missing out in memories we lost essay

KCSE SET BOOKS ESSAY QUESTIONS and ANSWERS

Enjoy free KCSE revision materials on imaginative compositions, essay questions and answers and comprehensive analysis (episodic approach) of the set books including Fathers of Nations by Paul B. Vitta, The Samaritan by John Lara, A Silent Song by Godwin Siundu, An Artist of the Floating World by Kazuo Ishiguro and Parliament of Owls by Adipo Sidang'. This blog is useful to Kenyan students preparing for KCSE; and their teachers.

Tuesday 24 December 2019

Memories we lost kcse essay questions and answers, memories we lost essays & answers pdf, memories we lost  kcse essay questions-"memories we lost" lidudumalingani mqombothi.

Write a composition to show how mental health patients and those around them experience many challenges, citing illustrations from Lidudumalingani Mqombothi's  'Memories we Lost'  (20 Marks) Mental health problems bring along with them a myriad of challenges. The patients and the people around them graple with problems such as injuries, ignorance, misdiagnosis et cetera. We should understand these challenges and help make life comfortable for such people. 

The people's ignorance made it difficult to control the illness. They refer to it as a thing meaning they have no idea what it is. The narrator likens it to a monster with spikes and horns and an oversized head. She wishes she could see it approaching so as to stop it. They resort to naïve ways like involving traditional healers to perform rituals and cleansing ceremonies. The mother takes the patient to many 'sangomas' and church and she's given bottles of medication until she is unresponsive. The needless medication only destroys the patient further. They do not understand that she suffers from Schizophrenia which is an illness without a cure. Her sister is forced to get rid of the  useless medication. The 'sangomas' and pastors promise that she would be healed but the illness keeps recurring. The villagers cursed the illness saying its caused by demons. When her mother plans to take the sister to a 'sangoma' called Nkuzi, who uses brutal 'healing methods',  the narrator is forced to escape with her sick sister from home in a bid to protect her. The incomprehension makes the girl suffer more.  

  The illness makes the patient to run away from home in the middle of the night. The mother and the entire village are abducted from their sleep. Men and boys organized a disoriented search party in small uncoordinated groups. Children are frightened. The entire village searches for her in the darkness facing the risk of plunging down a cliff. They would search and search for  the whole night. The narrator's father also had the same illness. He left on a horse to see distant relatives but never returned. He was spotted in some village twice but did not when someone yelled at him. The narrator has no memory of her father but she hopes he would return.

  The illness makes the patient injure herself and even hurt her sister. She smashes her head on the wall until she bleeds. Her terrified sister grabs her and tries to protect her but all in vain since she becomes quite strong. She cracks the wall open with her hand. At some point she throws hot porridge on the sister scalded her chest. The protective sister protects her by saying she accidentally poured hot water on herself. She had to run for safety when her sister had unconsciously flung the pot with hot porridge across the room.She did not mean to hurt her sister. She did it unconsciously since when she gained consciousness she is shocked and devastated. Had she known what she had done, she would never have forgiven herself.

  Mental illness causes disruption of education for both the patient and her sister. She had to drop out of school. When she's attacked by a bout of schizophrenia,  she swings a desk across the room and smashes a window. She had smashed a chair against a wall and and was screaming incoherent words. Her eyes are red. She only comes to her senses when she spots her sister in the crowd.After this incident, her sister also goes truant. She feigns illness to stay at home with her sister. She tells her “I want to be in the same class with you”. They stay together doing sketches and the patient convinces the sister to go back to school and even coaxes her in a wheedling way. Over the years the girls missed so much school that her younger sister caught up and went two grades higher than her.

  The sisters are forced to run away from home when the narrator eaves drops on the mother planning to have her sister taken to a traditional healer named Nzuki. He lives in a remote village miles away from there home. He is famous for ‘baking’ mentally ill people claiming to cure them. He would make a fire from cow dung and weeds and then tie the ‘demon possessed' person on a zinc roofing and place it on fire. This brutal method resulted in death since the narrator does not know anyone who survived Nzuki's ‘baking’. They flees home at sunset. They wander  far away from their village to a village she thinks is known as Philani. She takes her sister to hospital.

  Sick people and those around them undergo many challenges. We should care for such patients with compassion, love and understanding.

MEMORIES WE LOST  KCSE ESSAY QUESTION "HOW MUCH LAND DOES MAN NEED?" LEO TOLSTOY

Unchecked desires result in losses.  write an essay to qualify this statement making reference to leo tolstoy’s  ‘how much land does man need’  (20 marks) p ahom's mind is completely filled with abnormal desire to acquire land. this excessive preoccupation with acquiring a lot of land leads to his downfall when he loses everything and ends up dead. pahom has a large piece of land but he keeps thinking of only one thing how he can have more land. pahom owns 123 acres of land and pasture. he also owns a big house where he lives with his family members. he is, however, not contented with this possession. he desires wider and more fertile land to farm and keep his livestock. he is strongly attracted when a passing dealer tells him about how he acquired 13, 000 acres of land from the bashkirs. this obsession of acquiring more land makes him to buy many presents for the bashkirs and to take a seven day journey to the land of the bashkirs, with a view of acquiring a lot of land. he instead loses everything when he walks for the whole day hoping to get the land for 1, 000 roubles a day. he dies of exhaustion and loses all his property.   pahom is so obsessed with the land that he hopes to get the largest and best land above all the people. he starts to walk towards the meadows, as soon as the sun appeared above the rim. he does not even take breakfast. he even has to the take off his outer coat and shoes. he walks for as long that the hillock is scarcely visible and the people look like black ants. he feels he is in sweat and is thirsty. he only turns when its noon. the heat from the sun does not make him stop. he takes his lunch, bread and water, while standing to save time. eventually he loses everything when he walks for so long, collapses and dies of exhaustion. he loses his newly acquired land and all his old property.   despite the physical and mental exhaustion, pahom does not stop, due to his obsession. after walking for a long time, it was terribly hot and he feels sleepy. the heat makes the air hazy that the people on the hillock can barely be seen. he says it’s better to suffer for an hour and live for a lifetime. he equates the acquisition of land to eternal life. pahom feels serious pain but he pressures on. he walks with difficulty. his bare feet are cut and bruised. his legs begin to fail but due to his obsession he does not rest. he is so exhausted that he throws away his outer coat, shoes, flask and cap. he only keeps his spade to use as a support. his mouth is parched.  his breast works like a blacksmith’s bellows and his heart beats like a hammer. even after he feels like he could die of strain, he does not stop. eventually, he dies of exhaustion and loses everything.   lastly, pahom is so obsessed with acquiring land that he can barely sleep. he lies on his bed but could not sleep. he thinks about walking the whole day in order to mark off a large tract. he lays awake all night and dozes off only before dawn. the next morning his eyes glisten when the chief shows him the land. he could see that it is all virgin soil at a glance. he is told that all he has to do is circumnavigate before the sun sets. due to his obsession, pahom walks the whole day, thus becoming totally exhausted and eventually dying due to exhaustion. he loses all the land he had gained and is buried in a six feet piece of land.   obsession of any kind is dangerous. pahom’s downfall is surely due to his lack of contentment and preoccupation with acquiring a lot of land., memories we lost  kcse essay question "the president" mariatu kamara.

Write a composition on the effects of war, using illustrations from  ‘The President’  by Mariatu Kamara.

  War is a devastating experience. When a country experiences war, the effects are disastrous. In the absence of peace both adults and children suffer. There is displacement and separation of families. Children’s education may be disrupted. People also suffer physical harm.

