By Elimu Assistant Team 
Read the poem below and answer the questions that follow.
White child meets black man
She caught me outside a London
Suburban shop, I, like a giraffe
And she a mouse. I tried to go
But felt she stood
Lovely as light on my back
I turned with hello
And waited. Her eyes got
Wider but not her lips.
Hello I smiled again and watched.
She stepped around me
Slowly, in a kind of dance,
Her wide eyes searching
Inch by inch up and down:
No fur no scales no feathers
No shell. Just a live silhouette,
Wild and strange
And compulsive
Till mother came horrified
‘Mummy is his tummy black?’
Mother grasped her and swung
Toward the crowd. She tangled
Mother’s legs looking back at me
As I watched them birds were singing.
James Berry (Jamaica)
QUESTIONS
(a) Briefly explain what the poem is about. (3mks)
(b) Explain what the reaction of the white child makes the persona feel. (4mks)
(c) Compare and contrast the reactions of the mother and daughter to the black man. (6mks)
(d) Identify and explain any two figures of speech used in this poem. (4mks)
(e) Explain the significance of the last line of the poem. (3mks)
White child meets black man ANSWERS
(a) A meeting between a black man and a young white girl. √1mk
The young girl has probably not seen a black man before√1mk and she is amazed. √1mk
It exposes the ignorance that exists between races. √1mk
The man allows the child to examine him / the mother drags the girl away before she fully satisfies her curiosity. √1mk (any 3×1 = 3mks)
(b) Her reaction makes him feel as if she did not consider him a human being. √1mk
Illustration:
“No fur no scales no feathers” √1mk
He is friendly / understanding. √1mk
Illustration:
“I turned with hello” √1mk
“Hello I smiled again and watched” √1mk
He does not condemn her√1mk / He accepts girl’s reaction as innocent curiosity.
Illustration
“Just a life silhouette” / “As I watched them birds were singing” √1mk
(Award 2 marks for the reaction of the white and 2 marks for how the persona felt) (4mks)
(c) Both are:
Shocked – The mother is horrified but the girl’s eyes get wider but not her lips.
The girl is genuine / sincere / innocent while the mother is prejudiced / discriminative / contemptuous / hostile.
Illustration:
The girl, “is his tummy black?”
The mother is horrified “grasped her hand and swung towards the crowd.”
(3 marks comparison and 3 marks contrast)
(d) Similes√1mk – “I like a giraffe and she a mouse.”
Shows enormous contrast in size between the persona and the girl.
“She stood as lovely as light.”
Shows how much the persona was impressed by her sincere innocent curiosity.
Metaphor√1mk – Just as a silhouette, wild and strange and compulsive.
To the persona, the child was completely incapable of becoming reconciled to the fact that this was a human being. Metaphor portrays mental conflict. √1mk
Hyperbole√1mk – “No fur, no scales no feathers ..”
Deliberate exaggeration to show the immensity of the child’s dilemma, she’s never seen such an animal or a bird. √1mk (Any 1 identified trait and illustration = 2 x 2 = 4mks)
(e) That:
Life must go on despite the racial differences / racial prejudices. √1mk
Nature is not a man. √1mk
Nature stays in harmony while man, with ability to reason, behaves senselessly. √1mk
