Inheritance by David Mulwa - KCSE Essay Questions with Answers
Essay questions and answers on Inheritance by David Mulwa
The essays below are mostly in marking scheme format. With points that examiners check.
It should be noted that in an exam situation, essays should be written in prose and not point form as in some of the examples below. In an exam, the "Introduction", "Body" and "Conclusion" titles should not be added in your essays. The examples below just guide on the format that your essays should take.
A person's weaknesses can lead to their downfall. Justify the statement using the character Lacuna Kasoo in "Inheritance."
An essay should have at least six paragraphs. One paragraph should be the introduction. We should then have four paragraphs of the body, each discussing
an independent point. The body paragraphs should start with a topic sentence which is the carrier of the answer.
Introduction.
David Mulwa's play. "Inheritance", is a satirical play which is mocking the bad characteristics of Leader Lacuna Kasoo, which are key contributors to his downfall.
Content
He is like the mythical Greek kings who got drunk with power, to extent that they mock God, and longer care about the feelings of their fellow human beings.
Firstly, Lacuna kasoo is seen to be Materialistic. He has a desire to get all the wealth in the world, even if it is at the expense of his people. He borrows from foreign countries, and funnily enough, he misappropriates the money and even goes to store it in Foreign accounts, opened in the same banks he had borrowed from, in the name of Kutule.
Secondly, he is also seen to be lustful This is the major trait that contributes to his downfall He develops an insatiable desire to marry Lulu and have sex with her because according to him, this will give him a new lease of life, and also helps him connect with the Dead and the unborn. This is evident in the fact that he pulls his key advisors on governance matters into the petty issue of planning this night escapade with Lulu. This makes him blind to the state of the nation. He also falls out with Robert, one of the financiers because he talked to Lulu. He finally is thrown out of power because the foreign power does not support him anymore.
Thirdly his pride is another major contributor to his downfall. He is first of all very determined to create a gap between himself and the citizens. This he does by impoverishing them and making himself super rich. He says that he cannot move around in an insect of a car whereas other world leaders a rolling across the sky. He buys himself a plane and even at some point compares himself to God. This later sees to his downfall because all people turn against him. Also, he is temperamental This makes him to make rush decisions which make him fall into trouble. He jails the foreign financiers after Robert freezes his accounts to recover part of the loan he had taken. This is despite the advice by Chipande against the same. He also orders for the evacuation of the people from Bukelenge valley so that the foreigners can Occupy it and do farming. Another poor decision which he makes in a rush is to introduce martial law, and enclose all his people in their houses in a 24hour curfew. This only serves to fuel the rebellion of his subiects.
In addition to that, he is cruel leader. It is evident in the fact that he kills his own father by poisoning him. He also jails Romanus Bengo for giving him stiff political competition and even winning against him. For that he wants to kill him. He tries to use his brother, Be go to execute the killing and when he refuses, he is sacked and later beaten ruthlessly and dumped at his door. He is finally killed in an accident in Lacuna Kasoo mines. This infuriates the citizens, particularly Ramanus Bengo, who leads the rest in overthrowing him. This we can say was Lacuna's own making.
Conclusion
In conclusion, we can say that the traits mentioned above, among others, are contributors to Lacuna kasoo's downfall.
A mother can bear a child and he or (the child) is a replica of her, but can also be very different. Write an essay comparing and contrasting the character of Luli Zen Melo with that of her mother Tamina Zen Melo "with clear illustrations from "Inheritance" by David Mulwa.
- Lulu is aggressive while Tamina is timid - Lulu is aggressive to change her life and to be like her mother while Tamina is timid and wants the status quo to remain.
- Tamina is religious while Lulu is skeptical. Tamina is very faithful to religion to an extent she is offended by Lulu's skepticism. Lulu on other hand feels that God is unfair to her and her mother because they suffered for long to no avail.
- They are both morally upright. Lulu is seen to be upright in the way she relates with Lucano Kasoo. Tamina is seen to be faithful to her husband and tells him that the bed is there and waiting for her and nobody else.
- Lulu and Tamina are loving. Tamina loves her husband so much and refers to him fondly and she is happy when he gets back home. Lulu is also loving and affected when her father dies and she demands that Lucana should let her go home for his second coronation.