  As a result of war, children may be recruited as soldiers in the war. Such children are misused by the rebel soldiers. The child soldiers are dehumanized.  They taunt Kamara before chopping her hands off. The leader asks her to go before he calls her back. The other boys train their guns on her. She begs the boys to spare her since they are age mates. She says that they may be friends. “We are not friends,” the boy scowled pulling out his machete. She tells them to kill her instead of chopping her hands. “We’re not going to kill you,” one boy says. They even ask her to choose which hand she wants to lose first and to ask the president for new hands. After chopping off her hands, they laugh callously and give each other high fives .

  Another effect of war is physical mutilation. The citizens are punished by having their hands chopped off. They are asked to go and show the president their stumps and ask him for new hands. This inflicts physical pain on victims such as Kamara, who does not know what a president is. She feels a sharp, darting pain up and down her arms and feels sicker than she has ever been in her life. Her three cousins Ibrahim, Mohammed and Adamsay also have their hands chopped off. They have to use their stumps to feed, wash themselves, and brush their teeth, yet they are wrapped with bandages. In high school Kamara is faced with a challenge of writing without hands. She has to hold a pen or pencil between her arms. She even fails some exams. The effects of war are surely devastating.

  War leads to separation of families. Kamara is forced to live with her father’s sister, Marie, and her husband, Alie, in Magborou village. They later move to Manarma. She is separated from her family during the rebel attack when her cousins Ibrahim and Mohammed are captured and tied up. Her little cousin Adamsay is dragged by her hair. They are later reunited in Freetown, together with her aunt and uncle. Kamara is separated from her family again, when a good Samaritan, Bill, air lifts her to Canada after her sees her photo, holding her son Abdul when he was five months old, in the newspaper. Here, she later lives with a Sierra Leonean couple who takes her to school. Although, she is in Canada she feels that she needs to support her family in Sierra Leone for they depend on her.

  War also leads to disruption of education for school going children. Kamara, like other children, stopped going to school. Kamara is forced to live in the amputee camp after the rebel attack.  She manages to resume her studies after her relocation to Canada to stay with Kadi and Abou Nabe, a Sierra Leonean couple. Kamara tells them that she needs education to better her life. She is, however, scared to go to school, meet strangers and learn without hands. She is forced to learn a new language and how to write without hands. She graduates from her ESL course with a diploma, ten months after arriving in Canada.

  War leads to children without parents/orphans. Kamara discovers she is pregnant when she is in hospital. She becomes a single mother. The father of her child, Salieu, was shot dead in front of her during a rebel attack. Since her birth canal is too small, she is forced to undergo a caesarean operation. She has to beg on the streets in order to fend for herself and Abdul, her son. Unfortunately, he dies due to malnutrition when he was only ten months old. He is buried in the camp’s mosque. Kamara is devastated.

War results in loss of life. Kamara learns that as many as a hundred people were killed on the day she was separated from her cousins.  She and her cousins were lucky to survive. Salieu, the father of her child, is shot dead by the rebels right in front of her. Abdul, Kamara’s child, is thus fatherless.

  Children are forced to beg on the streets in order to survive. Kamara are her cousins are reduced to beggars since they have no one to provide for their basic needs. Kamara hates every moment of it. On a good day they could make as much as 10,000 Leones (just under ₤2) by pooling their money. When she gives birth to Abdul, she earns more money than her cousins combined. One day, a man drops 40,000 Leones (about ₤7.50) in her shopping basket.  

  Victims of war are forced to live in refugee camps when they re displaced from their homes. Kamara and about four hundred amputees are forced to live in a camp the size of a football stadium. About 1600 family members also move there to take care of them. The camp is filthy with litter and smell of rubbish, dirty bodies and cooking food. The conditions are sickening. They do not complain since it is peaceful. Kamara loses her child due to malnutrition. It is a reprieve for her when Bill offers to bring her to Canada.

  War is a torturous experience for the victims. Innocent civilians are subjected to physical and psychological torture. The process of chopping hands is slow and painful. Kamara is taken back and forth before her hands are chopped. She begs for mercy. The rebels refuse to kill her. They ask her to pick a hand to be chopped first. She tells her age mates that they may be friends. The rebels enjoy the torturing process. They laugh and give each other high fives. Salieu, the father of Kamara’s son, is shot dead right in front of her. She is pregnant in hospital with no hands. She is too young to give birth normally. She has to undergo a cesarean operation. This is both physically and emotionally painful.

  In brief, war is not a solution. It brings about suffering to innocent people. Children like Kamara are the most affected.

MEMORIES WE LOST  KCSE ESSAY QUESTION "Stones Bounce on Water" Dilman Dila 

Clearly, when we betray others, we stand to lose rather than gain. 

MEMORIES WE LOST  KCSE ESSAY QUESTION "Memories we Lost" Lidudulimalingani Mqombothi 

MEMORIES WE LOST  KCSE ESSAY QUESTION "The Folded Leaf" Segun Afolabi

Write a composition to show how unscrupulous preachers take advantage of Christians to enrich themselves basing your illustrations on The Folded Leaf by Segun Afolabi.

Some exploitative preachers dupe unsuspecting faithful and cheat them out of their hard-earned money, with a view of enriching themselves. They encourage the congregants to give generously in order to fund their lavish lifestyle while promising to heal or help the gullible flock. In The Folded Leaf , Pastor Adejola Fayemi is one fine con artist that tricks many people and lives opulently.

Pastor Adejola Fayemi has enriched himself at the expense of his credulous followers (p 81). When Reverend Abbe prays, she asks God to allow his messenger – Pastor Fayemi, to heal his children; Bunmi, Samuel, Tunde and Mrs. Kekere. The preacher is famously known Daddy Cool because he owns a helicopter and a Gulfstream jet and has homes in Florida, Switzerland and the Caribbean. He is also frequently featured on TVs, newspapers and magazines. He has a proclivity for wearing dark glasses. When they get to his church, Tunde is interested in seeing his aeroplane or helicopter. He is disappointed to see many wheelchairs instead. Although they have faith when they visit Lagos for healing, eventually the journey turns out to be fruitless when they return the same way they came. This is even after they give a generous donation in church (p 88). When the miracles do not happen, Bunmi notes that Papa must return home to face her mother, Reverend Abbe, Reverend Okulaja and all the congregants and offer an explanation since they have given away all the donation - that took months to raise – in one single collection. They return empty handed (p 92). The unchecked trust they have in the conniving pastor does not pay off. He exploits them for his own benefit.

Secondly, the pastor's sermon is hinged on the gospel of prosperity and healing (p 86). He says that God does not like the poor. He talks of having all the riches of the world right there, right then and that there is more wealth than we can imagine. He urges thousands of church goers to give generously claiming that giving is pleasing the Lord. Papa distributes funds they raised for months at their local church to Tunde, Mrs. Kekere, Sam and Bola. They give all the money to pastor Fayemi hoping to receive miracles and healing in return (p 88). Bunmi can hear a voice different from pastor Fayemi's booming, urging people to give all they can. He cautions them that God sees into their hearts and they should not cheat Him. The man is simply trying to squeeze money out of the hopeful faithful. This money is used to fund the pastor's affluent lifestyle. The church is full of people expecting healing or miracles. The pastors promise that there will be healing. They claim to cure cancer, arthritis and other ailments. However, Bunmi, Sam, Tunde and Mrs. Kekere who are disabled do not receive any miracles even after offering generous church donations.

Mr. and Mrs. Ejiofoh are treated with utmost decorum since they are rich. When they arrive at Pastor Fayemi's church, they are whisked away to the VIP area whereas Sam, Bunmi and Mrs. Kekere are ushered to the back of the arena. The couple's outward demeanour depicts them as opulent so the greedy ushers give them preferential treatment since they expect generous donations from them. Mrs. Ejiofoh's embroidered lace is soft and cost a lot of money. Mr. Ejiofoh is a wealthy  man. He takes his family to Rome for a vacation. They stay in expensive hotels such as Intercontinental while on such sabbaticals. Bimbo, his daughter drives a Volkswagen Passat. Mr. and Mrs. Ejiofoh believe that you give and you receive in abundance. They are famous for their church donations. Unsurprisingly, they are accorded VIP treatment at Pastor Fayemi's church, since imminently they would donate generously to the church. The preacher takes advantage of their faith to fleece them.

