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WAEC - Literature In English (2024 - No. 23)

UNSEEN PROSE
Read the passage and answer the following question

The message was unambiguous: her John was on his way back. For how long had he been gone? Jenny wondered. 

She wrung her hands in silent expectation. She stood, turned about, and sat, motionless. She was listening in the silence of the room and looking into the gloom of the unlit room. 

She seemed to pull herself together as she rose to her full height, switched on the light and turned on the TV, to no station in particular, selecting no programme at all. She sat in front of the TV, not watching. Her heart was pounding, slowly, she hoisted herself from the armchair and moved towards the kitchen, like one sleepwalking. 

She must get some food ready for the sojourner. Her rapid heartbeat did not show in her slow-motion actions. Her cooking done, Jenny was carrying the dish on a tray to the dining table when the doorbell rang. Jenny dropped the tray.

UNSEEN PROSE
Read the passage and answer the following question

The message was unambiguous: her John was on his way back. For how long had he been gone? Jenny wondered. 

She wrung her hands in silent expectation. She stood, turned about, and sat, motionless. She was listening in the silence of the room and looking into the gloom of the unlit room. 

She seemed to pull herself together as she rose to her full height, switched on the light and turned on the TV, to no station in particular, selecting no programme at all. She sat in front of the TV, not watching. Her heart was pounding, slowly, she hoisted herself from the armchair and moved towards the kitchen, like one sleepwalking. 

She must get some food ready for the sojourner. Her rapid heartbeat did not show in her slow-motion actions. Her cooking done, Jenny was carrying the dish on a tray to the dining table when the doorbell rang. Jenny dropped the tray.

UNSEEN PROSE
Read the passage and answer the following question

The message was unambiguous: her John was on his way back. For how long had he been gone? Jenny wondered. 

She wrung her hands in silent expectation. She stood, turned about, and sat, motionless. She was listening in the silence of the room and looking into the gloom of the unlit room. 

She seemed to pull herself together as she rose to her full height, switched on the light and turned on the TV, to no station in particular, selecting no programme at all. She sat in front of the TV, not watching. Her heart was pounding, slowly, she hoisted herself from the armchair and moved towards the kitchen, like one sleepwalking. 

She must get some food ready for the sojourner. Her rapid heartbeat did not show in her slow-motion actions. Her cooking done, Jenny was carrying the dish on a tray to the dining table when the doorbell rang. Jenny dropped the tray.

The technique of narration is
First person
Second person
Third person
stream of consciousness

Explanation

The passage uses a stream of consciousness technique, which captures Jenny’s inner thoughts, emotions and sensations in a continuous flow without a structured or logical order.

  • The narration moves fluidly between her thoughts and actions (e.g., "She wrung her hands in silent expectation. She stood, turned about, and sat, motionless.").
  • Her inner turmoil is reflected in the fragmented and almost dreamlike descriptions (e.g., "She sat in front of the TV, not watching.").
  • The lack of structured narration and the free flow of emotions are typical of the stream of consciousness style.

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