NB: - There must be contrast and comparison
-Two points on contrast and two points on comparison
Abuse of power has led to failure of many countries in Africa and elsewhere in the world, with relevant examples from inheritance, Write an essay to illustrate this statement.
Introduction
Generally explain with example tied to the question on despotic nature of African Leaders.e.g in Africa there is massive corruption, extra judicial killing and
inefficiency which jeopardize the lives of the people.
Point of Interpretation
1. Lacuna Kasoo is a corrupt person; he collaborates with foreign investors and steals money Meant for development and stanches them in his account
2. Lacana Kasoo is lustful- This is because he wanted to forcefully marry lulu and even confines Her in his palace in preparation for marriage ceremony.
3. Lacana Kasoo is murderous- He plans to eliminate Bengo by sending Indah Zen Melo. He said that he has a thorn in his political side and therefore wants Indal to
pluck it out
4. Lacana Kasoo is dictatorial-This is portrayed where he orders Meshak to crush the dissidents Starve and impose a curfew to the citizens.
5. Lacana Kasoo is traitorous. He abuses power bestowed to him in order to lead the people much to the pleasure of his ancestors, he vehemently goes against the wishes of his people and Ancestors
Conclusion
Give the opinion i.e. Africa leaders should not emulate leaders like Lacana Kasoo Recap of the point discussed above.
Distribution of marks
Introduction (2 marks)
4 points x 3 marks each = (12 marks)
Conclusion 2 marks
Spelling : 1 mark
Punctuation: 1 mark
Sentence construction Correctly : 1 mark
Fluency 1 mark Total= 2+12+2+4= (20marks)
Misuse of power is a common phenomenon in most African countries. Basing your arguments on Inheritance by David Mulwa write an essay to support this statement
Introduction
Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely. When individuals get power, it gets into their heads. Leaders tend to forget that they have ascended to power courtesy of the citizens and use the same privileges to look down and oppress their subjects. Basically they have no regard for the people who elected them to that point.
Body
Judah Zen Melo is kicked out of his work because he refuses to be involved in the killing of his brother Bengo, more so they take his land.
Chipande uses his influence as a councillor to buy Tamina's land on the mountains cheaply, for peanuts, and then he goes ahead to ensure that no one is given license to grow coffee for he fears competition.
Most people employed in Kutula government are Leader Lacuna's tribesmen and kinsmen. Tamina comments that Lacuna hasn't seen anyone else apart from his tribesmen. The manager at the mines where Zen Melo works as a gateman is a tribesman of Lacuna.
Lacuna sacks all employees and employs people from his tribe when he is confronted with protests and rebels against his leadership, in addition he declares martial law and a curfew so that he could track down the dissidents and rebels. He orders the killing of deserters.
Lacuna detains Lulu against her will at the palace. He kisses her forcefully and wants to marry her against her will.
Since he has power, Lacuna orders the removal of inhabitants of the valley such that the foreigners should occupy it. Goldstein wants to use his position to ensure that they benefit fully from the business arrangement with Kutula through the interests earned on the loans advanced to Kutula.
Lacuna lines his pocket with money as well as giving to his close supporters. This in appropriation of state resources is an abuse of office.
Conclusion
Any relevant conclusion.
Write an essay on the admirable character traits of King Kutula XV basing your arguments on the play, Inheritance by David Mulwa.
Introduction
The admirable character of King Kutula XV in the play enables the reader to enjoy the text, this helps to expound on the main issues in the play. His admirable character traits are exemplified.
Body
He is protective. He fiercely protects his countrymen from colonial exploitation He compares their relationship with the colonial masters to that of the proverbia freezing elephant and the farmer who could neither share the same hut nor see eve to eve He says he regrets the day their forefather agreed to cooperate with the colonial master. He says that all that he wants is stop the colonial exploitation of their land's minerals(gold, silver, oil and wants them to equally share the returns from the minerals instead of the current take all scenario.