Pastor Fayemi and associates use fake miracles to give the congregants false hope, while tricking them into having greater conviction thus easily defrauding them. The church is packed to capacity with disabled people seeking miracles or healing. Tunde exclaims that the place is wheelchair city (p 87). Papa desperately says that they should run when the pastor calls them. They travel from Leke Street all the way to Lagos in pursuit of miracles. Reverend Abbe prays to God to heal Bunmi, Sam, Tunde and Mrs. Kekere, through his messenger - Pastor Adejola Fayemi. The church is full of people to the point that it is stifling. The pastor declares that there will be healing and asks someone to stand up from a wheelchair. Sam tries to stand up in vain. Mrs. Kekere says that she is prepared to receive healing. The pastors claim to cure many ailments including cancer and arthritis. Papa tells Bunmi, his blind daughter, that she will see them tonight after she is healed. An old woman throws her cane down and starts dancing stage (p 89). This gives them false hope that Mrs. Kekere and Sam will receive a miracle and dance too and Tunde's heart will be healed. They are, however, not allowed on stage. They have to return home disappointed after the trip and their efforts prove futile. Papa has to face Rev. Abbe, Rev. Okulaja, Mama and other congregants and tell them how their months worth of donations was given away in one collection only for them to return the same way they went. Pastor Fayemi uses fake miracles to deceive unsuspecting Christians and cheat them out of their money.

The world has good people and evil people. Some people hide behind religion to swindle desperate faithful of their hard-earned money. Such preachers become opulent by exploiting guileless believers. 

MEMORIES WE LOST  KCSE ESSAY QUESTIONS-"WINDOW SEAT"  BENJAMIN BRANOFF

Developing African countries face many challenges in a quest for urbanisation. Write a composition in support of this statement citing illustrations from Window Seat by Benjamin Branoff.

Many African countries are faced with problems like poor roads, ineffectual public officers, noise and air pollution among others. In Window Seat , Branoff experiences some of the trials bedeviling African countries, while on a bumpy daladala ride in Dar es Salaam.  

The daladala (van) that the mzungu boards is overloaded and thus quite uncomfortable. Most residents of Dar es Salaam are forced to use this means of transportation. The old Hyatt van is extremely crowded. The van is built to carry about ten people but nearly twenty five people ride in it. The van has three rows packed with 4 people each, 2 half rows of 2 people, a backward facing row which sits on the engine and is thus hot and 2 passengers sit in front with the driver. The van is so brimful that the conductor is forced to stand by the door. It gets worse during the rush hour. Four more people stand with the conductor, bringing the total number of passengers to twenty eight yet the family van is built for eight (p 63). The mzungu tries not to jab the man in front of him. However, he concludes that that the man will not care since this is not his first time in the van, which he humorously calls sardine tin. The mzungu sits in a foetal position with his knees wedged between the abdomen and the front seat since the van is packed to capacity. The seats are too high and some passengers keep hitting the rusty ceiling (p 62). At his stop, the narrator has to squeeze his way out of the unbelievably packed daladala. In the second bus which is equally overloaded, he gives up his seat for an old lady (p 68). When the van stops, he intrudes into people’s personal spaces inadvertently. He grabs a man's shoulder. Overcrowding in public transportation is a common problem in developing African countries.

Many government officials in developing African countries especially police officers are corrupt and ineffective. When the vehicle stops near a policeman, the American narrator is the only one who fails to see apparently obvious problem with the police officer. Everyone else does and smacks their lips in disappro val. The policeman stops the van in an authoritative motion and casually inspects the vehicle. He inspects the blinkers, light and windshield and seemingly everything is in order. The mzungu notices that the driver and conductor are ostensibly annoyed by the policeman. In this happenstance, they lose not only time but also money since the unprincipled policeman is trying to squeeze a bribe out of them. He has something other than civil service on his agenda (p 66). An argument ensues between the officer and the driver. The policeman grabs the car keys despite the spirited objections from the driver and conductor. Only one thing could end the ordeal – the driver bribing the officer. When he does, the corrupt officer waves them away, never mind that the van is overloaded. Corruption is a big challenge in developing African countries.

Most African cities are unbelievably noisy and chaotic. At Mwenge, a man moves around on a mobile music stand with tonnes of CDs and a large stereo system. He blasts some horrible 80s music through the speakers. Conductors shout at the top of their voices, advertising their daladalas. The mzungu is dubious about the whole idea since it seems like they are trying to convince travellers to abandon their original ideas and jump on their daladala. As he heads towards Posta buses, he is barraged with relentless enticing shouts of daladala advertisements. He muses that the persistent offers make him to begin to rethink his route. Maybe he should go to Bagamoyo or Msasani instead of Posta. The noise is undeniably annoying and unnecessary. Noise pollution is a common problem in developing African nations (p 64-65).

African cities are faced with the challenge of overpopulation. The cities are overcrowded making them uncomfortable, unsafe and undesirable. When the bus stops, the narrator sees a million feet shuffle in and out of his window view. He spots a white woman in the crowd but when he alights he can barely find her in a sea of heads; swaying with the currents of human traffic. He drops the idea of foolishly running through the crowd shouting to get her attention. He has to go through a sea of human traffic to get to the Posta buses. When he boards one, they manoeuvre through the human sea, their feet dangerously close to the moving daladala. They return to the road after negotiating the sea that occupies the bus station. Overpopulation is one of the unpleasant problems African cities grapple with (p 64-65).

Another challenge facing developing African nations is poor waste management (p 65). People burn rubbish and dead foliage in piles on the side of the road. The fires burn the surrounding grass also. The mzungu picks up various smells – some are pleasant while others are rancid. The smell drifts in through the cabin, through the front window and out through the narrator's. Watching the heads of the front seat passenger by the window, he pretends to be detective Sherlock Holmes, trying to look for obvious warnings of an intruding aroma. When a rancid smell fills his nose, he wishes he could pass the excess around. It smells of garbage, human filth and decomposition. The waste is managed inefficiently by piling it up and letting it rot or burning it. The foul smell lasts a little longer than a few moments. Surely, many African countries are plagued with the challenge of garbage disposal.

Lastly, poverty in developing countries sometimes results in petty theft. The mzungu narrator meets a beautiful young lady he calls “Kanga”. Her body has been moulded by a lifetime of never ending work and deprivation of luxuries. They smile at each other and exchange greetings. He is besotted with her. Since the bus is packed like sardines, the passengers intrude into each other's personal spaces inadvertently. Mzungu could feel the cold warmth of Kanga's hand on his waist. The grip is firm at first and he notices it loosening, as her other hand slips off his jeans. After a long tiresome journey, the mzungu is awakened from his sleep by the conductor, who demands his bus fare. He realizes that his wallet is missing. He checks his right and left pockets and looks back into the floor of the daladala. He checks his back pocket although he never puts money there. He only finds a note from Kanga – the petty thief who pinched his wallet. Poverty and crime are incessant problems in developing countries.  

Developing African countries grapple with a myriad of challenges.

MEMORIES WE LOST  KCSE ESSAY QUESTIONS "MISSING OUT" LEILA ABOULEILA. 

Staying overseas can make an individual alienated from their people or cultural practices. Write a composition in support of this statement using illustrations from Missing Out by Leila Abouleila.

When Majdy goes to London to study, he feels homesick and badly wants to return home – Sudan. However, he later feels more at home in London and becomes harshly critical of Sudan. He drops conservative rituals like compulsory prayers and becomes more detached from his people, their way of life and way of thinking.

