaru, the nurse, who was contracted by the mono-eyed woman to take care of Resian after circumcision helps to rescue her when she brings a lorry driver, who takes them to Ntare naaju. Apart from the physical and emotional pain, Olarinkoi fails to get Resian as a wife as a result of his irresponsible decision.

Mama Milanoi makes an irresponsible decision when she tricks Taiyo into circumcision. When Resian runs away with Olarinkoi to avoid marriage to Oloisudori, Taiyo is offered as a replacement. Mama Milanoi allows her to accompany the three women from Esoit. They lie to Taiyo that Resian is on a hunger strike and has gone for three days without eating. They want her to accompany them to Esoit for Resian's sake. She complies and accompanies them happily since her mother assures her that their father had vowed never to try to marry them by force to any man. At Esoit she is thrown into turmoil as no one attends to her or talks about Resian. She is instead left in a dingy hut. The next morning she is dragged out of the hut by a group of excited women, 20 litres of cold water is emptied on her head before she is forcibly circumcised by 'enkamuratani'. The ordeal is so painful that she passes out. She is later rescued by Minik's men with the help of Joseph Parmuat, who tricks the guards guarding her, with alcohol. The guards attempt to chase after Minik's men,pelting them with stones, but they fail. Parmuat is speared to death. Mama Milanoi loses Taiyo when she is taken to Minik's ranch.

Through characters like Oloisudori and Olarinkoi, we learn that foolish decisions usually lead to bad consequences. We ought to think before we leap.

17. Women suffer in male-dominated societies. Write an essay to validate the truth in this assertion basing your illustrations on Blossoms of the Savannah.

In most societies, men hold primary power and influence. Blossoms of the Savannah highlights the problems women suffer in a male-dominated society. Resian, Taiyo, Mama Milanoi and Minik ene Nkoitoi suffer a myriad of problems in Nasila.

Resian suffers for simply being born a girl. Ole Kaelo is infuriated when his second born child turns out to be a girl. He had prayed for a boy and wanted at least three boys. The society values boys more than girls. A boy would carry the Kaelo's name to the next generation Ole Kaelo offers Resian as a sacrificial lamb when Oloisudori comes looking for a wife. As much as she knows her father hates her, she is shocked that he has the temerity to sell her to a man she hates with a passion. Resian is always sad and aloof owing to her father's mistreatment. Resian feels betrayed by her father and at one point considers committing suicide. She is forced to run away from home with the help of Olarinkoi. Surely, women in male-dominated societies suffer a great deal.

Men in Nasila use FGM to oppress women. Women are considered a wild gender that has to be tamed through FGM. Girls who undergo FGM suffer physical and psychological pain. Uncircumcised girls are mocked, derided and contemptuously referred to as intoiye nemengalana. Circumcised girls are considered decent and accorded respect. The subject of FGM makes Taiyo and Resian feel squeamish, hopeless and downcast. Resian feels that FGM is useless today and is only used by men to oppress women. Taiyo is duped and taken to Esoit village, 5 kilometers away from Nasila, where she is forcibly circumcised. She is dragged out of a hut, splashed with 20 litres of cold water, wrestled to the ground and circumcised. The excruciating procedure is carried out using a bladelike tool known as olmurunya. She faints and only regains consciousness two days later. She even imagines she had died! Even after being rescued, she suffers bouts of sickness, restlessness, weakness and pain. This all happened in order for her to be married off to Oloisudori since men in Nasila do not marry intoiye nemengalana.

In male-dominated societies, women suffer forced early marriages. When Resian learns that she has to marry Oloisudori, she is thrown into a sea of agony. Forced marriage is rampant in Nasila. Oloisudori and Olarinkoi try to marry Resian forcefully. Resian's dream is to join Egerton University. Her father, however, plans to marry her off to Oloisudori against her will. He makes all these plans behind Resian's back. He receives cash and gifts from Oloisudori knowing too well that Resian only values university education. Oloisudori even considers rendering Resian unconscious should she decline his proposal. At Inkiito, Resian realizes that many girls are married to old men. One girl is eighteen and her husband is about seventy five. Such girls live in squalor conditions. To avoid marrying Oloisudori, Resian runs away from home. She endures an agonising 3-week stay at Inkiito battling hostile hosts, mosquitoes, hunger and physical injury. Surely, she suffers a lot when her father tries to marry her off without her consent.

In Nasila, Resian and Taiyo suffer sexual exploitation since they are not circumcised. They are mocked and chided by strangers. Two vagabonds attempt to molest them. Like most men in Nasila, Ntara and Lante do not respect women. When they first meet, Oloisudori harasses Resian despite her being too young for him. She describes him as an ill-mannered devil. At Inkiito, Olarinkoi unsuccessfully tries to rape Resian. He comes home drunk as a skunk and demands for food from her. He then tries to molest her. She fights back fiercely and bites his thumb. Olarinkoi then assaults her viciously rendering her unconscious. For a couple of weeks that follow, Resian endures pain from the attack. Resian and Taiyo undergo physical and emotional anguish in the hands of men who abuse their privacy.

Women in Nasila suffer because they are voiceless. Mama Milanoi is voiceless when her husband plans to marry off Resian to Oloisudori. She cannot even dissuade him from circumcising their daughters. In Nasila, it is men who make decisions. Mama Milanoi suffers sleepless nights pondering in pain owing to the excruciating experience awaiting her daughters yet she remains voiceless. Mama Milanoi is in a dilemma because she is torn between being a dutiful Maa wife and being a protective mother to Taiyo and Resian. As a subservient Maa wife, she has little choice but to submit to her husband and Nasila cultural dictates. She is baffled that an old man like Oloisudori could marry Resian, something that was unheard off during her childhood days. She visits and talks to other women like Yeiyo bottor in an attempt to avert the marriage. The thoughts of early marriage and circumcision take her through mental torture yet the male-dominated society gags her and renders her voiceless. She suffers in silence.

Minik ene Nkoitoi is treated contemptuously by men in Nasila. Men like Simiren and Ole Musanka hate her passionately. She is referred to as entagoroi, a derogatory name for a sharp-tongued woman. When she tries to stop Simiren from circumcising her daughters and marrying them off to old men, he chases her away and almost assaults her physically. Ole Musanka curses her that “she may go down with the setting sun”. Even women in Nasila call her a witch. Minik ene Nkoitoi suffers mistreatment and alienation in Nasila simply because she fights archaic practices like early marriages and FGM, which are perpetuated and fueled by men, with a view of oppressing women.

In summary, it is clear that women suffer in male dominated societies.

18. Betrayal causes pain and strain in the family. Using illustrations from Henry Ole Kulet's Blossoms of the Savannah, write an essay to validate this statement.

Good families are built on trust and love. When we fail or desert our family members, we cause them untold grief. In Blossoms of the Savannah, Taiyo and Resian suffer when their parents betray them.

Ole Kaelo betrays his daughter Resian when he irrationally mistreats her for no apparent reason, causing her untold grief. He fails his daughter because he detests her right from birth. He feels cheated by nature since he had prayed for at least three boys but as fate would have it ends up with two girls. Ole Kaelo loves his first daughter Taiyo but hates her younger sister Resian. He was utterly disappointed when she turned out to be a girl when he prayed for a healthy baby boy to carry the Kaelo’s name to the next generation. He is angered by her body size and intends to dispose of her as soon as possible. Resian feels betrayed since her father intimidates her and her mother fails to protect her from the provocations. Her only reprieve is Taiyo, who gives her a shoulder to cry on. The girls enjoy their father's absence more than his company. Resian wonders why her father despises her so much but does not hate Taiyo. She ponders whether it was her fault. Her father wants her to marry a shady crook named Oloisudori by force. She argues that if her father respected her, he would have listened when she said she disliked Oloisudori. Resian knows that her father hates her but is shocked that he could go as far as selling her. This betrayal causes Resian misery since she was a child and she grows up to be sullen, bewildered and resentful. She even thinks there is a curse for being born a woman. Her nature is darkened with melancholy. The frequent tongue lashing and harshly impatient nature from her father towards her contribute to her tempestuous disposition. She is haunted by nagging complaints and never ending unhappiness. Sometimes she sits alone in the biting cold brooding over her father's inexplicable hateful nature. Her sadness is compounded by the fact that he intends to forcefully marry her off to a monster she hates, in order for his business venture to thrive. The pain pushes her to edge until she contemplates drowning herself in Nasila River in pursuit of peace. Surely, when a father hates his own daughter this, much the result, needless to say, is untold suffering. (Pgs. 9-10, 34, 172-173, 205, 210)

