METRO EAST EDUCATION DISTRICT

CURRICULUM COORDINATION AND ADVICE

MEMORANDUM

GRADE 12 COMMON PAPER

ENGLISH FIRST ADDITIONAL LANGUAGE

PAPER 2
18 SEPTEMBER 2018

DISTRICT COMMON PAPER

MARKS: 70

TIME: 2 hours

This MEMORANDUM consists of 19 pages.

1
QUESTION 4: MY CHILDREN! MY AFRICA! by Athol Fugard

4.1.1. What is the setting of this scene? (1)

It takes place in Number One classroom/at Zolile High School/Mr

M’s classroom/Mr M’s school 

4.1.2 a) Refer to line 1. ‘You must join the boycott.’

Explain what the boycott was about.
(2)

Learners (and teachers) refused to return to school  until Bantu

Education had been scrapped.
b) Explain why Mr M did not want to join the boycott. (2)

Mr M believed that education was the key to the future  and the
most valuable thing for the future of the children so he could not
support not going to school.
4.1.3. Refer to lines 7 - 8. ‘And they will agree … I am an informer?’

Discuss why it was believed that Mr M was an informer. (3)

Mr M had given the names  of the strangers from the north/the

action committee/organisers of the boycott to the police. 
4.1.4. Choose the correct answer to complete the following sentence. Write only the letter (A-D) next to the
question number (4.1.3.a).

Refer to Thami’s words in line 15: ‘They’ll believe me. I’ll make them believe me.’

a) In this line, Thami is referring to:

A. his classmates
B. the police
C. the people of the township
D. the Comrades (1)

D – the Comrades 
b) What do Thami’s words reveal about his character? (2)

Thami is confident  in his ability to get people to listen to him.

/
He knows that he is an important member of the action committee
and that people will listen to him. /
He is caring and does not want any hurt to come to Mr M. 
4.1.5. Refer to the figure of speech in lines 16 -17: ‘Hasn’t your revolution taught you that?’

a) Identify the figure of speech in this line. (1)

Personification 
b) How does this figure of speech affect your understanding of how Mr M is feeling at this moment? (2)

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 Mr M has always considered himself Thami’s most influential
teacher  and it is very painful for him to admit that now Thami no
longer needs him/  that he has found another teacher in the form
of the Revolution/Struggle.
It is as if Mr M is saying that the Revolution has taken over his role
as teacher in Thami’s life.
4.1.6. Discuss the theme of SOCIAL JUSTICE that is evident in the play as a whole. (4)

Open –ended response. Candidates may mention the following

ideas but the answer must be grounded in the text.
Characters in the play have different ideas about how to achieve
social justice.
The play is set at a time when people were fighting against an
unjust social system/ Apartheid and wanted equality.
There was no social justice at the time; not every citizen of the
country had equal rights.
People were discriminated against because of their race.
Isabel and Thami live in different worlds and go to schools that are
not equally equipped.
Opportunities were different for Thami and Isabel. Isabel could
choose her field of study after school whereas Thami had very little
choice; Mr M was trying to win him a scholarship.
Mr M resists apartheid but will not oppose it with violence.
He adamantly believes in the power of words to bring about reform.
Thami and the Comrades believe in using boycotts and violent
protest to force the reform since they have seen no progress being
made by using a passive approach.
The Comrades and people of the township believe that they need
to take justice into their own hands by killing those that they
consider to be traitors to their own people.
They know that there will be no justice for them at the hands of the
police.

[18]

AND

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4.2.1 Refer to EXTRACT H and choose a description from COLUMN B that matches the expression in COLUMN A.
Write only the letter (A–E) next to the question number (4.2.1(a)–4.2.1(d)).

COLUMN A COLUMN B
a) ‘up here’ (line 4) A. going into exile
b) ‘travelling north’ (line 5) B. say a final good-bye after a person’s death
c) ‘pay my last respects’ (line 8) C. traditional
d) ‘the old-fashioned way’ (line 8-9) D. heaven
E. Wapadsberg Pass
(4)

a) E – Wapadsberg Pass 
b) A – going into exile 
c) B – say a final good-bye after a person’s death 
d) C – traditional 
4.2.2 Refer to line 4. ‘Yes! Thami was right!... you up here.’ If you were the director of the play, what tone of voice would
you tell Isabel to use when saying this line? Explain your answer. (2)

Isabel’s tone should be: happy/relieved/satisfied 

She has found a place of significance to Mr M where she can feel close
to him and pay her last respects/She didn’t know where she could go
to to pay her last respects to Mr M and Thami told her to come here
because it was a special place for Mr M.
4.2.3. Refer to lines 5 -6. ‘He didn’t say… guess, can’t we?’ Explain why Thami did not tell anyone exactly where he was
going. (2)

He was escaping the country, going into exile because the police were
looking for him and he did not want anyone to know where he was
going so he could be found. / 
He was going to join the resistance fighters in exile and did not want
anyone to know where they were. 
4.2.4. Refer to line 7. ‘I’m here for… know you’ll approve.’ Explain why Isabel believes that Mr M would approve of her
being there. (2)

Mr M was a very old-fashioned person who believed in doing things

the traditional/old-fashioned way  and so he would like that Isabel
was doing something traditional.
4.2.5. Explain, in your OWN WORDS, why the following statement is TRUE: Isabel chose not to take flowers to Mr M’s
grave. (2)