First, Majdy is no longer loyal and committed to prayers. He quarrels with his wife Samra because he does not own a prayer mat. Furthermore, he does not know where the qibla is since he cannot figure out the direction of the Ka'ba. From Britain, Mecca and Saudi Arabia are south-east but Majdy cannot tell the south-eastern direction from his room. He has been there a whole year without praying! He does not attend the Friday prayers either. This shocks Samra who suggests that he should skip his Friday classes to attend prayers. Majdy prioritises his study and tells Samra that her suggestion is stupid. She is hurt. To make it up to her, he takes her to the Central mosque and buys her a red prayer mat, a compass - which points to the direction of Mecca, and a prayer booklet. On each page was a month with rows showing days and columns showing different prayers. Samra is excited about the prayers but Majdy is aloof and indifferent. He is glad that she says “I” not “we” when talking about the strict prayer schedule. She would pray whether he joined her or not. Samra is hell bent on influencing Majdy to commit to prayers. He remains committed to his course which he says is too hard for him to play truant. Majdy is happy that the trip to the mosque satisfied Samra but he remains disinterested. To her, prayer offers protection, grace and guidance. Majdy is alienated. He is a lazy and half hearted believer who argues that prayer is a distraction, an interruption and an inconvenience especially in the fast-paced civilization of London. He asks Samra to stop nagging him about prayers. He is surely detached from some sacred, compulsory practices of his people.

Majdy is so alienated from Sudan that he feels London is much more civilized. When he returns to London after his summer holiday in Sudan, he enjoys the tranquil quietness away from Khartoum’s perpetual hum that is pleasantly absent. In London, there is continuity of life. When it rains people go about their lives with umbrellas, shelves in supermarkets empty and fill up again and the postman delivers mail everyday. Majdy considers this civilization – security to build ones life and make something out of it. He feels that Samra does not belong in London. Nevertheless, he cannot fathom why she is not excited by the new opportunities in London. She does not admire the way people go about their business with efficiency and decency. Here, the ambulance and fire engines never let anyone down. Furthermore, financial transactions using cheque cards are convenient and pigeons and ducks in the parks are not molested or eaten. Majdy feels that London is a paragon of civility and Sudan is too far behind to catch up. He plans to get a work permit once his student visa expired, and remaining in London after his PhD.

Thirdly, Majdy feels that his home, Sudan, is backwards and uncivilized. When students demonstrate over the planned execution of an opposition leader, Majdy does not have the anger in him to join the demonstration. Back in London, he wants to get a work permit since he does not plan to go back to Sudan after he gets his PhD. Samra wants him to return to Sudan and work as a lecturer. He says if he did, he would not be able to afford an apartment because of the poor pay. Other problems bedevilling Sudan include lack of fuel and unreliable electricity supply. Defrosted fridges are used as cupboards with soggy food rotting inside as a result of frequent power blackouts. Also, most people waste valuable time bickering about politics and job promotion is based on political inclination and not merit. Majdy refers to Sudan as a large crazy country owing to its backwardness. Samra thinks he is disloyal. Due to shortage of public transport vehicles, Majdy's mother is forced to hike a lift from a stranger after waiting in vain for hours. She is forced to make several trips to the central post office in Khartoum and sit for hours on the uncomfortable wooden benches in the stifling heat in order to communicate with her son. Poverty stricken children try to sell hairpins, chewing gum and matches and beggars sit by the mosque. Samra's teacher irks her when she says she must be relieved to be away from war and famine in Sudan. Majdy is alienated because of the fact that Sudan is uncivilized compared to London.

Majdy feels that Samra is stuck in the past by adoring Sudan since she misses out on the present. Instead of enjoying London’s beauty, she broods over how poor her own people are. He finds her homesickness irrational and is baffled by her unwillingness to embrace the new life. This blindness blocks her progress and possible gains. She misses out on so many choices and opportunities. Majdy feels that other Sudanese women in London blossomed in the new surrounding – they wear tight trousers and smoke cigarettes. He does not expect Samra to necessarily ape this but expects her to capture and embrace the spirit. She, however, remains shy and reserved. She insists on wearing her tobe - the traditional Sudanese attire and covering her hair. Despite being far away from home Samra prays faithfully. She acquires a prayer mat, a compass and a prayer book. Majdy wants her to enjoy the lively, civilized London life. She should be grateful to him for rescuing him from the backward Khartoum. She on the other hand wants Majdy to return to Sudan after his studies overseas. She fantasizes about sleeping in the afternoon under a fan, their children playing on the roof, taking mint tea and gossiping with neighbours. Majdy is worried about Samra's aloofness that he enrolls her for word processing classes to keep her busy. She drops out of the school when the teacher talks impertinently about her beloved home country Sudan. He finally capitulates and sends her back to Sudan – much to her delight.

Being away from home can alienate one from his people or their culture .

MEMORIES WE LOST  KCSE ESSAY QUESTION "No Need to Lie" Rolf Schmid

Strong will and optimism help one overcome challenges.  Write a composition to validate this statement making reference to Rolf Schmid’s  No Need to Lie .

Diseases like cancer bring along with them many predicaments. Many patients die because they lack hope and despair on life. If treated or well managed, cancer can be defeated. One needs strong willpower and optimism in order to beat cancer. Rolf Schmid’s obstinate refusal to be defeated by cancer is a perfect example of mind over matter tenacity.   

After developing scary health and physical symptoms, Rolf Schmid is fearful about the impending diagnosis. However, when doctor Rupani tells him that he has cancer, he says that his willpower is strong and determined (p 125). What starts as persistent sore throat turns out to be a more grave illness when Rolf's doctor Mrs. Van Enk suggests that he sees a specialist. Fear grips him. He wonders if it is AIDS which he considers a death sentence. He is concerned about the stigma and what his family, friends and guests at his restaurant would say. He even contemplates suicide. He is determined to live and opines that suicide is for cowards. He manages to keep calm but the word AIDS keeps creeping up (p 123). The ghosts of cancer and AIDS haunt Mr. Schmid and he is really scared. His strong willpower and determination to live are evident when he says that his children need him and he wants to see them grow up. “I could not let myself die,” he thinks. Worry robs his wife Asmahan and him of sleep. He thinks of people that die of cancer everywhere and his mind is preoccupied with “cancer, cancer, cancer” (p124). Dr. Rupani finally informs Rolf that he has cancer but tells him that he can battle and win. Rolf thinks of his children, wife, business and future and declares that he is not going to die. He is too young to die. He repeats this message over and over to send it to every cell in his   body (p 125). Before he travels for his operation at Katharinen Krankenhaus in Germany he is trapped in worries. He remembers doctor Meister, who did not make it after an operation, and he was diagnosed with a similar illness as Rolf. He thinks of being buried next to his grandmother in the event that he dies during the operation. However, he remains optimistic that he is not going to die. He tells himself, “You are not ready to die.” (p 132).   Rolf resolutely declares that he is not going to give in to cancer (p124). He battles cancer bravely   and eventually manages to beat it. Surely, strong willpower is important when battling predicaments such as cancer.  

Rolf determinedly endures the unpleasant side effects of treatment bravely because of  his strong willpower. When he goes for radiation treatment, the room is full of patients who have lost their hair and look appalling. The humongous radiation apparatus are intimidating and  threatening (p 125). The radiation treatment continues for a month. Furthermore, Rolf has to undergo four sessions of chemotherapy to kill the cancer in his body. He dreads the word chemotherapy. It makes patients feel sick and brings with it a myriad of miseries e.g. loss of hair. The thought sends shivers down his spine. Nonetheless, he hopes it will cure his cancer. He is still worried that he will lose his hair and be very sick. His friend Alberto tells him to be brave. He tells him that some people get violently sick while others do not and that it all depends on the patient’s mind and physical constitution. Rolf bravely endures an eight hour drip without experiencing nausea or vomiting. The nurse tells him that he is a really strong ndume (man). He even goes to his Polo Club to show everyone how strong he was (p 128). Due to the treatment, he loses half his hair and part of his beard. His tumor shrinks and this is a glimmer of hope. He knows he is not going to die (p 129). After the operation, his head swells twice its size and half of his neck is missing. He faints when he notices this and every time the wound is cleaned. He manages to walk out of the hospital thinking he had beaten cancer. Eventually he returns to Kenya having defeated cancer (p 135). Surely, strong willpower is vital for survival.  