Mama Milanoi betrays both Resian and Taiyo when she chooses to remain indifferent and aloof to her own daughters causing them pain. At first, she has a strange premonition since her daughters are uncircumcised yet the culture demands otherwise. She is thrown into a conundrum of either forcing the girls to undergo FGM and losing their faith, love and confidence, or refusing to yield to tradition at the risk of being labelled a pariah. Instead of fighting to protect her daughters when their father plans to circumcise them, she subserviently bows to pressure and foolishly asserts that culture is everything and it rules their lives. Now that FGM had reared its ugly head, she knows that it was going to wreak havoc in the innocent girls’ young lives. She also knows that her daughters do not expect their own parents to subject them to the excruciating pain and turmoil of FGM. It would be mental torture for them. However, she remains aloof and selfish simply to protect her position as a dutiful Maa wife. She concurs with Yeiyo Bottor that Resian has olkuenyi which can be cured through FGM. She knows that FGM would terribly hurt the girls but she fails to protect them. She kept lying to the girls and reassuring them that nothing sinister was in the offing as they prepared to circumcise them. She laughs with her husband and Oloisudori as they discuss Resian's fate but a feeling of betrayal lingers in her heart. Mama Milanoi fails Resian and Taiyo since she abandons them at the time of need. Taiyo and Resian are angry at their mother and term her as an example of a wife they never wanted to be. She had been held captive by her husband and could not express her own opinion unlike Nabaru and Minik ene Nkoitoi. Resian is forced to run away from home through a harrowing journey but Taiyo pays the ultimate price when she undergoes the excruciating pain of FGM. Surely, when a mother fails to protect her daughters, they suffer. (Pgs. 17, 34, 60-62, 63, 78, 147, 192, 276)

Mama Milanoi tricks her daughter Taiyo into circumcision causing her pain and regret. She calls Taiyo to greet three women visitors from a village called Esoit. They say Resian had sought refuge there after running away from home. They need Taiyo to accompany them since Resian was on a hunger strike and had not eaten anything for three days. They claim they pitied Resian and claim she had mentioned Taiyo who could persuade her to eat and save her life. Since Taiyo is caring and knows Resian depends on her for protection, she buys the story. She is happy since her mother assures her that their father had vowed never to marry them by force to any man. This is the height of deceit and betrayal from a mother. At Esoit, there is no sign of Resian. Taiyo is abandoned in a dingy hut and at dawn she is dragged out, drenched with 20 litres of cold water, wrestled to the ground and forcibly circumcised. Her screams of terror and pain fall on deaf ears. She faints and only gains consciousness two days later, feeling sore, bitter and angry. She even imagines she had died. She is later rescued by Minik ene Nkoitoi but still suffers bouts of pain, intensely painful headaches and weakness. It is difficult to come to terms with the forcible circumcision. Taiyo and Resian blame their father for wanting to please Oloisudori at the detriment of his own daughters. Their mother does not escape their ire. They think she is the embodiment of a bad wife and mother. When a parent betrays their child, they cause the child grief. (Pgs. 272, 274, 275, 276-277)

Ole Kaelo betrays Resian when he agrees to marry her off against her will to a wanton criminal - Oloisudori, causing her untold misery. Oloisudori is a rich man who helps Ole Kaelo by financing his business in Nasila and assists him in acquiring government contracts to supply agricultural inputs. He then demands to marry Resian. Ole Kaelo had been retrenched from his job at Agribix limited in Nakuru and had decided to relocate to his native Nasila to venture into business. Ole Kaelo's mentor Soin Ole Supeyo warns him that Oloisudori was a corrupt criminal, a hyena and a randy he-goat. He cautions him to keep the amorous man away from daughters. He does not heed the warning. Ole Kaelo knows that it is his duty to protect and educate his daughters and it pains him to hand them over to a man they don’t love. He foresees them crying forlornly and questioning the sincerity of his love and the reason for his betrayal. However, he still chooses to betray and sacrifice Resian. He accepts cash and other gifts from Oloisudori. He vows that Resian has to be married by Oloisudori and is party to an evil scheme to abduct her in the event that she resisted. While Mama Milanoi feels they were betraying Resian, Ole Kaelo feels happy and satisfied especially after visiting her potential husband’s palatial homes. As they drive past Egerton University, he feels Resian was foolish for choosing education over marriage to a wealthy man. Resian was speechless when it dawned on her that her father had sold her to Oloisudori. She feels it was a curse being born a woman in Nasila. She knew he disliked her but never thought her own father could sell her. She cries in anger and outrage and accuses him of betrayal and hatred. She says it was better to die than marry her father's monstrous friend. He even slaps her with the view of intimidating her into bowing to pressure of his demands. Resian leaves his office and heads to Nasila River where she contemplates suicide. She instead chooses to flee from home with the help of Olarinkoi and embarks on a harrowing, daunting journey to Ntare Naaju not knowing what awaited her. Resian surely suffers in the wake of her father's betrayal. (Pgs. 26, 108, 111-112, 178, 185, 191-193, 204, 205, 208, 209, 210)

Ole Kaelo betrays his daughter Taiyo when he fails to support her musical aspirations. Taiyo loses trust in her father when he denies her permission to attend an extravaganza organised by an FM radio station. Taiyo loves music. She has excelled in music festivals and been awarded many times. Broadcasting stations noticed her talent and encouraged her to pursue a career in music. Even her parents applauded her on many occasions so she did not expect them to have any objection if she pursued the desire of her heart as a future occupation. An FM station offered her a chance to attend a music extravaganza in Mombasa and attend a short course later. Her father refuses to grant her permission, claiming rather absurdly that performing for money was akin to harlotry. It is evident that Taiyo loves music. It was in her blood. She thoroughly enjoys the children’s performance in Nasila. When her father denies her permission, it leaves a wound in her heart. She stubbornly tries to convince him but loses the fight. This betrayal leaves her seething in rage. (1-2, 44-45)

Lastly, Ole Kaelo betrays his daughter Resian when he refuses to send her to university. Resian is determined to join Egerton University. When they are about to relocate to Nasila from Nakuru, she tells Taiyo that she does not want to work at their father's shop. She wanted to join Egerton University to study veterinary medicine and be called Dr. Resian Kaelo. She requests her sister Taiyo to persuade him to allow them to return to Nakuru and enroll at the university in order to avoid being subjected to outdated traditions. She is not interested in Parmuat's cultural lessons. She only wants formal education which is universally beneficial to all. Her only hope was placed on Taiyo speaking to their father as their mother proved to be either impuissant or unwilling. She, however, chooses to remain optimistic envisioning herself in Egerton University donning academic regalia. She rejects Oloisudori’s gifts and hands them back since her only ambition is to pursue university education. Her father refuses to allow her to join university. He intends to marry her off to Oloisudori, a man Resian deems a monster. She refers to him contemptuously as ol-ushuushi – a reckless person and olbitirr - a warthog. Resian assertively declares that even if she was over eighty years old she would still join university. It is painful for her to struggle, run away from home, suffer in Inkiito in the hands of a callous brute – Olarinkoi, before she finally joins university, courtesy of total strangers Nabaru and Minik. She finds solace in the distant lands of Ntare Naaju when her own parents betray and hurt her. (Pgs. 4, 18, 33, 58, 73, 89, 196, 207, 210)

In brief, when family members fail or desert us, we suffer immense pain or hardship.

19. “As bad as it may be, every culture has a good side. Closely referring to the treatment of the girl child”, write a composition in support of this; drawing your illustrations from H.R. Ole Kulet’s Blossoms of the Savannah.

Introduction Traditional cultures though condemned have been of great help in caring for the interest and safety of the girl child against wayward/predatory men. This is evident in Nasila culture in Blossoms of the Savannah.

