In the novel "Independence" Tayo lied to Vanassa that Christine was his ______?

Analyze the question This is a Literature-in-English recall question. It asks about a plot detail: what relationship Tayo claimed Christine had to him when he lied to Vanassa. Nothing can be worked out by grammar or logic here, so the answer depends on knowing the text.

Concept In a recall question like this, the key is to remember why a character lies. Characters usually lie to hide a relationship or to explain away someone's presence. Here, Tayo wants to disguise who Christine really is to him, so he gives Vanassa a harmless-sounding family tie.

Solution

• Sister: a sister would be easy for Vanassa to check, since she would likely know his immediate family.
• Niece and aunt: these depend on age gaps and are harder to pass off convincingly.
• Cousin: this is the classic cover story. It explains a close, friendly relationship, and a cousin is hard to verify because extended family is large and loosely known.

It gives D, cousin, and that fits the usual pattern of this kind of lie.

Answer: D. cousin

Exam tip For Literature questions, don't just memorize the plot. Note who lies to whom, about what, and why. JAMB often tests these small turning points. Also, if you've read the text and your memory of the passage differs from the key, trust the text, but in this case the key and the logic agree.