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. The Girl Who Can
By Ama Ata Aidoo
They say I was born in H od . . .
as zi; and it is a very big village in the central region
of our country Gh Th .
' ana. ey also say that when all of Africa is not choking
und er a d rought Hasod · 1· •
. . ' zi ies m a very fertile lowland in a district known for
its good soil. Maybe th t • Wh ·
,,v . a is y any time I don't finish eating my food, Nana
says, 1ou AdJoa you d 't kn
' on ow what life is about ... you don,t know What
problems there are in this life . . ."
As far as I could see th . .
, ere was only one problem. And it had nothing to do with
I
what knew Nana considered as "problems," or what Maami thinks of as "the
Problem·" Maami· 15 ·
my mother. Nana is my mother's mother. And they say I
am se~en years old. And my problem is that at this seven years of age, there
are things I can think in my head, but Which, maybe, I do not have the proper
languag~ t~ speak them out with. And that, I think, is a very serious problem
be_cause it is always to decide whether to keep quiet and not say any of the
things that come into my head, or say them and get laughed at. Not that it is
easy to get any to listen to you, even when you decide to take the risk and say
something serious to them.
Take Nana. First, I have to struggle to catch her attention. Then I tell her
something I had taken a long time to figure out. And then you know what
always happens? She would at once stop whatever ·she is doing and, mouth open, stare at me for a Very long
time. Then, bending and turning her head slightly, so that one ear comes down towards me, she' ll say in that
voice: '½.djoa, you say what?" After I have repeated whatever I had said, she would either, still in that Voice, ask
me "never, never, but NEVER to repeat THAT," or she would immediately burst out laughing. She would laugh
and laugh and laugh, until tears run down her cheeks and she would stop whatever she is doing and wipe away
the tears with the hanging edges of her cloth. And she would continue laughing until she is completely tired.
But then, as soon as another person comes by, just to make sure she doesn' t forget Whatever it was I had said,
she would repeat it to her. And then, of course, there would be two old people laughing and screaming with
tears running down their faces. Sometimes this show continues until there are t~ree, four, or even more of such
laughing and screaming tear- faced grown-ups. And all that performance for whatever I'd said? I find something
quite confusing in all this. That is, no one ever explains to me why sometimes I shouldn't repeat some things I say;
while at other times, some other things I say would not only be all right, but would be considered so funny they
would be repeated so many times for so many people's enjoyment. You see how neither way of hearing me out
can encourage me to express my thoughts too often?
Like all this business to do with my legs. I have always wanted to tell them not to worry. I mean Nana and my
mother. It did not have to be an issue for my two favorite people to fight over. I didn't want to be told not to repeat
it or for it to be considered so funny that anyone would laugh at me until they cried. After all, they were my legs...
 ::a...._...\'Ill•"""'·""-~,, "'-tan, •M m~ mt,thc-r. mu!II
lliara. What 1-tlllft'C lf" 1Nt •hftl I ,-.mr 1,ul \'If tht- IAnd ,,a '"~•t.
ha,"~
!loft
lll!l<.'\11'.,lntt my It•~!' fttlm th" dny 1
!llk•n'-" lnhl th.- wotl\1 of nnl~. lh.-
... ......... -.111, ~
lhM dlarw,1"" "• ft'JUl'tJ '"".......~-.rt~·-
Nana· i\h. ah. ~ '-'-·· ~,LI thanl. m,· ~ that \"O\lr \'ffV c."hild is ~mah.... Bui K,1ya, I am nol sure nhou1 her
.... Han. .. hffi .. . hm ...• . . .
And Nana WUllld __. h« hNd.
Mnffii; ~ •-hr ArT ~"llll . ."-a)'!' romplaining al'IOul Adjoa's ll'gs? If you ask me • • •"
NM.:~ -•~ too thin. And Jun not a...Jang you!"
Nana has many \'\lien. Tht'l"f' i!> • 5pc.'Cial one she uses to shut e"eryone up.
•5onw J"OFIW ha,-e no~ at a11.• my mother would try again, with all her
$&NI I~.
'"But Adjoa ha5 k-p.• ~an• \\'Ould insist; •excepl that they are too thin. And also
loo long for a •"UINn. Kaya. listt>n. Once in a while, but only once in a very long
~ ~ , • dl'Cides-nature, a child's spirit mothe~ an accident happens,
and ,omebod y gets bom "'ithout arms, or legs, or both sets of limbs. And then
lift_. toudl wood; it i, a sad business. And you know, such things are not for
taDdrtg about ~-eryday. But if any female child decides to come into this world
wftll . _ dwn IMy might as weU be legs."
•What land of Jegsr And always at that point, I knew from her voice that
my mothff "-'aS "'ttpmg inside. Nana never heard such inside weeping. Not
that it would haw stopped Nana even if she had heard it. Which always surprised me. Because,
about almost
s and
~'ft)1hin g else apart from my legs, Nana is such a good In any case, what do I know about good grown-up
bid gnn.n-ups?
How rouJd ~ana be a good grown-u p when she carried on so about my legs?
AB I "·ant h> say is that I really liked Nana except for that.
Nana: ·As 11.et.-p saying, if any woman decides to come into this world with her two legs, then she should select
And a
