Annales gratuites Bac L : Leaving Kenya ?

The story takes place in Kenya in the early 1950s

     A postcard came airmail from London:

     Dear Vic and Deepa,
     We're having a wonderful time here!
     Hope you have a smashing holiday too. Say "jambo" to Njoroge.
 5   Kwa heri! See you soon!
     - Bill and Annie

          On the reverse side, Picadilly Circus in full colour, a city scene grander and infinitely more
     bustling than our own modest and quite somnolent King Street roundabout. Look, said Papa, who
     was holding up the postcard, the biggest city in the world.
 10       Where's the circus, Papa? I asked him, our self-styled expert on matters English.
          Maybe there was a circus there a long time ago, he said, trying to sound confident and unable
     to hide his uncertainty.
          Mother, Deepa, and I were gathered round Papa in the shop, poring with him over every detail
     of the glorious scene. The black taxis, a red double-bus carrying advertisements on its side, men
 15  and women in hats, a red mailbox, a newsagent, all the store and street signs. Papa turned a
     wistful eye to Mother, who acknowledged with a smile; it was his dearest wish to visit that centre of
     the universe once in his lifetime. It was his Mecca, his Varanasi, his Jerusalem. A visit there
     conferred status, moreover: you became one of the select group, the London-returned.
          He tacked the postcard on the upright behind the table, where it stayed for more than a year,
 20  proud reminder not only of his yearning but also of his European "friends".
          Bill and Annie had gone without their parents. To my parents, it was a sign of European
     irresponsibility that they could send their children on an expensive voyage and yet run up sizeable
     debts in town. Though Mother remembered graciously that Mrs. Bruce did have a wealthy family in
     England. But how could she allow herself to send the children by themselves, unescorted, on a
 25  voyage that took twenty-four hours, with stopovers in strange places? Suppose someone
     kidnapped them? Who'd hurt a British child, Papa snapped in reply, they'd have every policeman in
     the world looking for them. That privilege comes from ruling the world.
          It was mid July, a month and a half since they had gone. Six weeks was an eternity to a child in
     those days. Saturday playtime at our shopping centre became subdued¹ and lacking in adventure.
 30  I recall Deepa, Njoroge, and myself sitting on the cement floor of the veranda outside our shop,
     playing a game of imagining by turns all the exciting things our two friends must be up to in
     London: riding double-buses and taxis, visiting all those castles and palaces and bridges we had
     read about, shopping at wonderful stores spilling over with comic books, toffees and chocolates. If
     you ran out of something to say in this game, you were "out".
 35       That postcard clinched the case for my mother: her children too needed to visit places during
     their vacation. And so it was resolved in our home that all of us would go to Nairobi² and Mombasa
     for the August holidays.
          The train from Kisumu had come in late and so we left at a little before dawn from Nakuru,
     which was as well because we could see more, though the Kisumu passengers were irate for
 40  having to wake up from their rocking slumbers. We reached Naivasha as dawn was breaking
     beyond the mountains.
          How can I describe that feeling of looking out the sliding window above the little washbasin, as
     the small second-class cabin jostled and bumped along the rails, and taking in deep breaths of that
     cool, clean air and, simply, with wide hungry eyes absorbing my world. It was to become aware of
 45  one's world, physically, for the first time, in a manner I had never done before, whose universe had
     encompassed³ our housing estate and my school, the shop and my friends, the tree-Iined street
     outside that brought people in and out of our neighbourhood. That scene outside the train window I
     can conjure up at any time of the day or night; I would see, feel, and experience it in similar ways
     so frequently in my life; in some essential way it defines me. This was my country — how could it
 50  not be? Yes, there was that yearning for England, the land of Annie and Bill and the Queen, and
     for all the exciting, wonderful possibilities of the larger world out there. But this, all around me was
     mine, where I belonged with my heart and soul.

Adapted from M.G. Vassanji, The In-Between World of Vikram Lall, 2003

¹ subdued: quiet, lifeless
² Nairobi, Mombasa, Nakuru, Kisumu and Naivasha are all places in Kenya
³ to encompass: to include, to contain

Questions 1, 2, 3 and 4: focus on lines 1 to 27.

1. Line 1: "A postcard came airmail from London".
    a) Say who this postcard is addressed to and who is actually looking at it.
    b) Deduce the name of the narrator.