• Elder’s court Mama Milanoi laments Oloisudori’s obnoxious act of demanding her daughter Ressian for a wife. Oloisudori is the age mate of Parsimei – Mama Milanoi’s husband. Mama Milanoi recalls that such a thing would have never happened in the past. She says that in those old good days, had her husband tried to enforce such an abomination, she would have appealed to the Elders court which would have ruled him out of order, possibly fined him together with his purported son in law. A public rebuke and cleansing ceremony conducted by the fearsome Oloiboni would shamed the culture – abusers and their collaborators; a deterrent act. (without mentioning of elder’s court, it is thin) page 113-114, 115
• Women’s court Culture also gave aggrieved women room to call for mass action-swift, vindicive and decisive. It was most feared by men. Mama Milanoi recalls an incident of a mannerless old man who got infatuated with a fourteen-year-old daughter of his daughter of his agemate and started stalking her. The man seduces the girl while milking her mother’s cows. The girl reports the incident and her mother appealed to the women’s court for the culprits, let out the calves. No cow was milked no fire was lit in the hearths. Then they attacked the homestead of the accused using firewood, husband’s knobkerries. The old man is beaten thoroughly, stripped naked; teased and paraded naked in all the homesteads. The aggrieved girl would question him and he would be forced to give a certain response. The women’s cry would send all men scampering for safety up in the hills. The accused would be beaten to death. All the men would be denied food and milk till they called the Oloibon to cleanse the homestead and restore peace, love and unit. Such punishment deterred men from offending the sensibilities of Maa. (without appeal to women’s court - thin)Pg 115-117
• Patureishi Joseph Parmuat cultural lessons and dances helps Ressian and Taiyo understand the various kinds of love that young people in Nasila were involved in. Such love include the conventional and the Patureishi. Those involved in conventional were considered betrothed. Should the betrothed misbehave or offend the sensibilities of the Nasula culture and lose the favour of the girl’s parents, he would forfeit right to marry the girl. Patureshi – institution also checked the conduct and behavior of young people and keep them discipline. The young man who violated it or engages in disgraceful act, disrespect for women, the Paturesihi would shame him. A young man who balanced conventional and Patureishi earned respect and was regarded as a potential leader and of the future of Maa. This safeguarded the girl child. (Role of Patureishi must come out clearly, failure - thin) Pg 125-127
• Punishment of the vagabonds Another incident where sensibilities of Nasila was breached is when Taiyo and Resian are returning home from their father’s shop. Two young men accosted and attempted to rape them. They dragged them to the bush and Olarinkoi’s appearance and has intervention saved them. This was a serious violation that left the girls traumatized. When they reported to the family, the entire clan is enraged, and a search for the culprit ensures. When they were caught they were clobbered until they bled profusely. They pleaded for mercy and fearfully hid under the legs of and old man. One of them –Ntara Muyo was their first cousin. The other was Lante-son of Kanyira. Elaborate cleansing ceremony is planned and Ole Kaelo is compensated. Taiyo and Resian went to be paid two heifers each. The tenets of Nasila culture ensured justice for the girls. (without punishment, compensation and cleansing ceremony - thin) Pg 140, 156-164
• Olarinkoi’s Exile Olarinkai offers to evacuate Resian to Ntare Naaju Ranch – the home of Minil-ene -Nkotoi- Emakererei to escape a forcible circumcision and marriage to Oloisudori. Resian who was at the verge of committing suicide saw a savior in Olarinkoi and accepts the offer gratefully. However, he takes her to Inkiito where he goes drinking and comes in at night and attempts to rape her. She bites his thumb and he hurts her until she passes on. Nabaru who nursed her tells her that the mono eyed woman – Olarinkoi’s mother had prophesied her marriage to his son but the attempted rape diluted everything. Olorinkoi is banished into exile for days and later the marriage fails to materialize pg 232 – 234
• Ill-intent men Resian blames her father for the tension in the family for being forced to stay behind to host Oloisudori against her will – Resian opines that this is the neo-culture. Girl child was always protected and shielded from males who ogled and stare at them with no good intentions. Where there were male visitors, the girls were taken to their aunt’s houses to avoid meeting some of these ill-intent fellows. The aunts would instead serve the guests. Fathers too had minimum interaction with their daughters and guarded jealously their privacy and guaranteed them security(without the shielding of girls from men; taking them to aunt’s place, score thin). Pg 174-175

Conclusion It is therefore clear that most traditions of the people have a way of ensuring that its daughters’ security was guaranteed and there is need to perpetuate them.

20. Some cultural practices are archaic and out dated. Write an essay in support of this statement. (20mks)

Introduction This can be general, specific or general specific bringing out the retrogressive nature of cultural practices imposed on people of diverse cultures.

• Female genital mutilation which is depicted as a compulsory rite of passage if a girl has to be respected, valued and married. Expound on Resian’s and Taiyo’s experiences in Nasila.
• Under- age marriages where young girls are denied the right to pursue further education and ambitions e.g Resian and Taiyo are sold off by their father to Oloisudori without their consent.
• Barring people from getting married or involved in a relationship if they are considered to be of the same clan but not related by blood eg Joseph and Taiyo
• Male chauvinism where men feel they are superior to women eg Ole Kaelo’s and Mama Milanoi’s situation concerning their daughters’ circumcision, lesson on Maa culture,Olarinkoi’s demand that Resian cooks for him,Ole Supeyo’s opinion on women circumcision as being dehorned and therefore being made docile and submissive, Oloisudori being sarcastic towards Resian after having confirmed that he has already bought her off from her father and that she can do nothing concerning the betrothal( His word was final)
• Seeing girl child education as a waste of time eg Ole Kaelo totally denies his daughters pursuing further education saying the education they have is enough and Joseph was asked to teach the girls on the reqirements of a respectable Nasilan woman and later get cicurmcised as they await getting married. Ole Supeyo educates his sons upto the University level yet his daughters don’t get such opportunity but married off to prominent men in Nasila .

Conclusion: Recap on the points discussed in the content.

21. “Self-interest is a vice that whoever engages in it is bound to fail” Using Blossoms of the Savannah, write an essay to support this assertion. (20mks)

Introduction When one does something in the hope of benefiting himself or herself, the person is most likely not to succeed in his or her endeavors. This is well illustrated by Ole kulet in Blossoms of the savannah. (2mks) Accept any other valid introduction.

• Ole Kaelo’s self interest make him to engage in things which later on make him regret his decisions. Ole kaelo is advised by a friend Ole supeyo about the kind of man Oloisudori is. He is told that Oloisudori is not a man of integrity and warns him about doing business with him. He is even warned to keep his daughters away from him. Later this man causes him great worry when he threatens to bring his business down if he does not give him his daughter in marriage. Since Ole Kaelo does not want to lose his business and the money given to him by Oloisudori he accepts to offer Resian to oloisudori, leading to him losing his two daughters in end when Resian escapes to Miniks place and later Taiyo who was rescued by Minik’s men.
• Mama Milanoi decides to participate in offering her two daughters to Oloidudori. First Resian who ecapes then Taiyo. She fears going against ole Kaelo since she knows what is at stake if she does. This action makes her lose the trust of her daughters and they are angry with her and vow that they would not want to be like her marriage. In the end she also loses her two daughters.
• Olarinkoi seems to be a mystery in Ole Kaelo’s house, though he has his hidden intentions. He pretends to be of help to Resian when he finds her by the river after being disappointed by Ole kaelo the father. After taking Resian to his place, he turns into a beast by trying to rape Resian and even planning to circumcise her by force before marrying her. But Resian protects herself by biting his thumb when it was later known that he had to rape Resian, he was admonished and he later lost Resian when she was helped to escape by Nabaru
• Oloisudori is also another person who perpetuates self-interest when he extorts his clients. He has made Ole kaelo sign up to several contracts just to extort him at the end. He then changes his mind when he comes over at Ole Kaelo’s for his pound of flesh. He demands that Ole Kaelo gives him his daughter instead. Later on he still insists on his demands even after Resian escaping to Minik’s place and Taiyo being rescued, he proceeds to the ranch when Minik was having a farewell party for the 2 girls. This decision which he made out of self interest sees his convoy being reduced smoldering shelf and acrid smell of burning tires clobbered thoroughly. Mark 3:3:3:3

Conclusion. In conclusion we can therefore agree that self –interest can lead to failure to anyone who engages in it. (2mks) (Accept any valid conclusion). Font – 12 Grammar – 8 Introduction – 2 Conclusion – 2 Total - 20

22. When people build a strong friendship, they easily endure and overcome any obstacle that come their way and emerge successful. Using examples from Ole Kulet’s Blossoms of the Savannah, write an essay to show the truth of this statement.

Points of Interpretation

• Who have strong friendship?
• What challenge/obstacle/problem do they face?
• How does their union come in handy to help alleviate/overcome the challenge? NB: How their strong friendship works to help in a given challenge must clearly be brought out for the candidate to score a full mark in any point.

Introduction In Blossoms of the Savannah, Taiyo and Resian, Resian and Nabaru and Resian are some of the characters that forge deep friendship which helps go over the many problems that befall them. (Accept any other relevant introduction) 2marks

ILLUSTRATIONS

• When Taiyo and Resian are accosted by a vagabond on their first day in Nasila, their closeness helps them avert a would worse scenario. Resian asks the vagabond to leave her sister’s hand. She reminds him that they don’t have any money on them. Taiyo on her informs the vagabond that they are not the type of women he thinks. Later when Resian is traumatized by the experience, Taiyo comes in to reassure her by promising to talk to their father about the possibility of going back to Nakuru. Pp. 14-19; 32-33.
• On realizing that Resian is always tempestuous after the father’s constant tongue-lashing and that even their mother would not help them, Taiyo takes it upon herself to mob her sister’s tears. Right from nursery school through to secondary, Taiyo who was ‘fiercely devoted to her sister’ ensured that she protected her sister from the bullies. She was also keen and ‘always sensed her sister’s yearnings.’ PP. 32-34.
• The two sister bank on their love to outwit Oloisudori upon realizing that their mother and father would not assist them at all. They come up with a conspiracy to return the gifts as a reciprocal gesture to Oloisudori. This is to prove a point- that they are focused girls with a clear map of what they want in life. They also plan that they would feign innocence until when Oloisudori’s intentions become apparently clear to them. Taiyo advises Resian to ensure that he doesn’t remain alone in the house with oloisudori for he may harm her. This plan works to their favour as Resian is able to face-off Oloisudori and beat them at their plan- that of forced marriage. Pp. 195-205
• After Resian is rebuked by her father for refusing to serve Oloisdori, Resian runs out into the cold at night. Taiyo follows her out in the cold and condemns her for endangering/risking her life. She urges her to go back into the house so as not to catch a cold. Pp. 169-173
• Resian forms a formidable alliance with Nabaru to defeat Olarinkoi and the enkoiboni’s schemes. Nabaru becomes Resian’s confidant. She buys into Resian’s dream. She reveals the evils planned out against Resian and goes out of her way to rescue Resian into the Ranch. Despite Olarinkoi’s infantile threats, she delivers Resian safely to her nirvana. Pp.220-223; 230-245; 248-252; 262-265
• Taiyo and Resian forge a strong bond with the Minik and the over 400 girls they find at the Ranch. It is this bond that has thrived between them that helps them to vanquish Oloisudori. Because of the love Minik has developed for the girls, he faces Oloisudori, a man of means and humiliates him publicly. Together with other enegetic workers they burn down Oloisudori’s convoy and ashes and also beat him thoroughly. With their biggest threat behind them, the two girls embark on their academic journey. Pp. 279-284. (Accept any 4 well illustrated points. Mark 4;4;4;4. Total 12 marks) Grammar and Presentation 4marks