He is humble. He deters the continued streaming of praises directed towards him fropm Mr. Thome's attendant's (pg. 6). New, naw, naw! Don't carry on my son. His mortal excellency doesn't understand a word you say?" He also respectably addresses Thorne Macay as Governor, and Menninger as Voice of God. He does also request to sit down after he is in the office of Thorne
He is wise. He appropriately uses proverbs in his speech. When urging Thorne to proceed in his speech he tells him, "It's a weak suitor who asks his new bride how to proceed." (pg 7). When probed about his people's breach of trust, he quickly brings in the analogy of the hare and the chameleon. (pg 8). He even accusses Thorne to have talked like a waterfall yet said nothing.
He is bold. On pg 7 he is presented as a most self-assured ruler with unnerving presence. He surveys Governor Thome's room with almost arrogant but deliberate disdain, selects a seat opposite the door and equally sits on it He reprimands Thome and reminds him that though he (Thome) is a governor, but in the soil on which he stands, elders dont bandy insults. He acknowledges to Thome that he aware of the countrywide uprising in his kingdom and slights the colonial mission of civilization and good will. Moreover, he warns Thorne that as long as the exploitation continues, Thome's people will continue to die and that they have nowhere to hide.
Conclusion
It is always good to stay focussed on your virtues for your own bettermen and the bettermen of the society at large.
Mark as follows
Any 4 well developed points 3:3:3
Award 2 marks for Introduction and 2 marks for conclusion
Award 4 marks grammar/Linguistic mark
The play, Inheritance, clearly brings out the opposite meaning of the saying that "Blood is thicker than water. "Write an essay to justify this.
Introduction:
In life people tend to get much more attached to people who are related to them by blood. This is, however not always the case. The play brings out cases that appear to negate this.
Content
King Kutula XV is more attached and devoted to his adopted daughter Sangol. He moves around with her and it is known to many that she is the favourite one. This is even though he has a biological child.
Lacuna, who is the king's son, accepts to be used by Bishop Menninger to end his own father's life. Lacuna does this in a very cold way. As a leader, Lacuna locks his only sister Sangoi out of government and openly shows hostility to her. When he finally picks her to government he makes it clear that it was not his wish. Lacuna makes the lives of his own people very difficult. Under him the people suffer more than they did in the colonial era.
Conclusion
It is not always the case that the people close to you will be of help.
Inheriting a top seat without merit only invites ridicule from subjects. Write an essay showing how satire has been used in The Inheritance by David Mulwa.
Introduction
In the Inheritance, Mulwa exposes the vices in Kutula colony by Lacuna and his government in a rather exaggerated manner as discussed below.
Content
King Lacuna abuses power and takes advantages of his position to exploit and oppress his subjects. He orders the killing of anyone who opposes his leadership. He asked Juda Zen Melo to kill his brother Bengo who is an activist and a threat to his leadership. When he refuses, he faces the consequences by being sacked and evicted from the government house and his car is taken away. He is also forced to sell his farm to Lacuna's Cronies for peanuts and the wife is forced to work in the same farm to make ends meet.
His leadership is also satirized when he uses money meant for the country's economic grown for his own selfish gains. He buys an aircraft and deposits the rest in his own account in the same banks that lend the money.
His greed for power is highly satirized. It is ridiculous that he takes his father's life so that he can get to power. He colludes with the imperialists to poison his father so that he is installed the new king.
The imperialists are also satirized. Their despising and demeaning attitude towards the blacks is highly criticized. It is laughable that the financiers justify such conditions in the name of helping the people. It is expected that financiers would be sensitive and practical in their demands.
Others satirized include kings cronies like chiparde and government officials who worship him, and are ready to do anything to please him. Conclusion From the above discussion, it is quite clear that the author has satirized the poor leadership and the resulting predicaments.
Mark
Introduction 2
Condusion 2
Body 12 - Any 4 well illustrated points (3-3-3-3) = 12
Language 4
Total 20
"Lacuna represents the evil that bedevils our leaders. "Write an essay to justify this using Inheritance by David Mulwa.
Introduction
Lacuna's evil nature is a reflection of the evil nature of most of the leaders of failed states.
Content
Lacuna is tribalistic as seen from the people he has appointed to key positions. This is also reflected in the army
Lacuna is very insensitive as he drives people from their homes to please the imperialists so as to get a loan.