Rolf Schmid resolutely endures the pain that comes with cancer. His mouth is full of ulcers and the skin is peeling. The pain is excruciating. He cannot take it any longer (p 125). Rolf has difficulty in feeding because of the pain. He cooks minced meat and vegetables, celery, leek, carrots and 3 litres of water, cools it down to body temperature and strains it through cloth. The mere thought of the liquid passing through his mouth scares him. The ritual of feeding through a half inch pipe is painful and torturous. He has no option since he needs food and lots of fluids to beat cancer. He struggles to eat determinedly lest Dr. Rupani confines him in a hospital and feeds him intravenously (p 126). If anything touched his raw lips, gums or sore throat he would groan in pain. Despite the   severe agony, he has to continue with this ritual, his only chance of survival. He compares cancer to a rival in a judo match – he is determined to defeat him with a full “ippon” – a knockout   win! He sips his “survival juice” and urges himself to go on and congratulates himself when he succeeds. Sometimes he chokes and coughs and screams in pain – it feels like a ghost is biting and tearing his neck and throat. He is ashamed when his friends find him screaming in pain (p 127). Sometime he feels mental rejection of the food. He realizes that cancer patients die because of lack of hope or because of despairing on life. He has a strong unstoppable desire for health and life. He remains strong for the sake of his wife Asmahan. He wants to continue playing Polo and making sculptures (p 128).

Rolf Schmid suffers weight loss but he remains resolute until he beats cancer. Rolf Schmid is a big athletic man weighing 120kgs. He could bench press 165kgs and squat 240kgs. As a result of the cancer, he looks like a malnourished old man. A friend muses that he looks like a Labrador puppy. He loses 300 grams in one day. He weighs 87.3kgs down from 125kgs. He is a pale shadow of his former brawny self – a powerlifter with a chest of 54 centimetres and very wide biceps. This makes him think of death. However, summoning the faces of his children, he has a reason to live. His ardent personality keeps reminding him not to give up.   “You cannot die now” (p 126). When he goes for his Polo game, he is almost 36kgs lighter than before. His horses must mistake him for someone else (p 129-131). One of his clients is astounded by the change. He has dropped almost 40kgs in 3 months. His face is hollow, hair and beard almost nonexistent (p 132). Nevertheless, Rolf fights stubbornly until he beats cancer.

Rolf manages to beat cancer because of his mind over matter attitude and his stubborn refusal to die. His strong willpower and optimism are admirable.

MEMORIES WE LOST  KCSE ESSAY QUESTION "How Much Land Does Man Need" Leo Tolstoy

Greed causes suffering. Write an essay to justify this statement citing illustrations from Leo Tolstoy’s “How Much Land Does Man Need?”

Pahom is filled with intense and selfish desire for land. His irrational avarice makes him to suffer greatly. Due to his lack of contentment, he undergoes intense distress of body and mind and eventually loses his life.

Despite owning 123 acres of land and pasture, Pahom desires to have more land. Pahom is a relatively rich farmer living in the countryside of Russia. Apart from land, he also owns a big house in which he lives with five family members. Furthermore, he keeps cattle whose number keeps increasing. He thinks that his land is not big enough. He wants wider and more fertile lands. He has a desire to farm widely and keep more livestock. All day, he keeps thinking about only one thing: “How can I have more lands?” Despite having all these possessions, Pahom lacks happiness and satisfaction because of his greed.

When a passing dealer tells Pahom about the land the Bashkirs are selling, he is strongly attracted due to his greed. The passing dealer stops to get some feed for his horse. When taking tea, they have a talk. He is returning from the land of the Bashkirs which is very far away. He had bought 13,000 acres of land all for 1000 roubles. Pahom asks whether it is true but says, “There must be a catch.” The dealer shows him his title deed and tells him there is more land than you could cover if you walked a year. The lands are very fertile and the best for farming. Pahom declares that he has to go there and buy land. After inquiring where the Bashkirs are, he buys many presents and takes his servant with him. They take seven days to find the Bashkirs. The chief promises to give him anything he asks for, as a reward for the presents. Pahom says that he would like to have some land for himself. He is mesmerized by the wide fertile lands. The leader tells him that he could have as much as he wanted if he could go round on his feet in a day. However, he must return to the starting point before sunset, otherwise everything would be invalid. Pahom is willing to go to these lengths just to acquire land. His greed causes him distress.

Pahom cannot sleep at night due to the excitement caused by his greed. He is delighted by the Bashkir’s offer. He keeps thinking about the land. He plans to walk the whole day and mark off a large tract. He also plans to make a big pasture in his newly-acquired land and to build a big cottage. Pahom lays awake all night and dozes off just before dawn. In the morning, the chief tells him he could have any part of the land. His eyes glisten with burning desire. It was all virgin soil. The leader puts his fox-fur cap on the ground to mark the starting point. All land Pahom goes round would be his. Because of greed, Pahom could not sleep at night.   Greed is surely a source of distress.

Pahom declares that he would get the largest and best land above all people, betraying his greedy nature. He starts walking towards the meadow, thinking that he must lose no time. He laments that time goes fast. It grows quite warm so he takes off his outer coat and shoes. He walks until the hillock is scarcely visible. People on it look like black ants. He feels sweaty and thirsty but goes on and on. He begins to grow tired. The grass is high and it is very hot. At noon, he decides to rest. Pahom endures suffering because of his unquenchable greed.

At noon, Pahom thinks, “I must have a rest!” He stops walking to have lunch. To save more time, walk more and get more land, he stands while eating bread and water. At first he walks easily since the food strengthens him. It becomes terribly hot and Pahom feels sleepy. In the face of misery, he thinks: “An hour to suffer, a life-time to live”, and goes on. He is about to turn left but changes his mind when he perceives a damp hollow. He thinks that it would be a pity to leave it out. He thinks that flax would do well there. A desire to get the damp hollow makes him not to turn. The heat makes the air hazy. The hillock seems to be quivering and people on it can scarcely be seen. Pahom suffers as a result of his irrational obsession for land.

Pahom loses track of time because of his excessive desire for land. He feels it is too early to return to the hillock despite having walked for a long time and acquiring a great deal of land. He concludes that it is not the time to go back yet. He steps faster in a bid to get more land. He goes over the plain – walking without thinking. The sun is nearly halfway to the horizon. The leader's words hit Pahom’s head and he’s filled with worry. He starts rushing back to the hillock in a straight line. Worry eats him up. Did he go too far? He is in a lot of distress while walking towards the hillock. He walks with difficulty. He was done up with the heat. His bare feet are cut and bruised. His legs begin to fail. He longs to rest but it is impossible. The sun, waiting for no man, sinks deeper and deeper. Pahom is worried that all his effort and money would be in vain. He suffers greatly because of greed.

Pahom is worried that he may lose everything so he begins running. He is distressed that he may have blundered trying for too much. He is far from his goal and the sun is already near the rim. “What if I am too late?” He feels serious pain but still presses on. He throws away his outer coat, his shoes, his flask and his cap. He keeps the spade for support. His shirt and trousers are soaking with sweat. His mouth is parched. His breast is working like a blacksmith’s bellows. His heart is beating like a hammer. His legs are giving way as if they do not belong to him. Pahom is seized with terror. He could die because of strain. Though afraid of death, he could not stop. His greed fuels his ambition and he suffers in the process.