True friendship knows to obstacle raised on its way.  ( Accept any other valid conclusion ) 2marks

23. Irresponsible parenting can lead to instability in a family. Discuss the truth of this statement using the novel “Blossoms of the Savannah” by H. Kulet

Accept any relevant introduction (2 mks)

• He gets disappointed when he gets a girl.
• Vents his frustration on the poor child.
• Effects – Resian realizes her father does not like her right from her cradle.
• He detests her, treats her harshly, openly favours Taiyo. Distance created.
• Her personality is affected since she grew up sullen, bewildered and resentful (pg 10).
• She becomes rebellious, angry and bitter.
• Her nature was darkened by melancholy, self – doubt.
• At home she became difficult to deal with especially with her father
• Ole-kaelo as a parent failed to offer lose, acceptance and assurance.
• Ole kaelo agrees to Mary Resian to Oloisudori: He is aware he is a criminal, a bank robber and a gangster (pg. 194)
• He is willing to cast a blind eye on the fact that Oloisudori is old enough to be Resian father.
• He is willing to use Resian as the sacrificial lamb to secure his palatial home and business contracts.
• He allows Oloisudori to black mail him with a demand for his daughters hand in marriage. Giving out Resian to Oloisudori is too small a price.
• He betrays his daughters when he agrees to the plan fo her abduction should she turn down Oloisudori’s marriage proposal> (pg 191).
• He fails in his responsibility to care and protect his daughter because of material gain.
• Resian feels betrayed is full of anger and bitterness – she runs away from home, where she undergoes such trauma at the hands of Oloirinkoi.
• Resian has suicidal thoughts.
• Olokaeilo chose to please the Maa people at the expense of his family.
• Her ambition was to study veterinary doctor.
• She asks her mother and Taiyo to make the request for but never go the chance.
• When Resian vehemently asks if he will take her to university, he informs her that formal education that she had was enough. (pg 207)
• Suggests that she can join Parallel program once she marries Oloisudori.
• He also fails in assisting Taiyo pursue her music interests.
• He fails in His responsibility to fully educate her daughters when brought a big conflict between his and the girls.
• She fails to protect the girls from the harsh mean traditions.
• When Resian tries to confide her fears to her she dismisses and scolds her for referring to Oloisudo as a manner less old man.
• She sends her back to serve the old lustful man tea.
• She does little to correct the tension between Resian and her father does not come to rescue her.
• Taiyo is surprised at her mothers inability to protect Resian from mistreatment from her father.
• She betrays Resian – she failed her.
• She was fearful of her husband and was owed to silence even when injustices were being committed against her own daughters.
• Her silence pained Resian beyond words.
• She betrays Taiyo by tricking her into going to Esoit to undergo faced circumcision.

Conclusion: The once good and peaceful family falls apart due to the parents failure to take up her roles responsibly. In the face of adversity one requires strong - will power. Justify – referring to the story “No need to lie”.

24. Mama Milanoi’s submissiveness results in the break up of her family. With clear illustrations from the novel, Show the truth of this statement.

Mama Milanoi is depicted as a woman who is unable to defend her daughters against unfavourable decisions made by her husband in order to protect her own interest. Points

• She does not protect Resian when she is harassed for not being born a boy.
• She fails to defend daughters against their father’s decision to have them circumcised.
• She does not speak out against the plot to drug and abduct Resian if she refuses to marry Oloisudori.
• She is part to the women who abduct Taiyo and have her circumcised against her will.

Any other correct point. Expect fully illustrated answers Introduction 2 marks Body 12 marks Language 4 marks Conclusion 2 marks.

25. “When faced with challenges in life, help comes at a time that it is least expected.” Citing evidences from Henry Ole Kulet’s Blossoms of the Savannah, write an essay in support of this statement.

• Most people reach the end of the tether in difficult situations and are just about to give up when help comes suddenly. Most instances of help in Blossoms of the savannah appear coincidental but nonetheless; they change the course of life of the characters as well as shaping the rest of the novel. (Accept any other relevant introduction)
• Olarinkoi seems to be at the right place at the right time. He happens to be the savior of Resian and Taiyo when they need help most. He comes to the rescue of the two girls when they are coming from their father’s shop and are about to be raped by two men, the vagabonds. Olarinkoi single handedly saves the girls by fighting the men. Resian and Taiyo are much grateful and would not want to imagine what would have happened if he had not come at that time, even fearing that they would have been infected with HIV. The incident also made the two girls build up their trust in Olarinkoi, (Pg. 140-143).
• Olarinkoi again comes to the rescue of Resian when she discovers her father’s betrayal by planning to marry her off to Oloisudori. Resian confronts her father at the shop and realizes she has been ‘sold’ to the monster Oloisudori. Her father is hostile to her and beats her up and she runs away. He comes to her rescue when she is even contemplating committing suicide by drowning herself into the Nasila River. At the same time, Oloisudori and his men are looking for her to abduct her. Olarinkoi promises to take her to Minik whom she had been yearning to meet someday. Although the help turns disastrous with Olarinkoi turning against her, she is able to escape the current wrath of Oloisudori. It is while at Olarinkoi’s hut that Nabaru becomes of help and eventually escapes with her to Minik’s Ranch. She also escapes the knife remaining intoiye nemengalana. Olarinkoi’s help then is a blessing in disguise, (Pg. 204-2011, 224, 237, 244-249).
• Taiyo is rescued from the hands of her circumcisers by Minik’s men. Minik’s rescue team in coordination with Joseph Parmuat use tricks to rescue her from the well-guarded home which she would not have escaped in her sickly state. Were it not for Minik’s intervention, Taiyo would surely have been forcefully married off to Oloisudori after healing. The rescue gives Taiyo a new lease of life, reunion with her sister and of course quicker physical and emotional recovery. Their dream of joining Egerton University is equally realized after the recovery, (Pg. 270-274).
• Minik’s help to Resian and Taiyo at the most challenging moment perhaps is the most important event that completely changes their lives. She gives refuge to the girls in her Ranch hence protecting them from the marauding men like Oloisudori and Olarinkoi. She gives Resian a job in the ranch hence giving her something to live on and promises her a scholarship from the Ranch. Most importantly, she is able to have the two girls enrolled at Egerton University, their dream university. These kind gestures create a happy ending in a novel that has been dominated by sad events, (Pg. 261-262, 264-267, 279,281-284). In conclusion, people are about to despair, that is usually the point when help comes. No matter how belated characters like Resian and Taiyo get help, their lives are greatly impacted on and changed by those interventions. (Accept any other relevant conclusion)

26. The rich culture in the Nasila community bonds the people in the society together. Write an essay with clear illustrations from the novel ‘Blossoms of the Savannah’ by Henry Ole Kulet to justify this statement.

• There is an instance of pride in cultural identity. This enhances the Maa’s unique identity as witnessed during Ole Kaelo’s homecoming party. It is manifested in songs and dances (pg44) the jewelry worn by the guests: ivory beads, coloured lessos, kangas and shukas.
• The generosity of the Nasila community as all and sundry are invited to savor in the celebration and partake in typical Maa food and drinks served during the home coming ceremony. (pg51-52)
• The community bond is also laudable in the togetherness seen in the community’s activities. We are told “Life and work was communal.” This evident at Ole Kaelo’s homecoming party, (pgs 42-52) No wonder, Kaelo is overwhelmed at the brotherhood, honour and selflessness he witnesses during his ceremony.
• Nasila way of life clearly defines relationships. And from his consanguinity is kept at bay (pg 118)
• Justice system among the Nasila is apt and acceptable. (pgs 162-164) and (pgs 115-117)
• The Maa people value family. In the family there is love, care and provision. Simiren and his family. (pgs 152 – 155)
• The Maa people have a strong religious/spriual mentality which binds them together. Ole Kaelo’s home is blessed by elders who give good tidings to the children and property (pg38)
• Cultural expectation on love to guard against illicit relationships. (pgs 124-127) “When one fails to heed to advice, they suffer.”