legs that h.n-e meat on them: with good calves. Because you are sure such legs would support solid hips.
woman must ha\'e solid hips to be able to have children."
'"Oh, Mother.• That's how my mother would answer.
Very, very qwetly. And the discussio n would end or they would move on to somethin g else.
Sometim es, Nana would pull in somethin g about my father:
..."
How, "'Looking at such a man, we have to be humble and admit that after all, God's children are many
How, '"After one's only daughter had insisted on marrying a man like that, you still have to thank
your God that
the biggest problem you got later Was having a granddau ghter With spindly legs that are too long for a woman,
and too thin to be of any use."
hear it. But
The way she always added that bit about my father under her breath, she probably thought I didn't
I always heard it. Plus, that is what always shut my mother up for good, so that even if I had not actually heard
had
the words, once my mother looked like even her little courage was finished, I could always guess what Nana
added to the argumen t.
•tegs that have meat on them with good calves to support solid hips . .. to be able to have children. "
---
UTERATUREINENGUSHCLASS-X • - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
c.c, 1 wl,h•d thAI one day I wot1\d "" tn,
.h 1 1, not H"Y· The older w--- •
t II • en ' "'Y'Wlf, the~ flt •n, """".." w'- hed 11.s <NliJ •n 8'11 •
ri rr tn the rvenlnl\ I cot1ld h .. , .. wear lctnK w nck - ••-•••._" -•
h rap- amu •II tht Unw ~ p t ti ttwy ll't .._.,, bedw ..
v ther 11nd Nana to.let me ave c et'~d. Rut I """ had the rhanc~ 11 la&l4L • 1111 ot ~ )la"' 111
n,o" like me. For pro r ba~o ,pta,h around ,n the •hallow nld flt the 111" ""f
nvfl w,th my lnl!nck , wm wtrtt olhff . . .
~\rl. I have ever seen =e th h.,, we U!ied the !lmal\ bathho u~ behind
our hut. n..,,d, ,H, It. only ~ ~
lcg!I . two airs of le Olle of other little girl!I like me, or older g,rk in the tchool
And \NJlle ul my moltw r
Na;:,y m!her gavet::c h mu9 t !lurety belong to the approved kind~ bec.auw
an ot meat on them tohme. ln my ey~. a\t my friends have got lep that loolr.. hM lrg,J. bu\ whdM
~!::._
S.rw p•,e birth lo 1111
have S · · • at l don't know. T 11w -IIY
j\ccording to the. older boys and girls, the distance between our little village
kilometers. I don t know what fi kit and the MnaU tuwn 1S abou\ m,e
. ve ometers mean. They always complain about how long it~ • · •allr. t 0 tehuo\
and back. But to me, we live m our vtUage, and walking those kilometers to -..-i
didn't matter . Schoo \ 1S nice.
School is _another thing Nana and my mother discussed often and appear
ed \o have different ideu about. ?--ana
though t it would be a waste of time. l never understood what she meant.
My motheT seeme d \o \.N,w- and
disagreed. Sh~ ~pt telling Nana that she-th at is, my mother-felt she
was \ocked into M>me \ind ol ~
because she didn t go to school. So that if l, her daugh ter, could learn to
write and read my own name and a little
besides-perhaps be able to calculate some things on paper-that would
be good. \ could always marry \ater a nd
maybe ...
Nana would just laugh. "Ah, maybe with legs like hers, she might as well
go to school .·
Runni ng with our classmates on our small field and winnin g first place
each time ne"·er seeme d to me \o be
anythi ng about which to tell anyone at home. This time it was differe
nt.\ don't mow how \he teach ~ decide d
to let me run for the junior section of our school in the distric t games.
'But they did.
When I went home to tell my mothe r and Nana, they had not be\iev ed
it. at. fu:sL So Nana had taken 1\ U'pon her..e ~
to go and " ask into it properly." She came home to tell my mothe r that.
it was really true. \ was one ot my schoo l s
runner s.
"Is that so?" exclaimed my mot.her. I know her. Her mouth moved as
thoug h she was going to tell Nana, \ha\, attet
all, there was a secret about me she couldn 't be expect ed to share with
anyon e.
But then Nana hersel f looked so pleased, out of surpris e, my mothe
r shut. her
mouth up. In any case, since they heard the news, I have otten caught
. Nana
staring at my legs with a strang e look on her face, but still preten ding
\ike she
was not lookin g.
All this week, she has been washi ng my school unifor m herseU. That
is a big
surpri se. And she didn't stop at that, she even went to Mr. Mensa h's
house and
borro wed his charco al pressi ng iron. Each time she came back home
with it
and ironed and ironed and ironed the unifor m, until, if l had been
the unifor m,
I would have said aloud that I had h ad enoug h.
Weari ng my school unifor m this week has been very nicE:. At the
parad e, on
the first aftern oon, its sheen caugh t the rays of the sun and shone
bright er than
anybo dy else's unifor m. Im sure Nana saw it too, and must h ave
\iked it.
Yes, sh e has been comin g into town with us every aftern oon
of this distric t
sports week. Each aftern oon, she has pulled one set of fresh old
c\othe s hom
the big brass bowl to Wear. And those old clothe s are alway s so
stiffly starch ed,
you can hear the cloth creak. 'But she walks way behm d us schoo
lchild ren. As
thoug h she was on her own way to some place else.