2. Describe the characters' dominant reaction when looking at the postcard.

3. Line 19: "He tacked the postcard on the upright behind his table, where it stayed for more than a year..."
    a) Who does "he" refer to?
    b) Using elements from the text, find three reasons why this character decides to tack and keep the postcard. (50/60 words)

4. a) What aspects of Bill and Annie's trip to London do the narrator's parents discuss? (3 elements)
    b) Lines 26-27: "Who'd hurt a British child, Papa snapped in reply, they'd have every policeman in the world looking for them. That privilege comes from ruling the world."
Explain what the father means by that. (40/50 words)

Questions 5 and 6: focus on lines 28 to 37.

5. a) How does Bill and Annie's absence affect Deepa and the narrator's mood and activities?
    b) What do Deepa and the narrator's activities show about their vision of London?

6. a) What decision does the mother make after the postcard has arrived?
    b) Commenting on the use of "too" (line 35) and "all of us" (line 36), explain what motivates her decision. (40/50 words)

Question 7: focus on the passage from line 38 to the end.

7. a) Say where the narrator is in this passage.
    b) "... taking in deep breaths of that cool, clean air and, simply, with wide hungry eyes absorbing my world." (lines 43-44)
What happens to the narrator at that moment and how does it affect him for the rest of his life? (40/50 words)

Questions 1, 2, 3 and 4: focus on lines 1 to 27.

1. Line 1: "A postcard came airmail from London".
    a) Say who this postcard is addressed to and who is actually looking at it.
It is addressed to Vic and Deepa yet it is their father who is looking at it.

    b) Deduce the name of the narrator.
The narrator’s name is Vic.

2. Describe the characters' dominant reaction when looking at the postcard.
The characters are fascinated/in awe.

3. Line 19: "He tacked the postcard on the upright behind his table, where it stayed for more than a year..."
    a) Who does "he" refer to?
“He” refers to the narrator’s father.

    b) Using elements from the text, find three reasons why this character decides to tack and keep the postcard. (50/60 words)
He decides to keep the postcard as it depicts the place he has always yearned to go to. In his opinion, it is the place to go. He has a lot of admiration for this city, bustling with activity which is so different from his hometown. Moreover, given his social status, it looks as if it were a dream almost impossible to come true. l.16 “it was his dearest wish to visit that centre of the universe once in his lifetime”. Besides, he is proud of having European friends as it seems to confer him a higher status. l.20 “proud reminder not only of his yearning but also of his European friends”.

4. a) What aspects of Bill and Annie's trip to London do the narrator's parents discuss? (3 elements)
The narrator’s parents disapprove of the Bruces sending their children alone so far away. They find risky as their kids might get kidnapped. Besides, they don’t understand how they have managed to afford such an expensive trip whereas they’re in debt. They reproach the Bruces for taking advantage of Mrs. Bruce’s wealthy family.

    b) Lines 26-27: "Who'd hurt a British child, Papa snapped in reply, they'd have every policeman in the world looking for them. That privilege comes from ruling the world."
Explain what the father means by that. (40/50 words)
The father refers to the British colonial supremacy. Indeed, if anything were to happen to British citizens, all means of protection would be used to both safeguard and rescue them. We can sense some bitterness in the father’s tone because he is aware that it would not be the case for his children considered as second-class citizens.

Questions 5 and 6: focus on lines 28 to 37.

5. a) How does Bill and Annie's absence affect Deepa and the narrator's mood and activities?
Their life has become boring, lacking excitement and fun now their friends are gone. Thus, every place in their town seems dull and their only alternative is to daydream about their friends’ new experiences.

    b) What do Deepa and the narrator's activities show about their vision of London?
They view London as the land of plenty as well as a huge theme park.

6. a) What decision does the mother make after the postcard has arrived?
Their mother decides to go on a trip with her children to Nairobi and Mombasa for the August holidays.

    b) Commenting on the use of "too" (line 35) and "all of us" (line 36), explain what motivates her decision. (40/50 words)
The narrator’s mother believes that her children and the family as a whole also have the right to go on vacation and are entitled to have fun and to be entertained, just like any other British citizens. Moreover, visiting other places will allow them to enrich their experience and to have something to share with their friends on their way back.

Question 7: focus on the passage from line 38 to the end.

7. a) Say where the narrator is in this passage.
The narrator is on the train, on the way to Nairobi.

    b) "... taking in deep breaths of that cool, clean air and, simply, with wide hungry eyes absorbing my world." (lines 43-44)
What happens to the narrator at that moment and how does it affect him for the rest of his life? (40/50 words)
At that moment, he opens up to his country and realizes that his land is full of wonders too. He is taking in everything he can see and feel and must experience a new sense of freedom and excitement, in other words the beginning of a true love for his country. Even though England remains one of his centres of attraction, Kenya embodies the roots he has become proud of.