The last nail on Pahom's coffin is that he actually dies and loses everything. He runs on and on and he can hear the Bashkir's shouting to him. He can see the people on the hillock. He can see the fox-fur cap on the ground so he rushes on with all his remaining strength. He bends his body forward but his legs can hardly follow fast enough to prevent him from falling. When it grows dark, he gives out a distressful cry, “All my labour has been in vain.” The Bashkir's urge him on when he is about to stop. He takes a long breath and runs up the hillock. His legs give way, he falls and reaches the cap with his hands. The leader is mesmerised by Pahom's determination to get much land. He exclaims that he is such a fine fellow. Unfortunately , he had lost all his strength and died. Despite suffering dreadfully and gaining much land, he is buried by his servant in a six foot grave. That’s how much land he needed. Pahom's greed results in his loss, misery and death.

In conclusion, lack of contentment is dangerous. If we do not check our greed, we suffer great losses. Pahom loses everything including his dear life because of his insatiable desire for land.

MEMORIES WE LOST KCSE ESSAY QUESTION "Umbrella man" Siddharta Gigoo

Inmates in asylums experience many challenges. One needs hope in order to survive. Write an essay to show the truth of this assertion basing your  illustrations on Siddartha Gigoo's " Umbrella Man ". 

In the face of trials or challenges, we need to remain positive, confident or hopeful. Number 7 endures the desolate life in confinement with buoyancy. He is finally released.

The inmates are confronted with the challenge of restricted movement. First, they are allowed to go out of their cells only in the evenings. Even then, they can   only stroll within the compound of the asylum. Due to his obedience and calm disposition, Number 7 is the only inmate allowed to saunter out of the gate. Even he can only enjoy limited liberty. He walks along the 90 something yard avenue that ends at the wall. The inmates are restricted within the 120 square metres asylum. Beyond the stone-and-brick wall, there is nothing but vast darkness or oblivion. Their lives ended at the wall (pg. 46). While enjoying his limited freedom, he is alerted by the booming siren to return to his cell (pg. 49). He seems to envy the puny little fellow, who is free to do whatever he wanted to do and roam about without any restrictions (pg. 50). Despite this problem, Number 7 remains hopeful. He walks around with his umbrella hoping it would rain, even though for seven months it has not rained. He waits patiently for the swelling clouds and rain. Despite the restricted freedom, Number 7 clings to hope since he has something to look forward to.  

Secondly, the inmates have no visitors or worldly possessions. Number 7 has not had any visitors for many years. None of the inmates has visitors. They also have no material possessions other than two sets of clothes – woolen and cotton. The umbrella is Number 7’s only companion is his solitary cell. His beautiful umbrella makes him smile. Not many in the asylum know what beauty is. He takes leisurely walks on sunny afternoons, holding it aloft. Despite not having any visitors or belongings, Number 7 is happy and satisfied since he owns the beautiful yellow-and-red stripped umbrella. He keeps hope alive that one day it would surely rain (pg. 48).

Also, the inmates locked up in the asylum endure loneliness. On lonely nights, Number 7 imagines he is not alone in the cell. He would see the image of a child. He would wake up from his nervy sleep to comfort the child. Stroking his hair tenderly, Number 7 would say, "Go back to sleep, I’m by your side".  Number 7 worries about the child and talks to it night after night. As much as he lives a lonesome, desolate life, Number 7 keeps hope alive and offers his imaginary friend companionship. He stays optimistic and hopeful when he prays for the child, hoping for some divine help from the infinite universe. He is a father and mother to the child. He grows old but remains hopeful like a child. It is important to remain hopeful in spite of any challenges we encounter.

Number 7’s chance of freedom is dependent on the decision of other people. They have to put up with unsmiling doctors. On the day of his release, Number 7 receives the news from two attending doctors beaming with smiles. They don’t smile on most days. The doctors claim their effort had yielded fruit and Number 7 is free to go now. This is after they assessed evidence and facts and conducted a careful examination. The committee agreed to their assessment. Number 7 thinks the committee is made up of serious members who never concurred or signed any discharge papers. He knows that their fate was determined by the doctors and the committee. Despite this, number 7 remains sanguine and hopeful until he tastes release and permanent freedom.

Life in incarceration is riddled with a myriad of challenges that can only be overcome if one remains hopeful.

MEMORIES WE LOST KCSE ESSAY QUESTION "The Handsomest Drowned Man in the World" Gabriel Garcia Marquez.

Write an essay to show how admirable people inspire change, basing your illustrations on The Handsomest Drowned Man in the World.

Magnificent people motivate us to change or improve our lives. Esteban’s arrival in the village makes the villagers aware of their myopic vision and, without uttering a single word, the dead man persuades the villagers to transform their way of life.

Esteban inspires the villagers to build better houses. The village is made up of twenty-odd wooden houses with stone courtyards that are devoid of flowers. The houses are spread about gauntly on the end of a desert-like cape. The women sewing clothes for Esteban think that if this magnificent man lived in the village, his house would have the widest doors, highest ceilings and strongest floors. After Esteban’s arrival, they decide that everything would be different from then on. Their houses would have wider doors, higher ceilings and stronger floors to enable Esteban’s memory to roam without bumping into beams. They also plan to paint the fronts of their houses gay colors to make Esteban’s memory eternal. Indeed, impressive men transform others.

Before Esteban’s arrival, the villagers were unware of their stark streets and dry courtyards. They become aware of these inadequacies   while fighting for the privilege of carrying Esteban along the escarpment. His beauty persuades them to change this. Their courtyards have no flowers but this will change. The women imagine that Esteban could put so much work into his land that springs could burst from among the rocks enabling him to plant flowers on the cliffs. They even dismiss their own men that for all their lives they could not do what Esteban could do in a day. However, after the encounter with Esteban the villagers decide that henceforth they would put great effort into digging for springs among the stones and planting flowers on the cliff. In future, the smell of gardens would awaken passengers on great liners and captains would admire the village and label it “Esteban’s village”. Surely, great men inspire change.

Esteban persuades the villagers to organize a splendid funeral for him. Initially, they would throw the few dead among them off the cliff. The men plan to get rid of Esteban in a similar fashion. They improvise a litter with remains of foremasts and gaffs and plan to sink Esteban into the deepest waves where fish are blind and divers die of nostalgia. They don’t want him to be brought back to the shore by bad currents. However, when they see his face, they are awestricken by his beauty, the truth in his manner and his sincerity. Surprisingly, they fight for the privilege to carry him on their shoulders. They let him go without an anchor so that he could return if he wanted. Surely, Esteban’s greatness inspires the villagers to change the way they treat their dead.

Esteban arrives in the village as a stranger but later he unites the whole village. First, the women unite to make clothes for him. The tallest men's holiday pants would not fit him nor the fattest one’s Sunday shirts. His feet would not fit in the shoes of the men with the biggest feet. Fascinated by his huge size and beauty, the women decide to make him some pants from large pieces of sail and shirt from the bridal Brabant linen so that he could bear his death with dignity. They sit in a circle sewing. Then, the inhabitants in the village are united as kinsmen. This is because they could not let Esteban return to the waters as an orphan. They choose a father and our mother for him from the best people. They also choose aunts and uncles and cousins and he thus unites them as one large happy family. While the women work together to bring many flowers, the men not only make a litter to carry Esteban but also fight for the privilege of carrying him on their shoulders. This point clearly depicts how a great man inspires change.

At first, the men are not as obsessed with Esteban as the women are. When the women learn that he is not from the neighboring village, they jubilate and praise the Lord saying “He's ours.” The men dismiss this excitement as womanish frivolity. Since they’re tired, all they want to do is to get rid of the corpse once and for all. They plan to sink it in the deepest sea to ensure it wouldn’t come back. The men are jealous when they notice that the women are overly excited and passionate about the dead man. With a tinge of mistrust in their liver, they contemptuously refer to him as a drifting corpse, a drowned nobody and a piece of cold Wednesday meat. But when they see his face, they are left breathless too.   They are impressed by his handsomeness and the truth in his manner. They shudder at Esteban’s sincerity. They end up giving him the most splendid funeral they could conceive for an abandoned drowned man. Clearly, magnificent people motivate others to change.