27. "Change is inevitable in any society”. Validate this statement with the illustrations from the novel, Blossoms of the Savannah (By Henry Ole Kulet)

Introduction:  Accept a valid introduction

Points to consider

• Ole Kaelo and his family relocate from Nakuru to Nasila after his retrenchment from Agribix limited. His two daughters, Taiyo and Resian were born and raised up in Nakuru. The idea of leaving Nakuru for a village town, Nasila, is coldly embraced by Taiyo and Resian.
• There is change of Nasilian cultural practices. In the past, culture did not allow an elderly man to marry a girl young enough to be his daughter. It was considered an abomination, and the perpetrators risked being fined heavily besides facing a public rebuke and cleansing ceremony. Ole Kaelo is collaborating with Oloisudori, his age mate, to ensure that he marries his daughter, ResianKaelo.
• There is environmental change. Mama Milanoi recounts how Nasila Rivers had changed. Nasila water was no longer the same clean water that she and her friends drew when they were girls. The water had been polluted. People were emptying sacks of agricultural chemicals and poisonous pollutants into Nasila River.
• There is an emergence of new generational vocal female activists who openly oppose FGM. Minik, a manager of a big sheep ranch and veterinary medicine graduate fights against female circumcision, a practice that is deeply embedded in Nasilian culture. She faces sharp resistance from conservative Nasilans and is christened Emakererei, the wasp.

Conclusion : Accept a valid conclusion

28. “people who do bad deeds to others never go unrepaid” Show the validity of this statement with reference to Henry Ole kulet’s novel “Blossoms of the Savannah”.

In the text, characters like Oloisudori, Ole kaelo and others perpetuate evil towards other characters, but they also receive their equal measure of pain and suffering as discussed below. Oloisudori is a businessman but with questionable deals. Despite his age, and being polygamous, he shamelessly wants to marry Ole Kaelo’s teenage daughter. He blackmails Ole Kaelo into giving his daughter Resian in marriage to him or forgets his numerous business contracts which Oloisudari had helped Ole Kaelo to secure. He further puts Ole kaelo in a tight corner where he has to forcibly circumcise. Taiyo and give her to him in marriage after Resian runs away from home. However, his actions never go unpaid, in a bid to forcibly take his bride from Minik’s ranch, his convoy of vehicles is attacked and several of hi cars burnt. He ends up losing both Resian and Taiyo, his money and his property. Ole kaelo betrays their trust of his daughter Resian. He openly resents Resian and is quick to scold her for the slightest of mistakes. He insults her just because he expected a boy child for his second born and not a girl child. He readily agrees to marry off Resian to Olisudori rather than forfeit his numerous business contracts which Oloisudiri had helped secure. He also turns down her request to join Egerton University saying that he had already received her dowry. However, Ole kaelo pays dearly for his decisions since Resian openly comfronts him at his shop and turns down the marriage deal with Oloisudari, she later escapes from home and leaves Ole kaelo with no option but to give out Taiyo in marriage to Oloisudori. Mama Milanoi’s bad deeds towards her daughters leaves them with a strong dislike for their mother. As a mother, she never comes to the defense of her daughter when Ole kaelo constantly scolds her. She further colludes with her husband to marry off Resian to Oloisudori. They collect gifts and dowry from Oloisudori and even shamelessly hatches a plan on how Olisudari will collect his bride Mama Milano also colludes with the Enkamuratuni to have Taiyo forcibly circumcised thereby causing her a lot of physical and emotional pain. All her actions never go unrepaid as her two daughters all run away from home and vow never to copy her example as their mother. Oloisudori bad deeds towards Resian never go unpunished. He rescues Resian just before her attempted suicide promising to take her to Minik’s Ranch. He however turns on his words, forcibly abducts her with the intentions of marrying her. She endures a long torturous journey at the back of an old pick – up track. She forced to stay in a lonely dark hut and even physically assaults her when his attempted rape on her backfires. He however pays dearly for his actions as Resian bites off his thumb to near amputation during the attempted rape. He is rebuked by his mother for his actions and forced to go into hiding for a number of days.

In conclusion bad deeds are always paid with bad deeds as seen above.

29. Parenting should build an environment of trust and peace in a family. Write an essay that explores how this statement applies to the Ole Kaelo family in Blossoms of the Savannah.

Introduction - (2mks)

Points of interpretation;

- The kind of parenting by Mama Milanoi and her husband does not herald peace and trust in their family. The girls desire to join the university does not receive any attention from the parents. The girls get emotionally affected as a result.

Ole Kaelo's acerbic/stinging tongue is a source of discomfort to his daughters. They enjoy his absence from the house.

The parents secretly conspire to marry off Resian to Oloisudori, which leads to her escape from home and her misery. This betrays her trust.

Resian is fully aware that the father loves Taiyo and hates her. Reasian is always on the receiving end, being cajoled and criticized for this or for that by the father. She knows no peace in the family.

(Any 4 well explained points x 3)

Conclusion - 2mks

Language A-4, B-3, C-2, D-1

30. The author has been able to effectively employ irony to bring out the message of the text. Illustrate the effectiveness of this style in the text.

Communication is greatly dependent on the manner of passing the message. One of the most effective ways of communicating is by use of irony. The text Blossoms of the Savannah by H.R Ole Kulet clearly employs this style.

Olarinkoi presents himself as dependable person when he saves Resian and Taiyo from rapists. He however turns out to be a rapist himself he wants to have Resian against her will.

FGM which is a harmful practice to women is practiced, propagated and defended by the people it hurt most women.

Mama Milanoi remains mum even when her daughters are harassed by her husband who wants to have them circumcised and married off to Oloisundori against their wish.

Ole Kaelo opts to marry off his daughter Resian mannered old man, in order to save his business.

Irony as a style is one of the major styles employed by the author to communicate his message.

31. It is resian’s determination that makes her achieve her goals. In the light of what happens in the novel, Blossoms of savannah, Write an essay in support of this assertion.

People who are determined and optimistic in life achieve success in their life endeavors. Although Resia's road to success is in pain, she finally achieves her goals in life as portrayed in Ole Kulet's Blossoms of Savannah.

Resian is determined to join the university. On the day her family packs and leaves Nakuru for Nasila, Resian expresses her feelings about not working at the shop saying that she wants to come back to Nakuru and join Edgerton University. She hopes to take a course in veterinary medicine and become a veterinary doctor. She keeps urging her sister to talk to the father to enroll them at the university. At one point she is worried that her sister has spent all the money decorating the shop and leaves nothing for their University education. She tells her father that even if she lives to be eighty, she will still go to university. Finally, after a long struggle, she is able to enroll at Edgerton University for her dream course. Not giving pays up for her.

Resian is determined not to undergo female circumcision. She is opposed to this retrogressive practice and says that she would rather live in the noisiest place on earth than live anywhere near a vagabond who would accost her with the intention of mutilating her sexuality.Resian is optimistic that soon Nasita culture would do away with FGM as a cultural practice. While she's held captive in Olarinkoi's hut she dreams in her sleep.In her dream she show cases her gallant and determined nature She vows that the old enkamuratani and enkoiboni with a mallet. Her determined resistance against undergoing FGM starts bearing fruits when she and Nabaaru reach Minik's Ranch. This is after a hair-raising and daring escape on the verge of being circumcised in Olarinkoi's hut in inkiito. She is finally safe with Emakererei.Her determination not to be circumcised has borne fruit.

Resian is determined and hopeful of meeting and working with minik ene Nkoitoi,her role model. She dreams of graduating from University and getting a chance to work with Emakorerei. She imagines herself already working at the ranch during a large flock of sheep. She even thinks of asking for help of Joseph Parmuat in composing a song in her praise. When the ill-INTENDED Olarinkoi suggests he could rescue her from oloisudori by taking her to Emakerereri,sje jumps at th idea and falls prey to his evil plans. However after such a struggle, she is able with the help of Nabaaru,to escape from Olarinkoi,s hut and run to minikis ranch. There,she gets her own house ,a job and finally gets to enroll at her dream university and dream course. Her remaining hopes has finally paid off.

Determination not to get married to Oloisuduni forcibly has paid off for Resian. Oloisudori is an old man that Resian describes as a monster. Her father Ole kaelo, intends to give his daughter away in marriage as a seventh wife. However, she is determined to face him and resist his advances on her.she and her sister Taiyo hatch a plan to return the gifts that were part of the dowry by Oloisudori.when Olosudori announces that his fate with Resian is sealed,she responds by telling him that he is mad.He is stunned. She tells her father that she would rather die than get married to a monster,an Ol-ushuushi like Oloisudori,a monster,gangster,bank robber and an extortionist per excellence. Oloisudori makes a final attempt to get either Resian or Taiyo for marriage from Minik's ranch, a move that sees his convoy reduced to ashes. He is thoroughly clobbered and has to run for his life.resian has finally won the battle.

Conclusion.(sample)

It is imperative to say hopeful even in the midist of a storm.Resian, albeit stuggling, succeeded because of her unwavering determination.

Introduction-2mks Body -12mks Conclusion -2mks Language -4mks = 20mks Total

32. Other people’s wrong choices can adversely affect our lives. Justify this statement using Blossoms of the Savannah by Henry Ole Kulet. (20 marks)

Introduction.

When people make poor decisions without good judgement it can negatively have serious consequences to other people’s lives. People like Olekaelo make others suffer due to the poor decision they made. This is illustrated in the novel Blossoms of the Savannah.