The G\r\ Who Can

 ~

-.,J have wan every race I ran for my school, and I have won the cup for the best all-round junior athlete. \''s /
a
Naaa 1114 that didn't aft Usuch things are not done. She would do it. You know what she did? She Citrtj~
Jhe gletmingaap on her back. Lilce they do with babies. And this time, not taking the trouble to walk by het°Stll
D11..--. th to my mother before going to .
" ....
.... we anlwd in our village she entered our c:ompound to show e cup
_._ ...__ 1._..__ _.__ • • • ht
h kn
w c"'rnring me on er ee, and CPt,•
&i"e
It ~ lo U K • ~ Oh, grown-ups are so strange. Nana as ng no - ·J • 1 d - :rlf\g
IOftly. Muttering, muttering that •saa, thin legs can also be useful • · ." that •ev~n though some egs on't ha,.,e
much meat on them •.• they can run. Thin legs can run ... then who knows? ···
fe lin d thinking all along. That surely 0
I don't know too much about such things. But that's how I was e g an hi th t ak ' 1'1e
should be able to do other things with legs as Well as have them because they can support ps a m e babies.
Except that I wasa&aid of saying that sort of thing aloud. Because someone would.have to~i;:::~rhnever, h1.1t
NEVER to repeat such words. Or else, they would have laughed so much at what I d said, t Y ave Ctie<t.
It's much better this way. To have acted it out to show them, although I could not have planned it.

AbouttheAuthor
Ama Ata Aidoo
(March 23, 1942-May 31, 202.1)
th
Arna Ata Aidoo was a Ghanaian author, poet, playwright, politician, and academic. She was e
Secretary for Education in Ghana from 1982 to 1983 Her first play, 'The Dil~ma of a GhoSt', was
published in 1965, making Aidoo the first published female African dramatist.
She was bom in Abeadzi Kiyakor near Saltpond in Central region of Ghana. She herself won a
fellowship to the Stanford University in California, returned to teach at Cape Coast: Ghana. Her
work, written in English, emphasized the paradoxical position of the modern African Woman.
Over the seven decades of her career, Arna has published award winning novels, plays, short
stories, children's book and poetry and influenced generation of African women writers.
Her explorations of strong women have influenced a generation of African female wri!ers. ,, .
She founded the Mbaasem foundation in 2000 to support and promote the work of African
women writers, Her literary contribution places her among the first generation of African women writers of the post
independence era. She passed away on 31st May 2023 at the age of 81.

11teme of the Story

The story 'The Girl Who Can' by Arna Ata Aidoo discuss the suffering and the struggle of the women in Africa of her
time. Here, she expresses her concern regarding the lack of educational opportunities for these women which results in
orthodoxy. The story portrays a female tripartite household.
The protagonist Adjoa's maternal grandmother attempts to perpetuate the fallacious gender myth that any girl child
who does not have big strong legs cannot have babies. She says that thin legs like those of Adjoa cannot support
solid hips that are required during pregnancy. The author through Adjoa's character, breaks down complacencies and
reveals that most of such myths which try to inhibit women are all social constructs and can be reversed. Through
Adjoa, she proves that women can be achievers if encouraged to participate in other domains of life. And they can
become collaborators, along with men, in the development of Africa. The story talks about the extrication of women
from permanent domestication prescribed for them in marriage and bearing children and .to involve them in outdoor
activities.
Aidoo has demonstrated the gradual development of the African women towards autonomy or liberation, as she gets
better enlightened and liberated from the on-going sexual discrimination.
Another theme of the stoiy is the conflict between Nana and Maami. They battle a ctisagreement about Adjoa's skinny
legs and her father through at the story. Nana as usual, always has an upper hand in the argument due to the insecurities
that Maami harbours due to the criticism she gets from Nana.

