Answer to Question #210533 in English for Maletsatsi Sipambo

Question

Read the following text and answer the questions that follow.

Incase you want to learn more about Maya Angelo's visit to the West Africa, you may visit the web link provided at the end of question 1

a. What do you think is the writer's purpose in the text. Provide two relevant examples from the text to support your answer.

b) What two possible meanings can be attached to the sentence, The breezes of the West African night were intimate and shy '? (Line1). Substantiate your answer with close reference to the text.

b) The clause' our skin was accepted as correct and normal ' (line 9-10) is ambitious. With close reference to the text, explain the ambiguity and provide the two possible meanings.

c) Examine the verbs used in the first paragraph. What effect does the choice of verbs have on the meaning that the writer conveys in this paragraph. Substantiate your argument by referring closely to the first paragraph of the text.

Answer 1

a) Maya's purpose was to inform readers about formative events in her early life to convince readers that pursuing a formal education is a waste of time to teach readers how to write as she does to entertain readers with funny stories about her marriage.

b) It could mean the night breezes hit the writer very gently and lightly. "Intimate" means quite warm and friendly while "shy" means reserved. Thus, the breezes blew slowly and in a friendly manner.

Also, It could mean the writer was familiar with night breezes of the West African night and had a close and personal relationship with them. "Intimate" also means of a close or personal nature. This meaning is supported by the rest of the text "licking the hair, sweeping through cotton dresses with unseemly intimacy."

c) Ambiguity means that the phrase has or is open to more than one interpretation besides the obvious meaning.

d)An adverbial clause that has a nonfinite verb or no verb at all (the Adverbial: a sentence element used to convey a range of information about the of consonant sounds at the beginning of words that are close to one another: scores, students have to make reference to the multiple meanings.