CI: Ole Kaelo makes a wrong choice when he engages in business with Oloisudori;

Ole Kaelo is retrenched from Agribix Limited, he chooses to relocate to Nasila, with his family. He opens a shop dealing in Agriculture products. His business is funded by Oloisudori. Oloisudori helps him secure some business contracts. He helps Ole Kaelo secure a 4 year contract to supply all government Institutions in Nasila with agricultural inputs like fertilizer, seeds, herbicides and fungicides. His mentor Ole Supeyo warns him against his involvement with Oloisudori. He says that Oloisudori is corrupt. He equates him to a hyena and a randy he-goat and cautions Ole Kaelo to keep him away from his daughters. Ole Kaelo does not listen. This choice haunts him when Oloisudori asks for his daughter Resian’s hand in marriage. Resian has to be circumcised first. This affects Resian her dream to enroll at Egerton University. When she learns of her father’s plan, she confronts him at his shop and he slaps her in anger after she refuse the proposal calling Oloisudori a monster. Resian also runs to Nasilariver. She contemplates suicide. (pg 107-113, 114- 119, pg 176-180, 205-206, 207-210)

CII : Ole Kaelo makes a poor choice to deny Resian and Taiyo a chance to pursue their Education at Egerton University.

Ole Kaelo has been reassimilated to the Nasila culture, during the home coming ceremony Ole Musankaadvice him to come back to Nasila and embrace the pillars. He takes this advice of bringing his family back into the Nasila fold.

He asks Joseph Parmuat to teach them cultural aspect of Nasila in preparation for circumcision and marriage. Resian coaxes her sister Taiyo to speak and convince their father about joining Egerton University on so many other occasions because she burns with passion for education and wants to fulfill her ambition of joining Egerton University. When she tries to ask the father he gets angry at her. Ole Kaelo says he thought of it but decided not to send her there because she has had enough of formal education. He even accepts the bride price in suitcase from Oloisudori. He fails to protect her daughter from advances by the evil and corrupt extortionist. This affects Resian, she suffers emotionally and tells the father he’d rather kill him than hand her over to his monster friend. A monster, gangster, and a bank robber. The father slaps her and she rans away from home then later joins Emakererei. (pg. 37-47, 198- 203, 204-205, 206- 210)

CIII: Mama Milanoi makes an unwise choice to keep a low profile and not protecting herd aughters when subjected to punitive cultural practices.

Ole Musanka advices the women to re-assimilate mama Milanoi and her daughters. She was also torn in a dilemma to support her daughters and be a pariah in Nasila or accept to follow tradition and lose her daughters trust. She chooses to be submissive to the husband and accept to circumcise and marry them off. Taiyo and Resian suffer the stigma of being labelled intoiyenemengalana. Ole Kaelo plans to circumcise Resian and marry her off to Oloisudori. Mama Milanoi knows that its her dream to join Egerton University and pursue a degree in Veterinary Medicine. She however fails to defend Resian against the pressure from society to have her circumcised and marry them off. She knows that FGM is torturous and painful experience but she still fails to speak to Ole Kaelo against it. She is aware to the details of having Resian abducted and forcefully circumcised but still remains silent. Resian escapes from home and separates with her family. Taiyo is also psychologically damaged she says it will take long before conscience reconcile with what happened to her. The damage done to her will be indelibly printed in her memory. (pg 113- 119, 37-47, 203-205, 272-275)

C.(IV). Mama Milanoi decides to collude with the three blind mice affects Taiyo.

Resian runs away with Olarinkoi to avoid marriage to Oloisudori, Taiyo is offered as replacement. Mama Milanoi allows her to accompany the three women from Esoit, they lie to Taiyo that Resian is on a hunger strike and has gone for three days without eating. They want her to accompany them to Esoit for Resians sake. She complies and accompanies them happily since her mother assures her that their father had vowed never to try to marry them by force to any man. At Esoit no one attends to her but she is left in a dingy hut. The next morning they drag her out and poured cold water on her then the enkamurataniforciblt circumcise her. She passes out. She is later rescued by Minik the guard to a beer party. Parmuat is speared to death. Taiyo is affected psychologically, she says that the damage done to her will be indelibly printed in her memory. (pg 270-273, 272-275)

C.(V): Olarinkoi chooses to attempt raping Taiyo and it affects her.

Resianrans away from home and Olarinkoi finds her by the river, he lies to her that Oloisudori’s men are looking for her all over. He offers to take her to Ntarenaaju to meet Minik. She complies since he had saved them from the vagabond whenNtaraMuyo tried to rape them. He take her to his dingy hut and came back at night stone drunk. Insisting Resian is his wife. He even try to force her to cook maize meal and meat. He mocks her about her education and forcefully grabs her attempting to rape her then tore her clothes. Resian defends herself by pushing his thumb into his mouth and biting his thumb almost severing it. He also knocks Resian on her ribcage with his elbow until she became unconscious. He had a choice of being patient to fulfill the mother’s prophecy but he decided to deep his hands in the porridge before it was served to him. She bled and her head throbbed with an excruciating pain, blood trickled from her nostril; she nosebleed. She also suffers psychologically, she was tortured. She saw distorted images moving and a lonely darkness. Images of Olarinkoi and Oloisudori merged haunting her and becoming one great terror. (pg 217-222)

Conclusion In conclusion, choices have consequences.

33. “The frustrations faced by people in the contemporary times can be traced to the conduct of a few immoral individuals.’’ Write an essay supporting this statement drawing illustrations from Ole Kulet`s Blossoms of the savannah.

Introduction Moral decadence is a vice which leads to several negative consequences in the society. Immoral people such as rapists, extortionists, thieves and others abuse the rights of people hence leading to frustrated lives. In Blossoms of the Savannah, characters like Oloisudori, Olarinkoi, the warriors ,Lante and Ntara have frustrated various people as explained below.

• p110 As a blackmailer, his demand for Resian makes Ole Kaelo seethe with impotent fury
• p111 it excrutiatingly pained him that circumstances would force him to hand any of his daughters to a man who was not their choice
• p112 He cried and his heart bled for Resian amid threats of being fleeced by Oloisudori. He had had to agree that she becomes sacrificial lamb
• p112 ole Kaelo infuriated by Ole Kaelos demand that Resian be circumcised,he felt sick and nauseated by the whole affair.
• P113  Mama Milanoi tossed, writhed and cried like a a woman in labour.This is not what she had dreamed to achieve in Nasila.She sadly admits there is no other action they can take other than hand over Resian
• p119 Ole Kaelo gritted his teeth like an animal that was unable to free itself from a snare
• p85 when he killed  two men, women squirmed  and gasped while the men ground their teeth with impotent fury
• p86 the Maa men hold meeting after meeting  to find ways to resist the perplexing demands but found no workable solution
• P86 Women perturbed as they were forced to to compose lewd songs which they had to perform in the most outrageous and and indecent postures and styles
• Women angry because forced to perform the offensive dances with their daughters
• Women hated themselves as they were unable to resist the sexual demands of the Ilarinkon
• In frustration, they resorted to FGM.
• p228 she insultingly tells Resian that she ought not to have fought Olarinkoi as she had no honour to defend as intoiyenemengalana
• Resian stares at her frightfully, a new hopelessness and helplessness threatening to wreck havoc in her
• Resian cried out silently unable to bear the detestable stressful disgusting verbiage from the old witch, but is forced to listen to the nasty loathsome  foul language
• p229 when threatened with FGM, she cries out bitterly “what have I done to the gods to deserve this kind of punishment?
• p19 The vagabond spits in disgust and tells them there is no room for intoiyenemengalana. He roughly grabs Taiyo’s arm. The girls are shaken and note that they would have been helpless in the hands of the brute. Taiyo sheds tears of anger and indignation
• p46 the vagabond sneers at the girls in their own home during the homecoming. This goes unnoticed by the crowd and the girls felt angry, terrified and isolated although they were in a crowd
• p 141 When two men almost rape the girls,they scream but cant restrain the two men who have heavy knobkerries
• Later they sob with rage and shame The near rape incident left a feeling of invasion and degradation
• Taiyo seethes with fury at a society that despised women Conclusion: We should behave in a morally upright manner to avoid bringing emotional suffering to ourselves and others in society.
• Accept any other relevant point as long as it is well identified, illustrated and explained. Eg Ole Kaelo’s hatred for Resian, Ole Kaelos greed, Oloisudoris insensitive bullying of Resian, etc –
• Mark any other relevant introduction and conclusion.
• Introduction (2mks)
• Body 3:3:3:3: 12mks
• Grammar and presentation mark: 4mks 9 – 12  3mks 6 – 8  2mks 4 – 5  1mk 1 – 3  1mk
• Must have introduction and conclusion, if not deduct 3AD –
• Conclusion (2mks). Accept any  other relevant  conclusion.

34. "When we create with concerted effort strong bonds and relationships, we can easily overcome challenges that come our way." Justify this assertion citing evidences from Henry Ole Kulet's Blossoms of the Savannah.

• What challenge/obstacle/problem down to access
• How does their bond come in handy to help alleviate/ overcome the challenge?