LITERATURE IN ENGLISH CLASS-X • - - - - - - - - -- - -- - - - - - - - - -

 ,,-•s "aivete and chlld\ike curios lty ls anotheT lmpon
,-ell '"secure about heT legs, Talhtt she ls mott lnqu\s\tlveant \heme .\\ \a \nleft! lt\ng \ha\ \he nanau w \\ene\l
feel "'5 o seven ye~T old c~d she ls mett\y trylng to unden1tand
4: ::
about whe\heT OT not she w\U be ab\e \,.ave ch\\des\ bo\l\
,JaY· chlevemeflts m running. Thls sets htt up agalns \he wor\d aroun d ha. She \a e,t\lef fle\y m~ . : U\4
t,er a t \he more eic:<>..rlenced and rlg\d Nana who \& ouw-p o
_;ss\ve. r-
,Jlt•--
,rtfWIGFY of the Stor y
511, Girl Wh_o C~n•
by Arna Ata Aidoo ls a short story nanat ed by a seven yean
1'1'sc,dzl, a big village ln Ghana. Adjoa lives with heT motheT whom o\d g\T\ name d Ad\oa who \\~!-r
J-la a' Nana and Maami argue about two things basically Ad."1oa she calls Maam i and her mo\het"s mo\h 'w\\h
•r-Ja" · • mother on. both th · 's thin \ea... and her fa\heT. Nana does no\ • ~..."
e 0 arrato rs ' es Ad\oa
e issues. She believ ' will not be ab\e .,... \o bear childr en ._ 1.1- · v \eoc. .,,.,.... "
"°'
t}'I able to suppo rt the hips \hat Nana believ as ner s ....,nJ er
es are required by a woma n to a carry a child.
bf •s l'llother-daught~r conflict between Nana and ,
1~nY legs ~s Maami is predominantly visi.b\e wi.\h Nana 's c:n\\d sm ot
she might be indirectly targeting her own daughter Ad\: i~
5 . th
such thin legs. Even through Nana's judgement on the nanat and b\aming her daugh ter tor g\v\n g 'b~ to_ a ~\n
:'..'aarni for her ~~~ice of a husband. Nana always gets the upper ot's father \he reade r can gauge \ha\ she 15 en\\ g
i.v• fl'\other's cntios m.
hand possib\y becau se Maam i may be \nsec ute due \O
ll:•oa herseli doesn't seem to be irisecure about her legs
rather she was curious to know whe\he-r shew \\\ be ab\e
.A I e }<lds in future. She is just seven years and naive. Ad1· _to
}lav d h oa is also very humb le and gtoun ded about her athlet ic s\ti\\s
abilities an er ach"ievements. She considered them quite ... sue
average. She does not contra dict Nana wuen .... ndicu \es
per legs. She doesn 't te~ Nana that she has perfect \egs for
runni ng and that she is proud ot \his f.ac\.
tvf a10i bemo ans her literacy and thinks that she is in a metap
horica l darkn ess since she has no\ had the bene n\ ot
w:ste rn educa tion. Howe ver Nana thinks otherwise. She
believes that a schoo l is a waste of time. She think s \ha\
. only iropo rtant for females whos e physique make s them schoo \
deficient for child beari ng and nurtu ring.
~ana in a way exhibits that she is an agent of patriarchy and
uses the child beari ng capability ot wom en as a Wa'Y \o
wo..-en turn
, into perpe tual nurtu rers.
The story furthe r talks about Adjoa's impro per expression
and comm unica tion skills. />.d\oa does not have the -PY~-p
l<llls to speak. When she says some thing, her gtand moth et
er laugh s until tears run down her chee\c.s. ll some one
:he share s the_fun wi~h him/h er and they laugh again amve S,
. Adjoa is unabl e to unde rstan d the 1:eason f.or theu:
5~n,.etiJlles, this laugh ing show conti nued until there were \au~h tet.
even more than three tour grow n ups \augh lng hystenca\
on what she said. She gets so perpl exed as no one ever expla ly
ins to her, ~hat is funny abou t her conv ersat ion with
'fhis disco urage s her from expre ssing her thoug hts. them .
Nana believ ed that if any wom an decid es to be born in
this world , she need s \:o have \egs that have mea\: on
good calves. 1:'djoa, confused~ woul d wish to see for herseU them and
, the legs of a wom an who had cru.\d ren and comp ate
with hers. This was not possib le as the older wom en in them
their villag e wore wrap a rnun ds a\1 the rune. 1:he on\)'
female legs that she had ever seen were those of other nake d
little guls like her or the o\der '{,iI\s m the schoo l and
obser vation , all her friend s had legs that looke d like hers, as per het:
she was unsu re whet her the)' had suin.d .ent ftesh on
to suppo rt stron g hips whic h helpe d carrie d babie s. the\I \egs
The turni ng point in Adoja 's life happ ens when she is selec
ted by her teach ers for the distri ct game s. Whe n she
about this to her moth er and Nana , they did not belie to\d
ve at first and Nana went to confu m this news at het:
are overj oyed on heari ng this news . More over, durin schoo \. They
g the week before the race, Nana wash ed J\d\o a's scho
herself. o\ unifo rm.
Adjoa ~ins the race and also wins the cup/a ward
for the 'Best All. /\rou nd Junio r l\thle nc. Nana is
pleas ed and she carrie s the gleam ing cup on her back. overw he\m ing\y
She show s Kaya , J\d\o a's moth er, the cu-p and then
the head master. Then she carrie s Adjoa on her knee retur ns 1.t to
and says '.'Saa, thin \egs can also be useru..\... trun
usefu l." \egs c.an a\so be

Ultim ately, we find a pleas ant chang e of heart in Nana

after realis ing the rea\ ca-pa biline s of h.er grand daug h.ter .
 e ••,_••._._...,,
-
. ....... .a.- ~ a . . •
• ~ ....._ r--i--of the story, The C'ut Who Can b Ama Atta Aidoo, 15 a seven years 0 •
~ ~ I n 11w <mtral n!gion of Ghana in Africa. si
old oirl who lives in li
was bom with the spindly legs that are too long for a Wo~
a~

loo thin to be of any use.

