SAMPLE EXCERPTS FROM BLOSSOMS QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS

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

He was very helpful and he agreed to accompany them to the village where the girl was, and help them rescue her. They were about to give up the rescue mission after several attempts to distract the guards had failed. But the man from Nasila was able to lure the whole team of guards to a beer party at a nearby village, leaving the girl unguarded.

It was then that the rescue team stuck! Amidst screams of terrified women, the barking of fierce dogs, braying donkeys and mowing of cattle, they entered the hut where the weak and sickly girl lay. They carried her and scampered away fast, like men fleeing from a burning village for three kilometres, to the spot where they had left the vehicle. And they were lucky to have escaped, for immediately they put her onto the vehicle and they themselves had jumped into it, the fierce-looking guards arrived, breathless, but fuming furiously and brandishing all sorts of deadly weapons.

On seeing that they had been outsmarted, they resorted to throwing stones at them, but by then the four-wheel drive vehicle had shot past the range of their missiles.

Regrettably, they learnt later that the man who assisted them so much and enabled them to rescue the girl, was speared to death by those thugs who accused him of tricking them so the girl could be stolen. The girl had, however, arrived safely and she was in fair condition although she was shocked, traumatised and terribly emaciated. She said the girl still found it difficult to walk, for the injuries inflicted to her by the enkamuratani’s olmurunya had not yet healed.

Minik was thinking of how best to broach the matter in her mind. For a moment she wondered if it was the right time to bring out in the open the matter which she knew would be very painful to the girl who was just recovering from her own trauma. But she knew she could not hide the truth for long. It had to be revealed sooner so that counselling sessions could be put into place soon. Bracing herself appropriately, she quietly and coolly dropped the bombshell.

Questions

1. Place this excerpt in its immediate context. (4mks)
2. In which place did the rescue team find the weak and sickly girl? (1mk)
3. ‘bracing herself appropriately, she quietly and coolly dropped the bombshell.’ What was the bombshell? (2mks)
4. Describe the relationship of the man who assisted the rescue team with the weak and sickly girl. (2mks)
5. Discuss two outstanding themes in the excerpt. (4mks)
6. How is Minik portrayed in this excerpt. (4mks)
7. What is the role of Minik as shown in the rest of the text. (3mks)
8. How has hyperbole been used in the excerpt? (2mks)
9. ‘but the man from Nasila was able to lure the whole team of guards to a beer party at a nearby village, leaving the girl unguarded.’ Rewrite this sentence beginning with a participle phrase.  (1mk)
10. Explain the meaning of the following words as used in the excerpt. (2mks)
    1. Scampered
    2. Outsmarted

Sample excerpt 1 answers

1. Minik sends a worker to fetch Resian. When Resian gets to Minik’s house, she senses that Minnik is angry and it turns out that she is unhappy of the new daring cases of arrogant predators who are challenging her for selfish gains; threatening her effort to fight female circumcision and forced underage marriages. Minik tells Resian of the unexpected events and the challenges the rescue team went through. She does this carefully not frighten Resian and eventually, quietly and coolly drops the bombshell that the rescued girl is Taiyo and the man killed during the rescue is Joseph Parmuat.
2. In a village called Esoit. She was in a home that was heavily guarded by Oloisudon’s men.
3. That the rescued girl was Taiyo and that the man that was killed was Joseph Parmuat.
4. Taiyo and Joseph Parmuat were in a love relationship though Joseph had declined her love citing the reasons that he and Taiyo were considered related( a brother and a sister)
5.  
   • Conflict/ fear – the home in which Taiyo was kept was heavily guarded by Oloisudon’s men. When the rescue team struck, women in the hut where Taiyo was kept screamed in terror. The team managed to get into the hut, carried Taiyo and scampered away fast, like men fleeing from a burning village. They were lucky to have escaped, for immediately put her onto the vehicle and they themselves had jumped into it, the fierce-looking guards arrived, breathless, but fuming furiously and brandishing all sorts of deadly weapons. On seeing that they had been outsmarted, they resorted to throwing stones at them.
   • Death – the man who had assisted them so much and enabled them to rescue the girl, was speared to death by those thugs who accused him of tricking them so the girl could be stolen
6. How is Minik portrayed in this excerpt. (4mks)
   
   • Cautious – she wanted to approach the matter carefully not to frighten Resian. She knew Resian was still recovering from her trauma and could not, therefore, bear another traumatic experience.
   • Caring/ kind – she cared about the wellbeing of Resian and Taiyo. She did everything to ensure the girl (Taiyo) was rescued. She was kind enough not to cause more fear in Resian therefore she approached the mattercautiously.
7. What is the role of Minik as shown in the rest of the text. (3mks)
   Minik is a feminist whose role is to rescue girls from forced marriages and FGM. Her fight against female circumcision and forced underage marriages had achieved tremendous success as she had rescued over 500 girls who were living in her ranch. Minik is aware of the new threats from the rich men who are challenging to outsmart her with their monetary prowess but she is as fierce as a wasp the reason she was nicknamed ‘wasp’ by Ole Supeyo. She is a well-known crusader against the retrogressive cultural practices that are against the girl child.
8. How has hyperbole been used in the excerpt? (2mks)
   the ability of the rescue team to outsmart the heavily armed guards is over stated.
9. ‘but the man from Nasila was able to lure the whole team of guards to a beer party at a nearby village, leaving the girl unguarded.’ Rewrite this sentence beginning with a participle phrase.     (1mk)
   Leaving the girl unguarded, the man from Nasila was able to lure the whole team of guards to a beer party at a nearby village.
10. Explain the meaning of the following words as used in the excerpt. (2mks)
    
    1. Scampered- Run with quick steps in fear
    2. Outsmarted - Defeated