Question 2
BUCHI EMECHETA: Second Class Citizen
Comment on Francis’s reaction to Adah’s attempted birth control in the novel.
Observation
This question requires the candidates to discuss Adah’s attempted birth control and the reaction of Francis, her husband, to her action. A number of the candidates were not able to meet the demands of the question.
Candidates were expected to discuss the following:
- Statement of the themes of patriarchy, racial discrimination and western education.
- Character identification of Francis and Adah as presented in the novel.
- Adah’s visit to the Family Planning Clinic and her forgery of Francis’s signature approving the birth control choice for the family.
- Francis’s reaction: He writes to his parents in Nigeria about Adah’s matter.
- The implications of the birth control in relation to the themes.
Candidates’ performance in this question was fair.