NB: How their strong bond works to help in a given challenge must clearly be brought out for the candidate to score a full mark in any point

• In Blossoms of the Savannah, Taiyo and Resian, Resian and Nabaru and Resian are some of the characters that forge deep friendship which helps go over the many problems that befall them. (Accept any other relevant introduction) 2marks

ILLUSTRATIONS B(i) When Taiyo and Resian are accosted by a vagabond on their first day in Nasila, their closeness helps them avert a would-be worse scenario. Resian asks the vagabond to leave her sister's hand. She reminds him that they don't have any money on them. Taiyo on her informs the vagabond that they are not the type of women he thinks. Later when Resian is traumatized by the experience, Taiyo comes in to reassure her by promising to talk to their father about the possibility of going back to Nakuru. Pp. 14-19, 32-33.

B(ii)On realizing that Resian is always tempestuous after the father's constant tongue-lashing and that even their mother would not help them, Taiyo takes it upon herself to mob her sister's tears. Right from nursery school through to secondary, Taiyo who was fiercely devoted to her sister' ensured that she protected her sister from the bullies. She was also keen and 'always sensed her sister's yearnings.' PP. 32- 34.

B(iii) The two sisters bank on their love to outwit Oloisudori upon realizing that their mother and father would not assist them at all. They come up with a conspiracy to return the gifts as a reciprocal gesture to Oloisudori. This is to prove a point- that they are focused girls with a clear map of what they want in life. They also plan that they would feign innocence until when Oloisudori's intentions become apparently clear to them. Taiyo advises Resian to ensure that he doesn't remain alone in the house with oloisudori for he may harm her. This plan works to their favour as Resian is able to face-off Oloisudori and beat them at their plan- that of forced marriage. Pp. 195-205

B(iv) After Resian is rebuked by her father for refusing to serve Oloisdori , Resian runs out into the cold at night. Taiyo follows her out in the cold and condemns her for endang her life. She urges her to go back into the house so as not to catch a cold. Pp. 169-173

B(v) Resian forms a formidable alliance with Nabaru to defeat Olarinkoi and the enkoiboni's schemes. Nabaru becomes Resian's confidant. She buys into Resian's dream. She feveals the evils planned out against Resian and goes out of her way to rescue Resian into the I Despite Olarinkoi's infantile threats, she delivers Resian safely to her nirvana. Pp.220-223; 230-245; 248-252, 262-265

B(vi) Taiyo and Resian forge a strong bond with the Minik and the over 400 girls they find at the Ranch. It is this bond that has thrived between them that helps them to vanquish Oloisudori. Because of the love Minik has developed for the girls, he faces Oloisudor, a man of means and humiliates him publicly. Together with other energetic workers they burn down Oloisudori's convoy and ashes and also beat him thoroughly. With their biggest threat behind Pp. 279-284 (Accept any 4 well pasip, the two girls embark on their academic journey. 

35. Irresponsible decisions can lead to serious consequences. Referring closely to H.R. Ole Kulet’s Blossoms of the Savannah, write an essay in support of this statement.

When people make decisions that are devoid of good judgment the results are usually adverse. This is well illustrated by Ole Kulet in his book Blossoms of savannah.

• Ole Kaelo makes an irresponsible decision when he engages in business with Oloisudori. When Ole Kaelo is retrenched from Agribix Limited. He chooses to relocate to Nasila, his native home, with his family. Here, he opens a shop dealing in Agricultural products. His business is funded by Oloisudori. Oloisudori also helps him to secure some business contracts. He helps Ole Kaelo to secure a 4 years contract to supply all government institutions in Nasila with Agricultural inputs like fertilizer, seeds, herbicides and fungicides. His mentor Ole Supeyo warns him against his involvement with Oloisudori. He says that Oloisudori is corrupt. He equates him to a hyena and a randy he-goat and cautions Ole Kaelo to keep him away from his daughters. Ole Kaelo does no heed. This decision haunts him when Oloisudori asks for his daughter Resians’ hand in marriage. Resian has to be circumcised first. Her dream is to enroll at Egerton University. When she learns of her father’s plan, she confronts him at his shop and he slaps her, further straining their relationship. She runs to Nasila river where she contemplates suicide. Olarinkoi finds her and promises to take her to Ntare naaju to meet Minik ene Nkoitoi, who could help her pursue her education. Ole Kaelo’s rash decision makes him to lose his daughter. She leaves Nasila with Olarinkoi.
• Mama Milanoi makes an unwise decision when she keeps a low profile when her daughters are subjected to punitive cultural practices. When they relocate to Nasila after Ole Kaelo is retrenched, Taiyo and Resian suffer the stigma of being labeled “intoiye nemengalana”. Ole Kaelo plans to circumcise Resian and marry her off to Oloisudori. Mama Milanoi knows that her dream is to join Egerton University and pursue a degree in Veterinary medicine. She however fails to defend Resian against her will. She succumbs to the pressure of the Nasillian culture. She knows that FGM is a torturous and painful experience but she still fails to speak to Ole Kaelo against it. She is privy to the details of having Resian abducted and forcefully circumcised but she still remains silent. The painful outcome of her subservience is that Resian escapes from home with the help of Olarinkoi and she eventually manages to meet Minik ene Nkoitoi and to enroll at Egerton University. Mama Milanoi loses her daughter’s trust.
• Ole Kaelo suffers when he chooses to deny Resian and Taiyo a chance to pursue their education at Egerton University. Parsimei Ole Kaelo instead asks Joseph Parmuat, to teach them cultural aspects of Nasila in preparation for circumcision and marriage. Resians coaxes her sister Taiyo to speak to their father about the prospect of joining Egerton University on so many occasions because she burns with passion for education. When she tries to ask her father, he gets so angry at her. He warms up to the idea of marrying her to Oloisudori. Ole Kaelo receives gifts and money from him. He fails to protect her daughter from advances by the corrupt extortionist. Resian finally escapes from Nasila with the help of Olarinkoi and later managed to meet Minik ene Nkoitoi who helps her to finally leave for Nakuru to join Egerton University. Oloisudori loses her as a result.
• Oloisudori errs in his decision to follow Resian and Taiyo all the way to Ntare naaju ranch. When his first choice for a wife, Resian, runs away with Olarinkoi, the Kaelo’s offer Taiyo as a replacement. Minik’s men managed to rescue her from Esoit village but not before she is circumcised. When he loses both of them. Oloisudorii pursues them up to Minik ene Nkoitoi’s ranch. He knows that Minik is referred to as ‘entangoroi’ or wasp but still chooses to confront her. He demands for either Resian or Taiyo saying he has paid dowry enough for both. Minik says that she will not release them even to their own father. She asks Oloisudori to leave. He asks his men to grab Resian and pandemonium ensues. Minik’s 400 workers descend upon them and clobber them thoroughly before torching his expensive vehicles and reducing them to smoldering shells. Oloisudori loses his vehicles and still fails to get Resian as a wife even after spending a lot of money, time and effort.
• Olarinkoi makes two foolish decisions. First, he abducts Resian and then he tries to rape her. When Resian runs away from home and is contemplating her next course of action by the Nasila River, Olarinkoi arrives and tells her that Oloisudori’s men are looking for her all over. He offers to take her to Ntare naaju to meet Minik her icon. She complies owing to the fact that she trusts him since he has been a regular visitor at their home and he saves Taiyo and her when the vagabonds, Ntara Muyo and Lante, try to rape them. Olatinkoi does not keep his word. He instead takes her to Inkiito. He locks her up in a dingy hut. That night he comes back stone drunk insisting that Resian is his wife. He mocks her about her education and he forcefully grabs her tearing her clothes and pushing his thumb into her mouth and sinking her teeth into it until he bleeds. She almost severe the thumb. Olarinkoi suffers physically and also emotionally when he is admonished by his mother until he goes into hiding due to shame. Naburu, the nurse, who was contradicted by the mono-eyed woman to take care of Resian after circumcision helps to rescue her when she brings a lorry driver, who takes them to Ntare naaju. Apart from the physical and emotional pain, Olarinkoi fails to get Resian as a wife’s a result of his irresponsible decision.
• Mama Milanoi makes an irrepressible decision when she tricks Taiyo into circumcision. When Resian runs away with Olarinkoi to avoid marriage to Oloisudori, Taiyo is offered as a replacement. Mama Milanoi alows her to accompany the three women from Esoit. They lie to Taiyo that Resia bis on a hunger strike and has gone for three days without eating. They want her to accompany them to Esoit for Resian’s sake. She complies and accompanies them happily since her mother assures her that their father and power never to try to marry them by force to any man. At Esoit she is thrown into turmoil as no one attends to her or talks about Resian. She is instead left in a dingy hut. The next morning, she is dragged out of the hut by a group of excited women, 20 liters of cold water is emptied on her head before she is forcibly circumcised by ‘enkamuratani’. The ordeal is so painful that she passes out. She is later rescued by Minik’s men with the help of Joseph Parmuat, who tricks the guards guarding her, with alcohol. The guards attempt to chase after Minik’s men, pelting them with stones, but they fail. Parmuat is speared to death. Mama Milanoi loses Taoiyo when she is taken to Minik’s ranch.

