WORKSHEET IN SURVEY OF AFRO-ASIAN LITERATURE

CHAPTER I: AFRICAN LITERATURE

I. Identification: Read the following statements carefully and identify what is being referred to. Write
your answers on the spaces provided.
__________________1. The term used by Europeans to describe the interior part of Africa.
__________________2. He is the foremost English-language poet and certainly the most celebrated playwright

of black Africa.
__________________3. A Nigerian novelist and poet who was known for his novel entitled, Things Fall
Apart.
__________________4. He was one of the most promising French West African poets. His work reflects his
hatred of colonial rulers and his hope for an independent Africa. He wrote the poem
entitled Africa.
was used which brought forth a more natural manner of writing.
__________________5. It is the novel of James Ngugi Wa Thiong’O that talks about the Kenya government
and that which led him to imprisonment.
II. Read carefully the following statements. Choose the correct answer from the given choices. Encircle the
letter of your answer.

1. Africa is written by:

a. Gabriel Okara
b. Abisoje Sejoro
c. T. Erick Peet
d. David Diop
2. Africa talks about:
a. Oppression of its people
b. African culture
c. African adventures
d. Political upheaval in Africa
3. The line, “Africa, land of milk and honey,” connotes:
a. Abundance of natural resources
b. Cows and bees abound in Africa
c. Hamony among people
d. Africa is producer of dairy product and honey
4. The white and faded flowers in the poem” Africa” means:
a. drought often happen in Africa
b. life is short
c. the Colonizers
d. none of the choices
5. The tree in the poem “Africa” is a symbol that stands for:
a. the Africans
b. the Colonizers
c. life
 WORKSHEET IN SURVEY OF AFRO-ASIAN LITERATURE

d. none of the choices

6. The line, “ but now they laugh only with their teeth” signifies:
a. Anger
b. Insincerity
c. Gladness
d. Laughter
7. Who is the” son” mentioned in “Once Upon a Time?”
a. the son of the speaker
b. the younger African generation in general
c. unknown character
d. all of the choices

II. Read and answer the following statements carefully.

1. What are the common forms of African literature. Describe them. (8 points)
2. Differentiate oral from written literature. (5 points)
3. What functions of African literature are common to that of the Philippines and others? Explain. (5 points)
4. What are the distinguishing features of African literary types? Discuss them briefly. (5 points)

IV. Read the following poems and answer the questions that follow.

Africa
David Diop
Africa my Africa
Africa of proud warriors in ancestral savannahs
Africa of whom my grandmother sings
On the banks of the distant river
I have never known you
But your blood flows in my veins
Your beautiful black blood that irrigates the fields
The blood of your sweat
The sweat of your work
The work of your slavery
Africa, tell me Africa
Is this your back that is unbent
This back that never breaks under the weight of humilation
This back trembling with red scars
And saying no to the whip under the midday sun
But a grave voice answers me
Impetuous child that tree, young and strong
That tree over there
Splendidly alone amidst white and faded flowers
That is your Africa springing up anew
springing up patiently, obstinately
 WORKSHEET IN SURVEY OF AFRO-ASIAN LITERATURE

Whose fruit bit by bit acquires

The bitter taste of liberty.

1. Describe Africans in the poem.

2. How does the persona regard Africa?
3. how did Africa get “red scars”? what does the image created by the “red scars” remind you about Africa’s
colonial past?
4. What admirable trait of Africa can be inferred from the poem? Cite lines to support your answer.
5. What is the theme or central idea of the poem?

Once Upon a Time

Gabriel Okara
Once upon a time, son,
they used to laugh with their hearts
and laugh with their eyes:
but now they only laugh with their teeth,
while their ice-block-cold eyes
search behind my shadow.

There was a time indeed

they used to shake hands with their hearts:
but that’s gone, son.
Now they shake hands without hearts
while their left hands search
my empty pockets.

‘Feel at home!’ ‘Come again’:

they say, and when I come
again and feel
at home, once, twice,
there will be no thrice-
for then I find doors shut on me.
So I have learned many things, son.
I have learned to wear many faces
like dresses – homeface,
officeface, streetface, hostface,
cocktailface, with all their conforming smiles
like a fixed portrait smile.

And I have learned too

to laugh with only my teeth
and shake hands without my heart.
 WORKSHEET IN SURVEY OF AFRO-ASIAN LITERATURE

I have also learned to say, ‘Goodbye’,

when I mean ‘Good-riddance’:
to say ‘Glad to meet you’,
without being glad; and to say ‘It’s been
nice talking to you’, after being bored.

But believe me, son.

I want to be what I used to be
when I was like you. I want
to unlearn all these muting things.
Most of all, I want to relearn
how to laugh, for my laugh in the mirror
shows only my teeth like a snake’s bare fangs!

So show me, son,

how to laugh; show me how
I used to laugh and smile
once upon a time when I was like you.