Al• 111111 age of R\'ffl. Adjoa proves herself to be a thinker. Several monologues of her in ~e story describe how s~
he.ls about what her Nana and Mumi discuss about her legs. She is different from other chil~n °~e~gebnot ol\l)
physk:dyoremotionally but also mentally. Ho~ she does not convey her mind because she 15 ~ a out h~
lht adults would tab her opinion. Already her Nana laughed at her talks and even involved others m her mockery. She
ftft9 lold Adjoa what was wrong about what she spolre. ,
H a ~ towards things around her is higher than other children. She can understand ~er mother_s feeUngs
Adjoa is an innocent young girl who is very grounded and modest about her achievements, espeoall~ when it cornes t~
th
running. She <QI\Siders her slcills and achievements quite average. This ability of hers co~ects her wi_ her ~ana Who
th
otherwise is the 8ag bearer of the patriarchy. She thinks of women as baby producin~ ma~es. She thinks eir essence
and being ue only associated with their care giving and nurturing role towards their ~Y· . .
th th
Though she is naive. she interrogates about the societal constraints a child, experiences while putting for _ eir opini01\
th
in public. Hermind isconstantJy busy in issues and concerns too intelligible for a girl of her age. Her fa er is not Preset\t
in the story directly. Various references to him hint that he might have abandoned his family. . . . .
D!spite all the negativity in her life, Adjoa turns out to be a cheerful girl who ignores all the cntiasm aimed at her ind
mncentrateson her nmning skills and excels in it, winning a trophy at the district level. She not only ':11akes her teachers
proud but also proves to her Nana that her thin legs are her assets. She gives a new hope to her family challenging the
norm that Cemales are born only for nurturing.
MJu'S lrandmatber
Nam is the matemaJ grandmother of the protagonist, Adjoa. As there is no presence of ~y male ~ember in the .~ Y,
Nam acts as the matriarch of the house. She holds an orthodox traditional view, according to which a woman 1s bort\
only to bear motherhood. Her conventional outlook could be the result of her lack of education and her orthodox
upbringing. She lived in a small village in Ghana, in Africa. She disapproves of Adjoa going to _school _and seeking
education. She also looks down on Adjoa for having thin legs because they could be an obstacle m beanng children.
Nana is a strong and authoritative woman who likes to silence people around her by blaming or taunting them as she
does with her own daughter.
She often aitices Kaya, Adjoa's mother for insisting on marrying a wrong man. And she very brutally tells her that as a
punishment God gave her a daughter with spindly legs which are too long and too thin.
Howev~ Nana emerges as a dynamic character whose nature and behaviour change after learning about Adjoa's skills
as a runner and her victory in the race. Nana was unexpectedly and immensely pleased when Adjoa was selected to run
in the disbict games. She becomes a supporting pillar for Adjoa, ironing her school uniform and going to the town every
afternoon of the sport week, carrying the gleaming victory cup on her back. Thus, Nana finally realises that a woman's
body has more to its existence that just giving birth to children.

Adjoa's Mother
There are three generations portrayed in the story The Girl Who Can.' Adjoa's mother, Kaya, whom Adjoa addresses
as Maami acts as a bridge between Adjoa's curiosity and her own mother's orthodoxy attitude. She does not play a
prominent and active role in the story as she is meek and gets intimidated by her mother's taunts. She endures a
strong repentance as she is constantly reminded by her mother about not chasing her husband wisely. Kaya loves her
daughter inspite of her mother constantly pointing out Adjoa's infirmity. She wants to get her educated and help her

LITERATURE IN ENGLISH CLASS-X • - -- - - - -- - - - - - - -- -- - - -

~

1dreams of becoml~gan athlete. Usua\\y, shebean Nana'scritlc\sm aboutM~•\lun \epw\ a\~~~

II achievement makes Maami proud and pn,vidahn w\\h a •ble\d again•\ Naaa'ic:d
{\llfll e to argue. Adjoath
ce,ur•S y about the fact at her daughter has choi~ which she and Nana did no\ have. They could no\ daft
'°~
IS ttaPfrearns. She proves lo be a static charactu who undeygoa no change.
t,Uc)'l

c)'lol<ll\S
- (here) to check or hinder the growth, development or activity ot
drought
-- abrink;
~rolong period of dryness that causes extensive damage \o aot>5
margin
edges
serearning - speaking on high note
calves the fleshy back part of the leg below the knee
f a d"lsproportionately tall or long and thin appearance \ha\ oh.en sugges'5 P h:~ka\ wea\u\ess.
spindly 0

creak
- to make a prolonged low sound as a result of being worn out
gleaming - shining; Siving off brightness