Lacuna is brutal as he kills Judah Sen Melo to coerce his daughter Lulu to marry him.
He detains Lulu in the palace and also imprisons Daniel Goldstein and Robert Rollerstone.
Lacuna embezzles funds that he deposits in his own account and gives the rest to his cronies. He rules with an iron fist and insits on having his way and say.
Any other relevant.
Conclusion
Lacuna is a true reflection of a bad leader.
For the people of Kutula the colonial days were better. Using illustrations from David Mulwa's play Inheritance write an essay discussing what could have gone wrong under Lacuna.
Introduction
At times independent African States find themselves in more leadership chaos than the case was during the colonial days. An example of such as State is Kutula in David Mulwa's Play Inheritance.
Content
Lacuna brings divisions worse than during the colonial period. He openly buys an aircraft because he does not wish to be associated
with his subjects whom he refers meanly.
There are unexplained deaths that can be associated with the people in government such is like the death of Judah Zen Melo.
Lacuna oppresses his people by making them work for longer hours for little pay.
Lacuna's leadership is greatly tribal. Lacuna is seen to have members of his tribe in key government positions and also in the military.
The government led by Lacuna has no development record to show. It has instead concentrated on making lives of few people better at the expense of the majority.
Conclusion
The independence government under Lacuna proves to be worse and more oppressive than the colonial establishment.
'Some leaders contribute to their own downfall. With close reference to Lucana and David Mulwa's play, 'Inheritance' Write a composition supporting this statement.
-Can be general, specific or general to contextualized. A definition of any term is not considered as an introduction. Accept any reasonable introduction Sample.
Introduction
Truly, some leaders are their own worst enemies. They lead to their own downfall by ruling with an iron fist, being corrupt, immoral and selfish. In so doing they have no one to blame but themselves. Lacuna is such a leader as portrayed in David Mulwa's play 'Inheritance'.
Body
1. Dictatorship.
Some leaders rule with an iron fist and this leads to their downfall. Lacuna is a dictator. He never takes 'no' for an answer in any of his advances(pg 43). He views everyone who goes against his wishes as an enemy, a dissenter, a contradictor and a show in the dark (pg 44). He even kills at will........"a snap of my fingers and heads could roll. (pg 65)When Juda Zen Melo disobeys Lacuna, no one wants to be associated with him pg 34). It takes a very long time for lacuna to forget it and it is only after this that he is able to get a job as a gate keeper (pg 34). To make matters worse, he later orders the killing of Judah(pg 108) after he tries to seduce his daughter, Lulu in vain. This Dictatorship is what makes his subject to hate him so much that when the idea of overthrowing him comes up, they are more than willing to make it successful.
2. Tribalism
Some leaders ruin their chances by practicing tribalism. Lacuna favours his tribesmen immensely. When Lulu asks her mother's to see Lacuna so that he can help with school fees, she declines and angrily puts it that for all the years that Lacuna has been in power, he has not seen anyone but his clansmen (pg 29,71). For anyone to get any meaningful employment in Kutula, they have to be from Lacunas tribe(pg71). Judah has to befriend lacuna's tribesman, Mithambo,a manager at the mine, for him to get to the position of machine operator (pg 34). This tribalism, which is a form of corruption, promotes poverty since people do not have equal opportunities. It makes them angry and consequently, they overthrow Lacuna.
3. Selfishness.
Some leaders are so selfish that they do not think of others but their stomachs. Little do they know that this becomes the beginning of their downfall. Lacuna borrows in the name of Kutula but only benefits himself. He takes huge loans and instead of using it to develop Kutula and help the citizen out of poverty, he stuffs most of it in his personal bank accounts in foreign counties. (pg 76) He goes ahead to buy an aircraft with this money that his subject have to sweat it out to repay (pg 72). The situation is so bad that he has to plead with the donors to give him another loan to service the interest of the one that has already been advanced to him (75). This selfishness does lacuna no good since finally, all the money he has hidden in his foreign accounts is transferred by Robert, a donor, as the donors seek to pay themselves part of the money that Kufula owes them (pg 110-111). Lacuna is left as nothing but a pauper and this makes almost lose his mind.