1. Describe the feelings or attitude of the speaker in the poem.

2. To whom is the speaker talking to? What does he hope to learn from them?
3. What do you think is the son mentioned in the poem?
4. Explain the second stanza and its implication to our society today.
5. How is Africa described in the poem?

Based on the story Anticipation by Mabel Dove, Answer the following statements briefly.
1. Describe the setting of the story.
2. What atmosphere is created by the setting?
3. What African custom and traits are revealed in the story?
4. Compare the African ways of celebrating with those of Filipinos.
5. Comment on what the author says about the attitude of men toward women and vice versa.

Chapter Test
1. Discuss the important facts and figures of Africa. (10 points)
2. How would you compare African poems with those in the Philippines?
3. Critique one of the literary pieces in Africa. Consider the following:
a. author’s point of view
b. implications on their lives
c. figures of speech used
d. theme
 WORKSHEET IN SURVEY OF AFRO-ASIAN LITERATURE

CHAPTER I: EGYPTIAN LITERATURE

I. Read the following statements and identify what is being described or referred to. Write your answers on the
space before each number.
__________________1. It is an underlying idea that comments on human condition; a central idea in the story.
__________________2. It is the arrangement of events in the story.
__________________3. This element of poem reveals the author’s attitude toward the subject, and in some
cases, the attitude of the persona or implied speaker of the poem as well.
__________________4. It refers to a concrete object, event, or character in the story which represents an
abstract idea like love, patriotism, and others.
__________________5. It is the regularized and patterned rhythm.
__________________6. An element of short story that tells about the location, time, and atmosphere.
__________________7. It is the native language of Persia.
__________________8. It refers to the use of words in poetry that evoke mental pictures.
__________________9. It is how the characters are revealed in the story.
__________________10. It is the similarities or repetition of vowel sounds in poem.

II. Read each of the following examples and determine what kind of figure of speech is used. Write your
answers on the space provided. Choose the correct answer from the choices in the box.
__________________1. You are my strength.
__________________2. Mountains and hills, come and fall on me.
__________________3. Sheena is washing a mountain of laundry.
__________________4. She talks incessantly from morning till night.
 WORKSHEET IN SURVEY OF AFRO-ASIAN LITERATURE

__________________5. When I saw her smile, a stone rolled away from my heart.
__________________6. When he’s furious, he stares like a tiger does.
__________________7. He loves her as much as he loves himself.
__________________8. At last, the wind sighed itself to sleep.
__________________9. Marriage is the leading cause of divorce.
__________________10. The student who didn’t study passed the test.
__________________11. Her home was a prison.
__________________12. We have always remained loyal to the crown.
__________________13. America is a melting pot.
__________________14. I have told you a million times.
__________________15. Life is like a box of chocolates; you never know what you’re going to get.
__________________16. “Roll on, thou dark and deep blue Ocean – roll!

__________________17. The House was called to order.

__________________18. He is a pilot, but he is afraid of heights.
__________________19. The bird are airplanes of the sky.
__________________20. This book set my wings to fly.

III. Choose the correct answer from the given choices. Encircle the letter of your choice.
1. Read the following and determine what conflict is present: Paul, the main character in the story, is
rejected by her girlfriend’s parents. As a result, he forcefully took his girlfriend away and lived in a
distant place.
a. Man vs. man
b. Man vs. himself
c. Man vs. society
d. Both a and c
2. John is in great trouble; he needs money for the hospitalization of her father, but he has no other recourse
as his relatives are also living in abject poverty. Although deeply troubled, he’s forced to steal money.
What conflict/s is/are present in this scenario?
a. Man vs. man
b. Man vs. himself
c. Man vs. society
d. All of the choices
3. Which of the following is an example of alliteration?
a. “To err is human; to forgive is divine.”
b. “Betty Botter bought some butter, but, she said, the butter’s bitter.”
c. “He who is afraid asking doesn’t want to learn.”
d. None of the choices
4. Characterization may done through:
 WORKSHEET IN SURVEY OF AFRO-ASIAN LITERATURE

a. Direct description
b. Conversation among characters
c. Revealing characters’ reactions to events
d. All of the choices
5. Which of the following is not a description of a character?
a. Round character
b. Flat character
c. Static character
d. None of the choices
6. Which of the following is the primary means of building a story plot?
a. Chronological sequence
b. Foreshadowing
c. Flashback
d. Suspense
7. The conflict in the story is resolved in:
a. Exposition
b. Climax
c. Falling action
d. Denouement
8. The Free Bird and the Tame Bird is an example of:
a. Parable
b. Legend
c. Fable
d. None of the choices
9. Which of the following would you choose to characterize haiku?
a. A poem originated in Japan
b. A short poem with three lines
c. A poem composed of 17 syllables
d. All of the above
10. Japanese script is described as monosyllabic because:
a. Words are composed of just one syllable
b. Ideas are represented by drawings
c. The Japanese speak in monotone fashion
d. None of the choices

Anglo-American Literature