Set books need thorough reading

CONTEXT QUESTIONS

It is important to note that one requires adequate knowledge of the text to be able to answer context questions. Context questions will test both reading and writing skills. The student should also be prepared to answer one or two questions on grammar in this section. The student is expected to read and understand the given excerpt and be able to place it in its context in the play. Rather than tackling the excerpt in isolation, the student should relate it to the rest of the play.

Short structured questions are set on the excerpt. The student should give brief but comprehensive answers. They should be guided by the marks allocated to each question. A thorough knowledge of the plot development of the play will help the student answer extract questions well.

1. Read the excerpt below and answer the questions that follow.

HOVSTAD: It almost seems as if Dr. Stockmann’s intention were to ruin the town.

DR.STOCKMANN: Yes, my native is so dear to me that I would rather ruin it than see it prosper upon a lie.

ASLAKSEN: This is really serious. (Uproar and whistles, MRS STOCKMANN coughs in vain; her husband does not listen to her any longer.)

HOVSTAD (shouting above the din): A man must be a public enemy who wishes to ruin a whole community!

DR. STOCKMANN (with growing fervour): What does the destruction of a community matter, if it lives on lies? It ought to be razed to the ground. I tell you- All who live by lies ought to be wiped out like vermin! You will end up infecting the whole country; you will bring about such a state of things that the whole country will deserve to be destroyed. And if it ever comes to that, I shall say from the bottom of my heart: Let the whole country be destroyed, let all these people be wiped out!
VOICES FROM THE CROWD: That is the talk of an out-and –out enemy of the people!

BILLING: There sounded the voice of the people, by all that’s holy!

THE WHOLE CROWD: (shouting). Yes, yes! He is an enemy of the people! He hates his country! He hates his own people!

ASLAKSEN: As a citizen and as an individual, I am profoundly disturbed by what we have had to listen to. Dr. Stockmann has betrayed himself in a way in a way I would never have dreamed of. I am unhappily obliged to subscribe to the opinion which I have just heard my fellow citizen utter; and I propose that we embody that opinion in a resolution. I propose a resolution as follows: “This meeting declares that it considers Dr. Thomas Stockmann, Medical Officer of the Baths, to be an enemy of the people.” (A storm of cheers and applause. A number of men surround the DOCTOR, cat-calling. MRS. STOCKMANN and PETRA have got up from their seats. MORTEN and EJLIF are fighting the other school boys for booing; some of the grown-ups separate them.)

QUESTIONS

a) Place this extract in its immediate context. (4mks)

b) In note form, show how Dr. Stockman is an enemy of the people. (6mks)

c) How has Aslaksen been portrayed in this extract? (2mks)

d) Identify a simile used in the extract and comment on its effectiveness. (3mks)

e) ASLAKSEN: This is really serious. (Rewrite the above statement in indirect speech) (1mk)

f) Explain the irony in Hovstad’s declaration: “A man must be a public enemy to wish to ruin a whole community.” (3mks)

g) Explain the meaning of the word razed as used in the extract. (1mk)

h) Identify and illustrate two thematic concerns that come out of this extract.(4mks)

i) A man must be a public enemy who wishes to ruin a whole community. Replace the underlined word with a synonym. (1mk)

SAMPLE ANSWERS
a) When asked to place an extract in its immediate context, the student is expected to briefly state what happens before the extract by indicating events that lead to the given extract. For example, in the above extract, which events lead Hovstad to make the statement: “It almost seems as if Dr. Stockmann’s intention was to ruin the town?” This will help one identify what happens before the extract. The student will then be required to also briefly state what happens after the given extract by detailing events that come immediately after the extract. In this case, indicate what happens after Aslaksen proposes that Dr. Stockmann be declared an enemy of the people.