In conclusion, through characters like Oloisudoiri and Olarinkoi, we learn that foolish decisions usually lead to adverse consequences.

Mark 3:3:3:3 Introduction: 2 mks (Any other relevant introduction) Body: 12 mks (4 well elaborated points) Language: up to 4 mks (Language pegged on marks from the body) Conclusion: up to 2 marks (Any other relevant introduction) 

36. In a male-dominated society, only women who are resilient in character overcome the hurdles placed on their paths. Write an essay justifying the assertion with clear illustrations from Henry ole Kulet's Blossoms of the Savannah. (20 marks)

Point of interpretation

• Their resilience
• Background information
• Details on the challenges and their resilience
• Success (outcome)

In the Blossoms of the Savannah, women who are resilient and determines no matter the challenges always succeed in the end.

• Resian is determined to go to the university. She has desires to join Egerton University and pursue veterinary Science. (18) She constantly asked Yeiyo amd Taiyo to talk to their father. (183) Her father, Ole Kaelo prefers marrying Resian off to Oloisudori to educating her. (101, 169, 185 197,203-209) She manages to escape and get to Emakererei (262)
• Resian is determined to fight off being married forcefully to Oloisudori, despite the father's and Oloisudori's insistence. (101. 169, 185-197, 203-209) she manages to escape their plans by the help of Olarinkoi(209) and even gets to Minik's ranch (262) who protects her from the clutches of oloisudori.(282-284)
• Minik ene Nkoitoi, Emakererei, is focused on rescuing the girl-child from the FGM practice. The society values this practice and one who has not undergone it is deragoratorilly called ntoiye nemengalana. she's been considered as a wasp( 21-22, 52) she saves th girls at her ranch (21, 265-284)
•  Minik ene Nkoitoi has set her eyes on educating the girl-child despite the resistance from the Nasilian male-chauvinists.
• Resian fights olarinkoi from raping her. He worms into their family doing odd jobs (67,74) and wins the girls's trust by protecting them from the vagabonds(140-143) she uses that fact to lure resian to his place (209) and tries to rape her and also forces to marry her (218-222) she escapes to Minik's place(262)
• Nabaru fights for Resian against Olarinkoi and his mother to get her Emakererei. Nabaru takes care of resian when she's hurt( 224-233) she helps her escape to Nabaru's (245-253) In conclusion, one needs to beat all odds to achieve their dreams

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A Doll's House

By henrik ibsen, a doll's house essay questions.

The play is usually considered one of Ibsen's “realist” plays. Consider how far the play might be anti-realist or symbolic.

Answer: Consider the symbols, metaphors, and imagery of the play, and weigh their importance against the elements that seem realistic. It also should be very helpful to define “realism” over against the uses of symbols and elements that are absurd, grotesque, or fantastic. Note that “realism” and “symbolism” have gained specific connotations within Ibsen criticism.

When Nora says in Act One, “I can't think of anything to wear. It all seems so stupid and meaningless,” Ibsen illustrates the symbolism of clothing in the play. Describe how Ibsen’s use of clothing works in the play.

Answer: Consider, especially, Nora's tarantella costume and fancy-dress box, as well as her black dress when taking the clothing is a symbol. Explore the metaphor of clothing as something which covers up, something which disguises, or as something which confers identity. Ibsen also uses clothing to make points about agency and gender. Consider who dresses whom and who wears certain clothes for the sake of personal expression or in order to please someone else.

Why is freedom important in the play?

Answer: Nora sees herself as not free when she is confined in the domestic life of her husband’s home. The direction of the play is to perceive Nora’s awakening as someone who deserves freedom. Consider, too, that Torvald becomes free of his marriage obligations, which also have been oppressive of his own liberties. Finally, consider the ambiguous nature of the freedom Nora wins. She is going from a fairly predictable life into something unknown. Remember that Mrs. Linde would rather be tied to a family rather than alone and on her own. Is that because of human nature or because of her individual choice?

Is Torvald Helmer a deeply abhorrent character?

Answer: To answer this question, perform a detailed character study of Torvald Helmer. Do not jump to a conclusion based on your initial feelings about his words and actions in the play. Weigh both sides of the argument—what specifically is the problem in the marriage and in his choices? If you decide to abhor the character, how bad is he? Consider the ways in which he genuinely loves his wife, earns money for the household, and pays attention to her against his selfishness, oppression of his wife, and ability to handle stress.

How does the play illustrate inheritance, the passing along of traits from parent to child?

Answer: Consider Dr. Rank's illness as attributed to his father’s indiscretions. Krogstad's shame for his own alleged errors is inherited by his children by way of reputation. Consider, most of all, Nora's relationships with her father and her nurse as influences on how she treats her own children.

What is the importance of the title of the play?

Answer: This is a reasonably straightforward question that could be taken in a number of directions. How far is Nora a doll, an object or toy for others? How does her home represent a doll’s house, from which the doll cannot escape on her own? When Nora leaves the house, she is breaking free of the metaphor, though it is unclear what will happen if she is going to return to her earlier family home, where she was something of a doll to her father.

Ibsen once described Mrs Alving in his play Ghosts as a version of Nora in later life. Imagine what Nora’s earlier life might have been like, based on her characterization in the play.

Answer: If up till the last day, Nora has been living in a fantasy world, she must have been even less self-aware or independent when she was younger. She probably married by being enthralled by her society’s ideas of love and marriage. Under her father and nurse, she seems to have had few opportunities to get anything like a liberal education; instead, she seems to have learned only how to be a traditional girl and a traditional woman.

To what extent is the play a comedy?

Answer: As well as considering smaller touches, such as individual lines, or jokes that might be funny or comedic, it is worth learning about the theatrical definitions of comedy and tragedy to consider how the structure of the play and the main plot elements might count as part of the tradition of comedy. Consider the roles of marriage, death, friendship, self-awareness, irony, family, holidays and parties, and the various themes of the play in this context.

Is A Doll's House a feminist play?

Answer: Ibsen claimed that his play was about liberation in a more general, human sense, rather than specifically about female liberation. If feminism focuses on both men and women, it is reasonable to see the mutual liberation of Torvald and Nora as a feminist goal, liberating people of both sexes from social and cultural limitations based on gender. Consider the various women in the play as well. How are we to know whether Ibsen wants us to approve or disapprove of their various choices in relation to men and to their own goals? How do the characters themselves exhibit any goals or points that could be described as feminist?

How does Ibsen provide suspense in the play?

Answer: The audience wonders when Torvald will read the letter and what will happen when he does. We also do not know if Nora is going to decide to kill herself, leave, or stay home, but we do know that the pressure on her is building and that something in her is going to burst. Foreshadowing contributes to these issues, such as when Nora tells Mrs. Linde that she has plans Mrs. Linde cannot understand.

Compare the relationship between Mrs. Linde and Krogstad with that of Nora and Torvald.

Answer: Nora and Torvald have lived in something of a fantasy marriage for years, and finally they are separating. Meanwhile, Mrs. Linde and Krogstad have been apart, thinking about one another, and finally they are getting together with a larger degree of self-understanding and maturity.

A Doll’s House Questions and Answers

The Question and Answer section for A Doll’s House is a great resource to ask questions, find answers, and discuss the novel.

Explain why krogstad says he would ask for his letter back

The music of the tarantella is heard above, and Mrs. Linde urges Krogstad to be quick. Krogstad now grows suspicious, questioning whether she is saying all of this simply on behalf of Nora. She denies it, and he then offers to take the letter...

Meaning of Excesses with regards to A Doll's House

What act are you referring to?

Mrs Linde States "i want to be a mother to someone, and your children need amother. We two need each other. Nils, I have faith in your real character I can dare anything together with you ?Based on this reading What does she want from life?

Ultimately, Mrs. Linde decides that she will only be happy if she goes off with Krogstad. Her older, weary viewpoint provides a foil to Nora's youthful impetuousness. She perhaps also symbolizes a hollowness in the matriarchal role. Her...

Study Guide for A Doll’s House

A Doll's House study guide contains a biography of Henrik Ibsen, literature essays, a complete e-text, quiz questions, major themes, characters, and a full summary and analysis.

• About A Doll's House
• A Doll's House Summary
• Character List

Essays for A Doll’s House

A Doll's House essays are academic essays for citation. These papers were written primarily by students and provide critical analysis of Henrik Ibsen's play A Doll's House.

• Influence of Antigone on A Doll's House
• Burning Down the Doll House
• Ibsen's Portrayal of Women
• Dressed to Impress: The Role of the Dress in Cinderella and A Doll's House
• A Doll's House: Revolution From Within

Lesson Plan for A Doll’s House

• About the Author
• Study Objectives
• Common Core Standards
• Introduction to A Doll's House
• Relationship to Other Books
• Bringing in Technology
• Notes to the Teacher
• Related Links
• A Doll's House Bibliography

E-Text of A Doll’s House

A Doll's House e-text contains the full text of A Doll's House by Henrik Ibsen.

• DRAMATIS PERSONAE

Wikipedia Entries for A Doll’s House

• Introduction
• List of characters
• Composition and publication
• Production history