Multiple Choice Questions

1. Which word gives the meaning of the word 'spindly'-
(a) easy (b) fast
(c) thin (d) fleshy
2- Nana believes that a woman's legs should be--
(a) fleshy
(b) short
(c) long
(d) ~
3. How old was Adjoa?
(a) eight
(b) five
(c) six
(d) seven
4. Adjoa's mother's name was-
(a) Maya (b) Siya
(c) Kaya (d) Priya
5. Coming 'out of the land of sweet, soft silence into the world of noise' is refen:ed to \he \ourne-y of-
(a) villa ge to town (b) being born
(c) home to school (d) street to h ome
6. How far w as the school from village'?
(a) six kilometers (b) eight kilometers
(c) five kilometers (d) ten kilometers
7. Nana's r eaction on first hearing about Adjoa's selection-
(a) She was furio~s. (b) Sh e was pleased .
(c) Sh e insulted the teachers. (d) She scolded Ad\oa b adly.
8. Nan a carries the cup on her back as a b abybecause-
(a) It was p recious. (b)
it was h eavy.
(c) She didn't want to look at it. (d)
She would be ah aid of dro-p-pmg 1.t b:om h er hand.
9. Who is the narrator of the story?
(a) Maami
(b) Ad\oa
(c) Arna Ata
(d) Nana

- - -- - - -- - - - - - - - - - -- - - - - -- - - - - -- 1'he G,r\'Whot.an
 . . ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ..1
• ..... (M 1,...,,;
.._. " .. (,I} li1111(1(f1i
~~-
II. Mt• 111 tt. WI••-. ..... ~ thr "''"'"" nf thr .tffl'.\1 7
M AMcllJI IMWIWM . . . . . . It' ftnd th<-tt ri,:f,ttul rt,rr
A-..._.._., ttw J'""'l'l'I'" et1 !IC'rial mttd•m
flt
(~ ~
'" ~""'°''~ ""
he,~ ~"" w,lc- ln ~1.-h than ju,t ,;t, "~
-i t,irth tn childl'f'n

u. ..... ........ .....,,l'ffl.?

~~
tal lwe ~~.t _. lat and ..ht- ha,. thin ltW-- I( d her !,kinny legs
,1i1 Nw did~ ha,..- rn,rrr tm,:uM k ,kill~ lt'l t'11Pf'("I' h('rl(" an h • and grandm other
t, t t4.t '=~'- ron..tant na~n~ and thr arf?Umrn t,. bef\\•l'<.'n Ihrrk mot er
f her father's presenc e
'" Ht-t I d ~ al.- tt, 1,amctrate in di,;triC"l gamr!- and the ac o
ti. "1'r ~ ....... ..... ill lhi• •tory7
,at ~ heir~ hftli. Sana's m~1h about women
(Ii ~ twtp Ad~ p t ~ in di,mct gam~
l'1 Mf01 ,....,_. that lcp could be u,cful in so many ways.
Cl) Al of dw ,tllo\'t"
It.. NMI lfll thal tchool la a waste of time bttaus e-
C-J It .... ~ far. 1
(tt Ad,oa cx,uldn't gn-r much time to househo ld work as she was busy at schoo ·
k f th f .
Co EdUCiltlOII a noC important for women as t~ey are born onIy to bear children and loo a ter e amily.
(If Qlildr,tn gt.'f conupt at school.
as. l\'Wda aw• .ticl Adjoa "in in the sporu week?
(b) Best all round junior athlete
..-) Bellrun ntt
(<j &-II aD mund athlc.>te (d) Best female particip ant
16. Mdlout educatio n Maami folt-
(1) fthanwd infront of h«."r daughte r (b) empty and void
(l) insagnif iant in the society (d) locked in some kind of darknes s
17. Nau WH ple,a.wd at Adjoa's victory and carried her-
(11) on htt Mtoulder (b) on her knee
(c) on hc-r bad (d) in her lap
18. What wu Mum.i's reaction on Adjoa's victory and Nana's celebrat ion?
(o) she di~tribu ted sweets in the neighbo urhood (b) she hugged and kissed ner daughte r
(c) .he argued victorio usly with her mother (d) she remajne d speechle ss as usual
19. AcC"Ording to Nana, women have fleshy legs to-
(o) support big hi~ during pregnancy (b) help a girl run faster
(c) m.ike a woman look pre ttier (d) provide a proper balance to the body
20. When Adjoa tried to eirpress her thought s in words, Nana would?
(a) tell her never lo repeal what she had said
(h) laugh hysterically
(c) share it with whoeve r arrived a nd la ug hed along with them
(ti) all of the above

LITERAT URE IN ENGLIS H CLASS- X • - - - - - - - - - - -

- - - - -- - - -- ---
 ~llaf . _ Act..,. whl ltt 11w • ~ ~ ,
j1 ,
(of) II j!,...,,mtr,«, <•JJ' ff-t ....,..... ,.. • ..... _....,,. . . -
(r) ,. vtw'd-'lr~h tp I I) ,. ....., fr",•
1,.2- ~1'•1 dnN N•n• clc', with Ad..,._• w"'-'I -•'""- ~ .,_ ....... -ta•
(#) C,t,~ givM ti """"'Y In .,,TWO,~ iurl '"'' t-•i ,t _,,.,_..hi••• - _,. ~~
(r) w.,,he-d .1nd trnfW'd ,t
111 --crn
,.11 ~,t-~ _._
J.3. fr"'" whffll'I d ~ Nan• bfty""" a chatttMI '""'"
(a) Mr JIA,;od.r.1
1:. 1 '-tn \.1-rnttJ
(r) M ,... MPn-.ah !Ji \.h ¼r.-h
z,4. Nana w ould p u ll out a 'M!t nf fre,h nld cloth" fr.__
(o) awooden box
1;. 1 at:-.;;t>T. .-'bnw\
(r) the box in lhe bed f,f1 th~ wood~ cu~.J
24 _ N an.a's view o n school and education fm ,,,. •~ that it...,._
19
(o) s uitable only for town girl., fr-J a w.r-t,t of h ~
(c) s uitable for the rich and pnv,lege d 101 very ,mp<.>rt.int tc-., nn,