Before

Dr. Stockmann has been addressing the town people in Horster’s hall, where he accuses the authorities of being oppressive. He also accuses the compact majority of being ignorant and says the community believes in old retrogressive truths.
ANY 2 points =2marks

After

Morten Kiil threatens the doctor that if he makes it public that it is effluent from his tannery that is polluting the baths, he would do something that would cost him.
Mr Vik the ship owner tells captain Horster that he was free to do what he wants with his ship just as Horster had done by allowing the doctor to use his house.

The meeting takes a vote and declares Dr. Stockmann an enemy of the people.
ANY 2 points= 2marks

b) Tabulate the points by use of numbers, letters, dashes, bullets or asterisks.

(i) Dr. Stockmann discovers that the Baths are poisoned 1a

(ii) he proposes expensive repairs to be carried out 1b

(iii) his proposal means that the Baths will be closed for about two years 1c

(iv) he refuses to accept the authority’s idea that only minimum repairs are sufficient 1d

(v) when his proposal is rejected, he wants the truth to be known by everyone by publishing his finding in the People’s Messenger 1e

(vi) in his lecture, he declares the people ignorant and the authorities oppressive 1f

(vii) his proposal would bring down the economy 1g of the town hence ruin the lives of the poor. 1h

(viii) He is therefore declared an enemy of the people.

ANY 6 points= 6 marks.

NB: if the candidate presents such an answer in prose form, ½ mark is deducted from the total.

c) The question requires the student to give Aslaksen’s character trait as portrayed in the extract. Character traits can be revealed through what a character says, through what a character does, or through what other characters say about him.

In this extract, Aslaksen betrays Dr. Stockmann. Earlier, he is seen as his friend, yet he turns against him and leads the meeting in declaring him an enemy of the people. Aslaksen is therefore portrayed as unreliable, hypocritical and traitorous.

d) This is a question on style, which tests the student’s ability to identify a stylistic device from the extract. A simile is a figure of speech (imagery). It compares one thing to another using the words “like” or “as”. In this comparison what is not known is compared to what is unknown, making the listener get a clear picture of what is being said. To give the effectiveness of the simile, the candidate should show how the simile helps us to understand what is being said.
In the extract we have the simile:

All who live by lies ought to be exterminated like vermin.

According to Dr. Stockmann, the town people, who would rather gain materially at the expense of the visitors’ health, should not be allowed to live in society. We should get rid of them the way we kill vermin because they are destructive.
e) This grammar question tests the candidate’s ability to use reported speech. The student is expected to report what Aslaksen said. In reporting, we use the past tense. Some words in direct speech change when they are reported. For example, ‘this’ becomes ‘that’; ‘is’ becomes ‘was’ .

Aslaksen said that, that was really serious.
f) The student is expected to understand that irony occurs when what is said is the direct opposite of what is meant (verbal irony). It can also refer to a situation where what is happening is the direct opposite of our expectation, otherwise known as situational irony.

Hovstad’s declaration is an example of verbal irony. It is ironic that Dr. Stockmann, who is fighting for the truth to be accepted, is referred to as a public enemy, yet it is the authorities and the town people who wish to peddle filth to the visitors.
(The irony must be brought out clearly. Contrast words e.g. yet help bring out the irony)

g) When tackling vocabulary questions, candidates should infer the meaning of the word from the context. A word might have several meanings. Give the meaning of the word according to the way it has been used.
Razed- burned down/brought down by fire .

h) Thematic concern refers to the writer’s message. This is the issues that the author raises in the extract. To get the writer’s message, we should try to get the subject matter that the writer is trying to pass to the readers.

In this extract, the writer is bringing up the idea of the fight for the truth. Dr. Stockmann is fighting for the truth. He says, “…I would rather ruin it than see it prosper upon a lie.”

Betrayal has also been brought out. Dr. Stockmann is declared an enemy of the people by Aslaksen who has been a frequent visitor in his house.

i) To answer this question the student must understand the meaning of the word synonym. Synonyms are words which have the same meaning. This also tests the student’s word power.

Synonym for enemy is adversary or foe.