Two passages are given below. Passage A is from Wole Soyinka's *A Dance of the Forests* and Passage B is from Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie's *Purple Hibiscus*.

Passage A: "The forest was a place where the past lived, its roots tangled with the present, and every rustle whispered a story of loss."

Passage B: "Every night the silence in the house grew heavier, as if the walls themselves were holding their breath, waiting for a word that would never come."

Both passages deal with the theme of alienation. Identify one literary technique used in each passage to convey alienation and explain how the technique contributes to the development of the theme.

Question

Two passages are given below. Passage A is from Wole Soyinka's *A Dance of the Forests* and Passage B is from Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie's *Purple Hibiscus*.

Passage A: "The forest was a place where the past lived, its roots tangled with the present, and every rustle whispered a story of loss."

Passage B: "Every night the silence in the house grew heavier, as if the walls themselves were holding their breath, waiting for a word that would never come."

Both passages deal with the theme of alienation. Identify one literary technique used in each passage to convey alienation and explain how the technique contributes to the development of the theme.

Accepted Answer

Passage A uses personification (the forest's roots tangled with the present and the rustle whispering) to show how history haunts the present, creating a feeling of alienation. Passage B uses metaphor (the house's silence holding its breath) to convey a stifling, isolating atmosphere, also expressing alienation.

Neco 2021 Literature In English Question 22

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