Instead of paying her respect with flowers, she wanted to pay her
respects with a promise to him. 
The place where he was buried would be covered with flowers in
Spring. 
4.2.6. What does this extract reveal about Isabel’s character? Explain your answer. (2)

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 Isabel cared deeply about Mr M and wanted to pay her last respects to
him. 
She is a respectful person who wants to say a final farewell to Mr M.
She is hopeful and optimistic. She believes that her life can make a
difference.
She loves her country. She wants to use her life to make a difference
to the future of South Africa.
[ANY ONE OF THE ABOVE CHARACTERISTICS + AN EXPLANATION]

4.2.7. Refer to lines 20 -21. ‘I am going … that yours was.’ Do you agree that Mr M’s life was useful? Explain your
answer. (3)

Open –ended response. Candidates may mention the following ideas

but the answer must be grounded in the text.
Yes.
Mr M dedicated his life to the children he taught. He taught Thami how
to think and use words and inspired Isabel to want to do something to
change the future of her country. He dedicated his life to educating
children.

No.
In the end he dies because his people believe he was a traitor. Thami,
his protégé, does not finish his schooling. He does not manage to stop
the school boycotts. He does betray his own people by giving names
to the police.

[CANDIDATES MAY CHOOSE TO ANSWER EITHER YES OR NO OR A

COMBINATION OF BOTH.
CREDIT WELL-EXPRESSED ANSWERS THAT ARE GROUNDED IN THE
TEXT.]

[17]

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5
 SECTION C: SHORT STORIES
THE LAST BREATH by Sam Kahiga

5.1.1 ‘Well, how did it go?’ (Line 1). What is the mother referring to? (2)

The narrator took his father to meet his girlfriend Eva, at the blind
school. 
5.1.2 Explain why you think it made no difference to the Father when he met Eva. (2)

He already made up his mind before he met her.  / He did not want his
son to marry someone that is blind.
5.1.3 Why does the narrator state ‘…I’ll show him I have a mind of my own!’ (lines 8 – 9). (2)

The narrator’s father always made decisions for him (his career). /
Through this he wanted to show he can make his own decision
5.1.4 Choose the correct answer to complete the following sentence.
Write only the letter (A-D) next to the question number (5.1.4) in the ANSWER BOOK.
The biggest problem the narrator’s father had, was the fact that Eva was …

A. disabled. C. blind.
B. married. D. pregnant. (1)

C. blind
5.1.5 Refer to lines 15 – 16. (‘I have brought sunshine into her life.’)
Is this meant literally or figuratively? (1)

Figuratively
5.1.6 Provide TWO characteristics of the narrator’s mother. (2)

Maternal / Supportive / Peacemaker / Always respects her son’s

decisions [Accept any TWO]
5.1.7 Why, do you think the mother did not inform the father she understood? (3)

She wanted to avoid conflict.  / As the mother, she keeps the peace in
the household.  / She knew that the father was ill and did not want to
bother him further about the issue. 
5.1.8 In your view, do you think the Father was right by rejecting Eva? Discuss (3)

Yes He wanted the best for his child Never dreamt that his child would
marry a blind woman
Or
No He judged her for her disability Did not give her a chance because
of her disability

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 [Accept a response linked to stereotyping of disabled people]

5.1.9 Discuss how the title of the short story is appropriate. (2)

With his last breath, the narrator’s father donates his cornea’s to Eva
This is also his last opportunity to give his son the best/provide his son
with happiness

/18/
AND
TRANSFORMING MOMENTS by Gcina Mhlophe
5.2.1 Where did the narrator go to with Father Fikeni?
(1)

Tsolo,  / (to visit his family) 

5.2.2 Quote FOUR consecutive words proving something changed in the narrator’s mind.
(1)

‘everything just felt fine’

5.2.3 Choose the correct answer to complete the following sentence.
Write only the letter (A-D) next to the question number (5.1.4) in the ANSWER BOOK.
‘everything about me was just perfect.’ (Line 9) This shows the narrator had a moment of …
A. discovery. C. epiphany.
B. realisation. D. happiness. (1)

C. Epiphany
5.2.4 State TWO characteristics of Father Fikeni.
(2)

He is loving / caring / nurturing.  Realises talent of the young

5.2.5 Provide THREE examples from the story to prove that the narrator hated herself at the beginning.
(3)

She was ugly / She had dry hair / She viewed herself as a nerd /
She was unsure of herself
5.2.6 Refer to lines 16-17: ‘a big red cock … in agreement too!’ What does the crowing cock symbolise in the context of
the story? (2)

A cock normally crows at the start of a new day.  / In the context of the
story the crowing symbolises a start of a new image for the reader  //
and the start of a new life. 
5.2.7 Discuss how the theme of SELF DISCOVERY is evident in the story.
(3)

The narrator discovers her physical beauty  / her identity.  / That she
wants to be a praise poet  and therefore discards the identity that was
given to her by other people. 
5.2.8 Discuss the suitability of the title of the short story, Transforming moments.
(4)

Transforming means to change.  / The narrator changes from someone

with a low self-esteem to a confident being.  She also realises that
she wants to be a praise poet. 
/17/
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