In conclusion, marvelous people like Esteban have the uncanny knack to inspire transformation.

MORE ESSAYS FROM MEMORIES WE LOST AND OTHER STORIES

MEMORIES WE LOST  KCSE ESSAY QUESTION "Window Seat" Benjamin Branoff. 

Write a composition entitled: The challenges of urbanization in developing African countries, making reference to Benjamin Branoff’s “ Window Seat ”. 

MEMORIES WE LOST  KCSE ESSAY QUESTION "The Umbrella Man" Siddhartha Gigoo

In the face of affliction hope is essential for man's survival. Write an essay to validate this statement in reference to Siddharta Gigoo's  The Umbrella Man . 

MEMORIES WE LOST  KCSE ESSAY QUESTION "Hitting Budapest" NoViolet Bulawayo

Children need compassion, guidance and love without which they become delinquents. Write an essay to qualify this assertion citing illustrations from NoViolet Bulawayo's  Hitting Budapest . 

MEMORIES WE LOST  KCSE ESSAY QUESTION "Light" Lesley Nneka Amirah. 

Write a composition on the challenges experienced by a single parent raising a teenager citing illustrations from  ‘Light  by Lesley Nneka Amirah. 

Self acceptance is vital for a meaningful life. Write a composition to validate this statement citing illustrations from  The Folded Leaf

Memories we Lost How Much Land Does Man Need? Light My Father's Head The Umbrella Man Window Seat The Folded Leaf Hitting Budapest Missing Out No Need to Lie  The Handsomest Drowned Man in the World Stones Bounce on Water

Enjoy these essays on  The Pearl ,  A Doll's House and Blossoms of the Savannah . 

55 comments:

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Thanks for the feedback.

This platform has got all that a student may need...I've loved it

Your articles articulate clarity and precision. Good work.

Thanks for the positive feedback.

thanks for the fine details ! They're helpful

You have done an excellent job.

Thanks for the feedback

Hey Wekati. Am a bit confused on your essay introductions. Aren't they supposed to be general?. Another question is are we supposed to mention characters on the introduction part?

Hello, thanks for the question. In introduction, we mark a candidate's understanding of the question. General & specific introduction are terms coined by teachers but we never classify or categorize them. It's okay to mention characters as long as they are relevant to the essay.

Hey wekati am bit confused about the introduction part.please assist me

Please contact me [email protected]

Hello sir am asking if is it a must for someone to have a topic sentence when writing an essay

That's the standard procedure. The main idea in a paragraph is captured in the 1st line. Mention the point before you expound on it.

Everything is just awesome Detailed as needed How I wish you could write a guide book about the stories

Thanks for the feedback. I'll pen one soon.

i want to download essays please help out

How can I download the essays...very helpful

Need to download the essays

I need an essay with illustrations drawn from light on the topic a child need both parents presence and guidance for good upbringing

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Bienvenue. Thanks for the feedback.

I find this blog post helpful continue with the good work sir I'm sitting my final exams this year and I look forward to passing with flying colors merci beaucoup

I wish you the best

Hey wekati..do you have the answer to the last essay. The one about self acceptance from the story The Folded Leaf

I will publish that soon

I really love your work.This is extremely helpful

This was very helpful I need an easy on The handsomest drowned man in the world

As an avid reader, I havn't yet met and equal to Wekati blog. This is the lexicon any 21st century teacher would use and utilize for rhe indoctrination and edification of leaders. On point, impressive, excellent and precise work. O. W. Ochieng' Ratego.

Please accept my deepest gratitude brother Ochieng'.

Hey how can l get the essay of my father's head about how the power of love is protroyed through actions

How can I download kindly may you help me

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Contact me, please. [email protected]

This is a God sent gift for my prayer.....thanks alot but could you please illustrate more on the introduction part.thanks In advance🙂🙃

Thank you. Contact me, please. [email protected]

nicce content

slight discrepancy on "Stones Bounce on Water".Meg is the alcoholic whose relatives believe she is swimming in money, not Winnie...

Thanks for pointing that out. The error has been corrected.

How can I download all of this

Hello Wekati...How can I download the essays?

The blog has no download button. Please enjoy the essays online.

Good answers on the essay questions

Help me to write the essay from the folded leaf;Segun afolabi satirizes churches today discuss

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MEMORIES WE LOST by Lidudumalingani Mqombofhi - Memories we Lost and Other Stories Study Guide

Next Topic » HOW MUCH LAND DOES MAN NEED by Leo Tolstoy - Memories we Lost and Other Stories Study Guide

About the Author

The setting, the narrator, the sick sister, effects of mental illness, mental illness, love and empathy, ignorance and superstition, use of symbolism, use of satire.

The author Lidudumalingani was born in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa in a village called Zikhovane.

Lidudumalingani is a writer, filmmaker and a photographer. He grew up herding cattle and moulding goats from clay and later grew fond of words and images.

He writes about music, art, culture and films for the Mail, Guardian and Africa is my country.

He has published in literature journals Chimurenga chronic and pufrock and the second short, sharp story collection Adults only.

He currently lives in Cape Town.

Memories we lost is a biography. The life of a sister seen by a younger sister.

The story is about mental illness and its effect.

It is first described as this thing that takes the narrator's younger sister. Over time it robs the sister of the ability to speak and remember hence the title Memories we lost. The title is a reflection of loss and regret.

The story is set in South Africa, indeed the author Lidudumalingani is a South African. A number of South African indigenous words are used in the story.

The story Memories we lost is about challenges brought by mental illness to the victim and those around them.

The mental illness is schizophrenia. It is a mental disorder characterized by many symptoms. It causes a breakdown in the relationship between thoughts, feelings and actions. There are many causes of the disease and hereditary is one of them. It's no wonder the disease runs in the narrator's family. The narrator's father was a scherophrene.

Events and actions in the story rotate around a sick sister. The sickness is terrifying and attacks without warning.

The narrator tells us that after the attack is over she would mumble a prayer and would embrace the sister for a long time. This suggests to the reader that the illness is horrific and painful. In one of these attacks the sick sister screams and disappears into, the night. All men and boys go out in search of her. The men or boys disoriented and peered shuffled in the dark and split into some groups as instructed by a man " Hours later they return but without the sister. It is the mother who returns the following day carrying the daughter.

In a different episode as the narrator is telling her sister a story, she is seized by an attack and knocks her head on the wall so much one so hard that she bleed profusely. An effort to shield her from doing this fails because of the abnormal strength that the sister has during an attack. The episode is so memorable to the mind of the narrator and says, "The smell of blood lingered after many sunsets had come; even after the rain had come "

The disease makes the sister violent and destructive. This is evident in a case where she flung a desk across a room smashing the glass window. In yet another moment of attack the ill sister pours hot porridge on the sister's chest causing her a lot of pain and harm. It is due to the disease that the narrator's sister drops out of school and cannot continue with her schooling 'This thing, this thing that took over her followed her to school and had to drop out ' This makes the narrator who loves the sister so much to absent himself from school. Eventually suffering the same fate The narrator spends much time with the sister playing eg drawing sketches. It is while narrator is in school that she learns about schizophrenia. She comes to understand that it is what the sister was suffering from. She further learns that there is not medication for the disease and has no cure. The medicine she was taking was of no help. The sisters secretly decide not to take the medicine anymore "The first thing my sister and I got rid of was her arsenal of medication "

Henceforth they buried all the herbs and the narrator demonstrated to the sister how to fake taking medication drinks.

