JAMB - Literature In English (1985)

1
Because of his fiery temper as a youth, Odewale was called the
Answer
(B)
Scorpion
2
'Is Aderopo jealous that i am sharing a bed with his mother? Very well then, let him come and sleep with his mother'.
Odewale's statement is a good example of
Answer
(C)
irony
3
'Just because i am an Ijebu man, and do not belong to your tribe, the sight of me as your king gnaws at your liver, and rips your heart asunder...'
The speaker's statement is prompted by
Answer
(D)
persecution complex
4
Odewale: I thought you were leaving with your son Aderopo.
Ojuola: It is you i married your highness, not my son.
The exchange from The Gods are not to Blame is an example of
Answer
(B)
dramatic irony
5
'He was a living example of the astonishing results that can occur when Western hypocrisy and commercial materialism are grafted on to a first rate African intelligence.'
The character described in the passage is the father of
Answer
(C)
Zambo
6
In which of the following London neighborhoods mentioned in Great Expectations is Mr. Jagger's office located?
Answer
(E)
Little Britain.
7
The major lesson Pip's experience in Great Expectations teaches us is that
Answer
(E)
ambition should be moderated by fairness and human consideration for others
8
Miss Havisham grooms Estella the way she does so as to make Estella
Answer
(E)
a means of torturing menfolk.
9
The characters of Joe and Biddy are contrasted with those of Pip and Estella in order to show
Answer
(B)
the advantages of simplicity, sincerity and true love
10
A 'gentleman' in the sense in which it is used in Great Expectations is
Answer
(C)
an educated man of some means
11
As Medza was getting near to his village on his way from Kala he drinks at the palm wine bar because
Answer
(D)
he wants to pick up courage to face his father
12
'It was at this stage in the proceedings, before i had even had time to get my personal emotions quietened down a little-let alone sorted out-that my Helen, the real object of my mission, for whom i had been prepared to fight a second Troy before the walls of Kala, appeared on the scene.
In this passage from Mission to Kala, allusion is made to
Answer
(B)
Greek mythology
13
In Mission to Kala When Medza encounters Edima,
what strikes him about her is her
Answer
(E)
childlike innicence
14
The narrator in Mission to Kala is
Answer
(B)
Medza
15
Who persuades Caesar to disregard Calpurnia's appeal?
Answer
(A)
Decius Brutus
16
'And for Mark Antony, think not of him;
For he can do no more of caesar's arm
When caesar's head is off'.
This means that Mark Antony
Answer
(B)
will become harmless once Caesar is dead
17
Brutus: This is sleepy tune. O murd'rous slumber!
Layest thou the leaden mace upon my boy,
That plays the music? Gentle knave, good night.
'Gentle knave' refers to
Answer
(A)
Lucius
18
'Good friends, go in, and taste some wine with me;
And, we like friends, will straightway go together'.

This statement by Julius Caesar is an example of
Answer
(D)
dramatic irony
19
In Julius Caesar, Shakespeare portrays the roman plebeians as
Answer
(A)
fickle-minded
20

'Serrating down your back and front
Like beak of the sword-fish,
And both your ears, notched
As a bondsman to this house...'

The dominant figure of speech in the above lines from J.P. Clark's 'Abiku' is

Answer
(B)
synecdoche
21
'... like some fish
Doped out of the deep
I have bobbed up bellywise
From stream of sleep'.
The above lines from 'Night Rain' are intended to emphasize the fact that the speaker
Answer
(E)
was suddenly roused from sleep.
22
In Soyinka's 'Abiku', the statement, 'The ripest fruit was saddest', is an example of
Answer
(D)
a paradox
23
When David Diop in 'The Vultures' says that 'civilization kicked us in the face' and 'holy water slapped our cringing brows', he is using
Answer
(D)
personification
24
The mood expressed in 'We Have Come Home' by Lenrie Peters is that of
Answer
(B)
tension over the past and uncertainty of the future
25
In the poem 'The Vultures', David Diop expresses his
Answer
(A)
hope that African will triumph over colonialism
26
The poem 'Viaticum' portrays a ritual preparation for
Answer
(A)
life's journey
27
In J.P Clarks 'Abiku' the word 'threshold' means
Answer
(D)
the home of the living
28
David Diop's poem 'The Vultures', ends in a
Answer
(E)
proclamanation of hope.
29
In the poem 'Piano AND Drums' Okara uses the drums to symbolize
Answer
(B)
traditional African ways of life
30
What distinguishes poetry from other forms of literature is its
Answer
(D)
rhyme and verse
31
A play is a Tragedy when
Answer
(E)
a weakness in the main character leads to his downfall.
32
In a work of Literature, the hero is one
Answer
(E)
who performs brave and heroic deeds.
33
Which of the following is a correct definition of the balled?
Answer
(E)
A poem that tells a folk story
34
Assonance in poetry is the repetition of
Answer
(A)
internal vowels in words
35
'All day long, all along the line
Through tiny station, each exactly like the last chattering little black girls uncaged from school all day long,...'
For the girls mentioned here, the hours spent at school means
Answer
(D)
restriction
36
In a play denouement is the
Answer
(E)
the resolution of the conflicts in the plot.
37
The central organizing idea which unites character, action, language and style in a work of fiction is known as
Answer
(B)
plot
38
'I too crossed the rivers, and the virgin ambushes of the forests,
Where Lianas hung down, more treacherous than serpents'.
In the eyes of the writer of these lines, the word 'Forests' stands for
Answer
(C)
innocence
39
''Mother, didn''t you hear me? I''ve bought the goat, hen and yams. don''t you want them anymore? Why do you continue to look at me like that?

I haven''t done anything wrong again, have i?

Answer me, speak to me, mother!''

The dominant mood in this passage is one of
Answer
(C)
anxiety
40
'When we got off the bus he helped me to cross the road, holding me by the elbow. Submissively, I allowed my self to be led. Out on the square there was an African sun, and in my heart too, shading a flood of light'.
The narrator here is full of
Answer
(D)
cheer
41
'There kneels a jigger, a louse, a weevil, a flea, a bedbug! He is mistletoe, a parasite that lives on the trees of other people's lives!'
The speaker uses a string of
Answer
(C)
metaphors
42
A trade, Sir, that, i hope, i may use with a safe conscience; which is, indeed, Sir, a mender of bad soles.
The passage is referring to a
Answer
(C)
workman who repears shoes
43
At the end of that week I set off for Caxley. It was a grey day, with the downs covered in thick mist. The trees dripped sadly along the road to the market town, and the wet pavements were even more depressing.
The setting is best described as
Answer
(B)
dismal
44
A deliberate use of exaggeration for humour or emphasis is known as
Answer
(D)
hyperbole
45
'The pen is mightier than the sword' is an example of
Answer
(A)
metonymy