Observation

This question is also a popular question. It requires the candidates to describe Francis as husband and father.
Candidates were expected to discuss the following:

• The theme of patriarchy, gender discrimination in Igbo culture and racial preference, all of which impose hurdles on women and black people’s quest for social mobility.
• Character identification of Francis.
• Francis as a husband: he does not provide for the home: he is uncaring to his wife, Adah, especially during pregnancies and childbirth. He is envious of his wife’s achievements; he burns Adah’s manuscript. He competes with his wife; he struggles to become an accountant in order to earn more money than his wife. He is unfaithful.
• Francis as a father: he is an irresponsible father. He does not provide for his children. He is uncaring to his children. He is a wicked father; he burns the children’s birth certificates and denies them maintenance after their marriage ends.
• Significance of Francis’s treatment of his wife and children: his conduct portrays him as a major antagonist to the protagonist, Adah, in the novel. His treatment of Adah and his children contributes to the development of the plot. His behaviour highlights the themes of patriarchy, marriage, parenthood etc in the novel. As husband and father, Francis’s behaviour is objectionable.

Candidates’ performance in this question was average.