LITERARY APPRECIATION - Jamb Literature in English Past Questions and Answers

Question 156:

• JAMB 1990

This question is based on General Literature Principles and Literary Appreciation
'A slight breeze murmured in the air. Grasses swayed as if in resentment. Over in the horizon, just beneath the spectrum of the ascending sun, horizontal brands of red cloud hung menacingly above the tips of the trees and morning air smelled of burnt clay. The Victims by Isidore Okpewho
Effect in the above passage is achieved through the use of

A. Subdued tone
B. Visual images
C. Detailed description
D. Adequate punctuation

Question 157:

• JAMB 1990

This question is based on General Literature Principles and Literary Appreciation
'America! there it lay, handy and tantalizing, allheat and scurry. All morning they had kept catching glimpses of it beyond the potholes as they stood in long lines, waiting to reach the tables where the immigration men in dacrion shirts checked their visas, inspected the X-ray pictures of their lungs that they held in their hands, decided whether to admit them or not. Getting into America was, it seemed, quite as hard as getting into heaven; and the trouble was... that as with heaven one couldn't know whether one would like it when one got there'.
The picture of America presented in this passage is that of a place

A. Of unknown and uncertain qualities
B. Choked with red tape
C. As inviting as heaven itself
D. Off-putting on account of the heat

Question 158:

• JAMB 1990

This question is based on General Literature Principles and Literary Appreciation
'Having finished the paper, a second cup of coffee and a roll and butter, he rose; shook a crumb or two from his waist coat, and expanding his broad chest, smiled happily, not because he felt particularly light-hearted his happy smile was simply the result of a good digestion.
The character referred to in this passage

A. Is excited by the news in the paper
B. Is lonely and unhappy
C. Has spent a long time over his food
D. Is pleased with himself after a good meal

Question 159:

• JAMB 1991

This question is based on General Literary Principles and Appreciation.
'His round cheeks, his round nose, his round chin were a cool, healthy red. In the globe of his face and neatly circular as if drawn in bright crayon, his narrow long, tip tilted eyes, clear a pale blue water, seemed out of place, as if two incompatible strains had collided in making him.'
The picture presented above of a particular individual has

A. Photographic clarity
B. Satiric undertones
C. Elements of exaggeration
D. Derogatory connotations

Question 160:

• JAMB 1991

This question is based on General Literary Principles and Appreciation.
'Here lies a great and mighty king
Whose promise none relies on
He never said a foolish thing
Not ever did a wise one'.
The lines above could best from an

A. Epistle
B. Episode
C. Epiphany
D. Epitaph