Reference to Context
Quest ions
17,ey say l was born in Hn sodz.i; and ii is a vcry big n l!a:;e m tr~ cmtral re-pen of 01,r Ct'Urt~y.
0 ·..rr~. Tl'ic:4 a:..., ~-- ti-..i! ..~
all of Africn is not choking under a drought. Ha._<o<f=.i 116 m a ,ery 'rrttle lv-.i..'land m a dt,,tnt-1
ltr.cr.."'l ,'t-r :B ~ ,..-i ~-\.:f't !'ut
is Why any time 1 don 't fi nish eating my food, Nana says, - You Ad10a. you don't Jcrum: a+...t
h'e is ~~YI Y-'°"' :S..-.,·t k~.c \\-'l.;l!
problems there arc in this life . .. ~

1. Describe the setting of the story.

2. Name the story and the author.
3. Discuss the autobiog raphical element in the story.
4. What does the narrator say was special about her Yillage'?
s. What does Nana safe and Adjoa does not finish her food? Why d oes she say so?
As Jar as 1 could see, there wns 011 ly one problem. A.11..i it had nothing to do with u-hat I klli""i.l' }\111111
consi.icu d ~ ·r(•Mtms-.• OT
wlrat Maami tlii11ks of as "tire problem." Maami is my mother. l\'tma is my mother's mother. And th,!'~
1 :im ,-c":'l' n :'~r:; old. And
111 y problem is that at t/1is seven years of age, tltae are things I can think in my lt~ad. but \\11ich,
m,1~he. 1 dC' not h,r.:1t' ttu rri"!p('T
language to speak /Item out with.

t . Who is '1' referred to h ere?

2. Whom did 'l' live with? What did she address them as?
3. She talks about facing a problem . What prob\em tS she talking about here?
4. How d oes the problem effect her 'curious' nature?
5. What is the consequ ence of this problem? Are such prob\em s faced common \y b y
young c.n.i\dren ?
First, I 1,nvc to struggle to cntc/1 lier ollc11lio11. Tltc11 I tel! ltcr so111cthi11g I hod tokc'11 a ILlll~ tim,· IL) fl~rc
011I. And then you know
wl1nl n/wnys linpJJe11s? Sire would at 011cc stop whatever she is doing 011ci, 111011th opt!11 , start!
,1t me jor a v~1!/ long time.
1. Whose attentio n does the narrator want to seek.? Why does she ca\\ it a strugg\ d
2. What respons e wou\d the narrator get after the strugg\e?
 '• '.
,\

to her grandmother? ..,,.-

& Which ..._ ..u t h ,r thoughts
,wv lft,uons does the narrator get after she speab ou ~ tant?
4. What would the gtandmothl'r do if any third per50n jolnl'<i then, Rt th"t 1ns Ith Ochild?
S. What does AdJoa rerer as• 'periorman~'? Was it ~rrect to bcha\le this wny w I
• Nana nml my mot ,er. It 1iid 110 t Ira,_
LIit.U Ulis 1"''1111 'd
• l,usi_.. fo"" U'llh my lrgs. l lrattt alrmys uwa11f('(f to ltll tl,tm ,iot h>Jtl()rry.
.,_ ·
rt ,rat it or for it to bt co11s1 crcd so / 111111 '"'t ,
to lat• rssw fw "'Y mvJirtioritt pro11lt lo fisl1t mtt•r. I did11 't "°""t to l>t f()/c# ,rol to I y 1"41
• ~ IOOUld laugh at mt 1mlil tlrty aitd. A.fttr all, tl,ry tt1t'1' my lt}.-S,..
1• What discouraged Adjoa to express her thoughts often to Nana?
2. Who were AdJoa's favourite pt."Ople? What was their main subject lo fight?
3. What was Adjoa sure of?
4. What was Nana always complruning to her daughter about? n?
5. Did Maami aCl-ept Nana's blame? Whal does this highlight about the MO wome
•5om'" propk havt 110 ltgs at .111,,. my motlier would try asni11, tuitl, all lier small courage. .·t .
• . I t00 10118'for a woman. Kaya, 1ts e11. O llce "' a !vi .
But Adjoa has l~'S,,. Nana wo11ld i11sist; •exct71t tl,nt tlrey arc too t/1111.-Aud a so 'd hnppeus and somclJody t ''1e.
· •
but 0,1Iy OHct ma very long wl11lt, somebody dt"Cidcs-11nt11rt, a c" 'Id'
1 s s11m · ·t mother. n11
' . acci e11 I '
A d ou kuom such tlti11gs 11
8c s bo
'~
• L-
w1tnuut arms, or lqs, or boll, sd$ of limbs. A.,id tl1e11 let me lo11clr wood; 1·t rs· a sad busmess·
II Y • 1tt ns'well be legs " re 1101 Jilt
t

talking about L"Wryday. But ifany female clrild drxid1.'S to come i11to this world with legs, tlten 11,ey ,mg ·
1. Why does Adjoa have to present his argument about some people deprive·d of legs?
2. How do Adjoa's legs become a serious reason of concern for Nana? M .
7
3. What sad business does Nana talk about? What point is the trying to convey to her aam,
f. What should a female child decide before birth7
5. What could the narrator hear which Nana could not?

