Question

Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow.

That it did not have to be an issue for my two favourite people to fight over. But I didn’t want either to be told not to repeat that or it to be considered so funny that anyone would laught at me until they cried.

1. Which issue does the narrator refer to here? (Understanding)
2. Who are the two favourite people of the narrator mentioned here? Do they have the same views? (Understanding and Analysis)
3. What does the narrator expect of her mother and grandmother regarding her issue? (Analysis)
4. What opinion does Nana hold about women’s ability to rear a child? (Understanding)
5. How is the outer world of a child as compared to the world before birth? (Analysis)

Answer 1

1. The narrator refers to the issue of her long, thin legs. Nana considers them a weakness and worries about what they may mean for Adjoa’s future, while Maami does not share the same concern.
2. The two favourite people are Adjoa’s mother, Maami, and her grandmother, Nana. They do not have the same views. Nana is concerned about Adjoa’s thin legs, whereas Maami is more accepting and does not consider them a serious problem.
3. Adjoa expects her mother and grandmother to stop arguing about her legs. She wants them to accept her as she is and not make her physical appearance a matter of disagreement between them.
4. Nana believes that a woman needs strong, properly built legs to bear and rear a child successfully. She therefore worries that Adjoa’s long, thin legs may make it difficult for her to become a mother in the future.
5. The world outside the womb is much less peaceful and secure than the world before birth. Adjoa describes the womb as a “land of sweet soft silence”, suggesting warmth, safety and comfort, while the outer world contains worries, conflicts and expectations.