Like any good mother, the mother has made many attempts to have the girl cured. She has used herbs, modern medication, prayers and even consulted.

The younger sister tries as much as possible to bring the sister to be her old self. In one such episode the sisters are playing in the rain. They are happy and the disease appears to have 'left' the sister " We jumped in the rain in that moment, my sister returned; she smiled and laughed. That day we began to form new childhood memories, filling the void left by one that had been wiped out "

The mother sees them in this state and she imagines that the disease was going to come again. She organizes for another ritual to cure the daughter. This time round she organizes for a Nkunzi (witchdoctor) from another village famous for baking people on a fire from cow dung and wood. The narrator is aware that effects of ritual is unknown as dangerous ritual and says "l had not heard anyone who had survived either " She could not allow this to happen to the sister. The both ran away to the unknown place. Just like the father before them the two sisters are escaping from their village and the people. The want to put enough distance between themselves and the home memories and secrets that stamp them as belonging to a family known for mental illness.

But at the end hope is on sight, for after walking the whole night they reached a town and a hospital in sight. They knowingly fifteen each other grip.

Characterization

She is a sister to the mentally ill sister. The narrator and the sister have no names because they symbolize or represent others like them who love and live with mentally ill relatives.

The narrator is loving or affectionate . She loves the mentally ill sister despite her state. This is unlike many families where the mentally ill have no one to take care of them. When the sister 'comes out' of an attack she is always there for her "The embraces I remember, were always tight and long as if she hoped the moment would last forever " There seem to be a very strong bond of love between the two sisters. 

The sibling's relation is loving and cordial. They even discuss their physical growth including the emergence of the sister's growth.

The narrator is curious inquisitive when she hears the mother and the uncle discussing the sister's illness in the morning she crouches near them to hear what they are saying. She is quite protective and protects the sister from the wrath of

Nkunzi a sangoma who 'bakes' patients with mental illness. They run away to another village. The narrator emphasizes with the sister. When called by an old aunt from the house, the narrator says, "we hugged tightly, my sister and I wiped each other's tears " She is inseparable from her sister, "the only way to have me turn away from her would be to cut us apart "

The narrator is courageous because she walks throughout the night with the sister alone in the villages as they are fleeing even with the dogs barking. She is religious and prayful. When the sister came out of an attack from mental attack she says "I stretched my arms out in all directions, mumbled two short prayers "

Most of the things we know about her are told by the sister.

She is mentally ill and because of this she is violent . She hauls a desk breaking the window in a class. She also violently harms herself by hitting her head against tree trump until she bleed. She pours hot porridge on her sister.

But she also loves and her relation to the sister is cordial and loving.

She is also secretive and emotional because she cries the whole night of the ritual but does not want the brother to know "...and she sunk her teeth in the pillow so that she would not cry.

She is determined . Her determination to have the daughter healed of the mental illness is admirable. She tries all forms of remedies including prayers, herbs, witchdoctors etc. We also see this determination when the daughter has a seize illness and runs away at night. All the men and boys return with the girl hopeless.

The mother comes far much later the following day after finding the daughter "...only returned home when the sun was up in the sky the next day, carrying my sister on her back.

She is a loving mother and her love is illustrated by the efforts she makes to make her daughter cured. She trys prayers, herbal medicine, modern medicine and witchcraft

She is paranoid fearful . On seeing her two daughters play in the rain she fears the disease might come back again, she calls the entire village for another ritual

There is only a mention of the father. He was a schizophrenia just like the daughter is but nobody mentions it. He left one day never to come back.

He was this mysterious and escapist because he was running away from the village and the people.

The author looks at mental illness and especially the effect on the victim and those living with a mentally ill person.

The mentally ill sister first loses her speech "The first thing that this took from us was speech " Pg 8. The sister is not coherent and speaks in a language that was unfamiliar, her words trembling as if trying to relay unthinkable revelations from the gods.

The disease has affected the thinking or the mental faulty of the sister in such a way that she cannot remember. Thus the disease takes away all her ability to remember "memories faded one after the other until our past was a blur"

Mental illness appears to have horrifying and dehumanizing effect on the victim. The attacks tear her apart so that when she regains herself she is totally different "Every time this nothing took her she returned altered, unrecognizable as if two people were trapped inside her.

The whole community is affected by mental illness. When the sister runs away due to the disease attack everybody is concerned and men.

The ritual to be performed by the Sangoma is attended by all the villagers showing it is a concern for everybody.

When the writer writes about mental illness the description is so vivid, It is as if you are right there with the victim. He describes this illnes, that the nameless protagonist calls this thing. Mental illness is a harrowing mindless and violent disease. It's not only the disease but the cure for the illness "The next day my sister would be taken to Nkunzi to be 'baked'. had heard of how Nkunzi baked people. He would make a fire from cow dung and wood and once the fire burnt red he would tie the demon possessed person into a section of the zinc rooting then place it on fire. He claimed to be baking the demons and that the person would recover from the burns a week later. I had not heard of anyone who died but I had not heard of anyone who lived either "The reader is saddened by the fate of those African countries who suffer fro mental illness, how they are caught in violent superstition.

The story brings out the reality in any African countries where ther are no facilities for the mentally ill. What serves as cure is often times cruel beyond telling of it. The mother does not understand why the same disease that afflicted her husband now afflicts her daughter. She doesn't know the disease is hereditary. People had come to believe that baking people from a fire by cow dung and wood would release them off demons. This leads death of patients rather than cure them "I had not heard of anyneo who had died but I had not heard of anyone who had lived either "

Memories we lost is a troubling piece depicting the great love between two siblings in a beautifully drawn landscape. Memories we lost is more than a story about mental illness. It between siblings who show great love and feeling toward other despite their faults. The narrator organizes for her and her sister to flee not only she cannot allow her sister to be 'baked' but helps her to run from the village to escape the embarrassment as shame of the ritual.

The elders refer to the disease as this thing and say it is the work of the devil and demons. Narrator says, "None of them knew my sister; none of them cared " The villagers are ignorant of the fact that the disease as a medical condition and should be treated as such.

Stylistic devices

The writer uses powerful images with the writings that are inspiring. The mental illness is not called by the name but this thing to show how embarrassed and shameful it is but also to portray ignorance of a community. The team returning from the search is described as 'morphed into defeated men' and 'their bodies slouched as if they had carried a heavy load 'to show the fatigue and frustration after the search from the sick girl. The modern building and a hospital that the narrator and the girl see after a sign of hope that finally the sister might be cured of her disease. After the sister hits her head on a tree continuously and she bleeds, the narrator says the bloodstain remained visible on the wall long after my mother scrubbed it off; long after she had applied three layers of mud and new water paint. The writer shows how horrible the incident was and that it will never be scrubbed in the narrator's memory.

The disease symbolizes a nation that once suffered schizophrenia of apartheid and just like the sister the country is trying to understand it and cure it. The nation is trying to understand and heal a national disorder. After the night's sleep, the sister will wake up once the sun is up and walk again to somewhere. This symbolizes a better South Africa.

Both the community and the religion are satirized for instead looking for a cure the community goes for medication that is very dangerous like calling the Nkunzi to 'bake' a living person. This endanger the girl more than cure her.

Religion is also satirized because even after much prayer it is providing a solution.

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Memories we lost and other stories guide.

TABLE OF CONTENT

Introduction page

Memories we lost. ……………………………………..1

How much land does mannee…………………….8

Light………………………………………………………..13

My Fathers Head.

The Umbrella Man……………………………………..24

The President……………………………………………31

Window Seat

Almost Home……………………………………………… 45

The Folded Leaf……………………………………………55

Hitting Budapest

Missing Out…………………………………………………68

No need to Lie

The Handsomest Drowned Man In the world. Stones Bounce On Water

SAMPLE ANSWERED QUESTIONS……………………………96

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