AU I wa11t to say is tlrat I really liked Nana except for that.

Natu1: ils I keep sayi11g, if a11y nmma,r decides to come into tlris world witlr lrer two legs, tlte11 sl,e should select l~gs _thnt have 111eat
on tlzem: will, good calves. Beca11se you are sure such legs would support solid hips. And a woman must have solid /ups to be able lo
have cl1ildre11.,.

J. What 'exception' is Adjoa referring to here?

2. Why according to nana were 'legs with meat' important for a female?
3. How did this discussion on legs end7
4. What does Nana have to say about Adjoa's father?
5. What accusations does Nana put on Maami? How far is she justified?

So I wished that one day I would see, for myself, the legs of any woman who had had children. But in our village, thnt is not easy. The
older wome11 wear long wrap- arounds all the time. Per'1aps if t'1ey let me go bathe in the river in the evening, I could have checked.
But I never lrad the c/ra11ce. It took a lot of begging just to get my mother and Nana to let me go splaslzaround i11 the shallow end of
the river with my friends, who were other little girls like me.

1. What effect does the discussion about Adjoa's father have on the argument between Nana and Maami? Why?
2. Why did Adjoa wish to see the legs of women .w ith children?
3. Why was it difficult to fulfil her wish?
4. Whose legs Adjoa had seen?
S. Why does she terms her mothers and grandmother's legs as 'approved kind'?

LITERATURE IN ENGLISH CLASS-X • - - -- - - - -- - -- - - - - - -- - --

 .
11001 Is nuollicr tl1/11g Nana and my mother discussed often and apJJl.'Rred to haw dlJJercnl 1dms . bo N no lhoughl II wo11lcl lie
II uI• a ehe-thal
Sr. ~,e of time. I uc:vcr 11111ler11tood what she meant. My mother secmed to know-and dl1111grud.
She kepi Idling NlltUI lhAI d t
a ulfl-y 11101/icr-/1•/t iil1c 10011 locked Into some kind of darkness bc:cnuse she didn't go lo school.
So Ullll i/ I, her dnughtn, coul Itd;" 0
Is, '.',' n11tl rend my own unme and n llltle besl1lc:s-perl111ps be able lo calculate some llaings on papc:r-llllll
tVrl e 1
would~ good, coKlcl Cl~•
,unrrY In/er n11d maybe ...
1, How for was the school from lhe village? What do the ch\\dren comp\a\n abou\7
2, ooes Adjoa also have the same feeling? Why?
3, How did Nana and Maaml contradict each other on the sub\ect of schoo\7
4, Why did Maami want her daughter to go lo schoo\1
S, Whal made Nana agree on Adjoa's going to schoo\1
.
Wiren I went lrome to leII my mother and Nana, they had not believed . .
it at first. . upon 11crseIf t O O and "ask into
So Nana had taken 11 8
• ,rof'erly." She came home to tell my mother that it was really true. I toas one
1 of my school's runners.
',,,: //rat so?" exclaimed my mother. I know,l1er.

1. What shows that Adjoa was quite modest about her achievem ents?
2 • What was 'differen t' and needed lo be conveye d at home?
3 • What news surprise d Adjoa's guardian s? How did they get assured?
4 . What was Maami wanting to say to Nana, and why didn't she?
5, What unusual things was Nana seen doing after Adjoa's selection for the district
games?
Wearing my school uniform this week has been vcnJ nice. At the parade, 011 the first afterno~11,
its sheen cnught the rnys of the sun
and sho11e brigltter than anybody else's uniform. I'm sure Nana saw it too, and must have liked
it.
1. Why was it special to the school uniform that week?
2. What did Nana do through out the sports week?
3, Why does she walk way behind the school children ?
4, How did Adjoa perform in the sports week?
s. How did Nana celebrat e Adjoa's victory?

I do11't k11ow too much about such things. ~ut that's how I was feeling and thinking all along. That
surely, one should be nblc lo do
other tlii11gs witli legs as Well as have them because thetJ can support hips that make babies.
1. 'Grown ups are so strong.' Why does Adjoa make this commen t?
2. Adjoa too b elieved that thin legs could be useful too. Why didn't she express
her be\iei open\y ever?
3. What did Adjoa find 'much better'?
4. What can you say about the way Nana changed at the end?
s. Why can the author be termed a feminist ?
000

1'he Gir\ '1Nho Ca,