JAMB 2023 Literature in English · Question 65
This question is based on SECOND CLASS CITIZEN. The novel is set after which major war?
Options
- A.First World War (1914-1918)
- B.Aba Women Riot (1929)
- C.Second World War (1939-1945)
- D.The Nigerian Civil War (1967-1970)
Answer: C. Second World War (1939-1945)
Explanation written with AI and checked against the answer key
Analyze the question: "Second Class Citizen" is Buchi Emecheta's 1974 novel. The question asks which major war the story is set after.
Concept: The novel is semi-autobiographical and follows Adah, an Igbo girl born in Lagos. Her life is shaped by the aftermath of the Second World War. The early chapters show Adah's childhood in Lagos, with references to the war's effects, such as her father's death and the colonial setting. The story then moves to 1960s London, where she joins her husband Francis.
Step-by-step solution:
- Option A (First World War, 1914-1918): This is too early. Adah was born around the late 1930s to 1940s, so the novel does not follow this war.
- Option B (Aba Women Riot, 1929): This was a protest against colonial taxation, not a major war, and it is not the novel's backdrop.
- Option C (Second World War, 1939-1945): The novel opens with Adah's childhood during and just after WWII. Her family's circumstances, the colonial context, and the post-war migration of Nigerians to Britain for education all fit this period. This is correct.
- Option D (Nigerian Civil War, 1967-1970): The novel was published in 1974 and its main events take place in the 1960s, mostly before or during the early part of this war. Adah's London years are not set after it.
Answer: C. Second World War (1939-1945)
Tip: For Literature in English, always anchor a novel to its time setting. Adah's childhood is in the 1940s (WWII era), and her move to England follows in the late 1950s and 1960s. When you see "after which war," choose the war that fits the main character's birth and early life.
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