Theory question 104
Set Text: The Marriage of AnansewaLiterature 2, Section A. Efua T. Sutherland: The Marriage of Anansewa
Discuss the theme of poverty and ambition in The Marriage of Anansewa
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Model answer
Ananse is poor: unpaid school fees, unpaid typewriter instalments, leaking house.
Poverty drives his scheme to 'sell' Anansewa to four chiefs.
Ambition: wants wealth, status, a good husband for his daughter.
Gifts improve his house and his standing in church.
His cunning nearly ruins him; the mock death solves the problem.
Comment: poverty can lead to deceit; ambition pursued by tricks is satirised.
Explanation
Show how poverty pushes Ananse and how his ambition shapes the plot.