4. Immorality.
With money and power, some leaders become immoral. They tend to forget that all this is vanity and it will turn against them in the course of time. Lacuna is rather immoral. He wants to take lulu by force. After the remembrance ceremony, he detains her in his palace with the intention of marrying her. Although Lacuna is advised by Malipoa not to touch Lulu as it is against the custom, he says that customs are useless and that sometimes they must bow to national emergencies (pg 57). He goes on to seduce Lulu and decides that he is going to marry her, whether she likes it or not(pg 120) This kind of immorality is wrong. It makes Lulu's mother and Sangoi so angry that when time to overthrow Lacuna comes, none of them hesitates.
Accept any other relevant point-well explained and illustrated
Mark 3,3,3,3=12 mks
Conclusion-2 mks
In conclusion, it is clear that some leaders are the ones who contributes to their own downfall. Their behavior is what makes or breaks them. Every leader must knowledge the fact that they have a duty to their subjects and act accordingly.
With illustrations from David Mulwa's 'Inheritance', write an essay explaining how moral decadence affects the society. (20marks)
Aspects of moral decadance
a) Greed and selfishness.
Leader Lacuna and his cronies use public resources to enrich themselves. Lacuna is greedy for power and this makes him kill his own father, King Kutula XU in order to become the leader of Kutula. Lucuna borrows moneys from foreign countries to use it for development of Kutula. However, he embezzles the money by buying an aircraft for personal use. He carelessly gives money to his cronies and deposits money in foreign accounts in Canada, Swiss, Luxemburg and Manhattan. This causes suffering to the people of Kutula. Due to his selfishness, Lucuna kills Judah Zen Melo for not to allowing him to Mary his daughter.
2. Oppression and exploitation.
Lucuna kasoo is an oppressive leader. He poisons his own father King Kutula XV. The people are forced to work without rest and they only rest when they are dead. The black man is sentenced to work for the white man till death. The leaders in power forcefully take people's property. Tamina loses her house, land and cars. Those who raise their voices to criticize the government are in danger of being killed. Judah Zen Melo is beaten up for refusing to kill his brother Bengo who is a critic of the government. Zea Melo cannot easily find a job since nobody is willing to employ him. His land is taken. Lulu is forcefully locked up at Lucuna's palace. He wants to make her his wife against her wish. There area lot of murder. Bango is jailed.
3. Corruption.
Lucuna borrows money meant for development but embezzels it. The people's sweat is poured in Lucina's porous pockets as he deposits public funds in his foreign banks. Bribery - Lucina wants to bribe to kill Bengo whom he considers a thorn in his leadership. The people are given handouts and this makes them sing praises to Lucina. They become blind to the truth. Lucina is nepotic: He favours his own tribesmen, kinsmen and concubines.
4. Abuse of office
Those in power disregard their subjects. They use their power to dismiss. Judah Zen Melo for refusing to kill his brother. Chipande uses his power to purchase Tamina's land at a very cheap prize. He later influences Lucina not to give anyone licence to grow coffee since he does not want competition. Lucina uses his power to employ his own tribesmen and kinsman. This is after he is confronted by the employees who protest and rebel against his leadership. He sacks them all and employs his people. Lucina uses his power to have people killed. He orders the killing of all deserters. He also uses his power to remove the inhabitants of the valley so that foreigners can occupy it. Lucina uses his power to arrest and lock up Lulu in his palace. He wants to marry her forcefully
5. Dictatorship/ Authoritarian.
Lucina takes over power forcefully after killing his own father, king Kutula XV. The leaders order the killing of people. The people are detained arbitrary. Lucina uses dictatorship to freeze employees salaries after his foreign accounts are emptied by Robert. He increases the tax of profits of companies and business and keeps it for himself.
6. Inefficiency:
The government as lead by Kutula do not do their work well. Lucina takes a loan meant to fund the mining of silver. He fails to follow up the money and production of silver. He does not care whether they are making a loss or a profit. When the production of silver reduces by 15%, Lucina is not aware. He only gives order without monitoring. Due to his inefficiency, Lucina, does not keep records of the...
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