Critically evaluate the UNEB, UCE UACE Literature in English syllabus 1) Give the social economic and political justification of the texts on this syllabus 2) If it were you which texts will you select for this syllabus. Paper two (plays) WANYAMA BERNARD .M NABUKENYA QUDRA GWOKYALYA HASAFAH

One of the texts we selected is Adoll’s House it’s a realistic play which strives to poetry life accurately and shuns idealized visions. Ibsen employs the themes and structure of classical tragedy about everyday unexceptional people the play also manifests Ibsen’s concern for women’s rights in general. It opens on charismas eve. Nora enters her well furnished living room the setting of the entire play carrying several packages. Torvald helmer, Nora’s husband comes out of his study when he hears her arrival. he greets him playfully and affectionately ,but chides her for spending too much money on charismas gifts. When the play progress we see that characters change for example Nora after realizing the sickness of her husband she leaves and almost everything changes Inbsen stress anew beginning reform and self realization. He wants to change and reform the women’s position; he desires to fight for the education of women. An true system of marriage, heredity, platonic love, motherhood and positions of women in family and society are the repeated themes. Due to some reasons Nora no longer wants to stay in her a doll’s house any longer, no more emotions and sacrifice work here. She refuses to submit to her husband anymore and wants to face the world on her own. According to the male dominated society Nora has done an unthinkable action as a middle class woman in an ordinary circumstances .but to the female one, she wants to prove herself as an independent human being and is continuing to struggle for the self realization of her true self. Before Nora, no woman had taken such courageous action. This teaches students to be courageous and never turn back to their past. The point that Ibsen has followed is that this kind of society cannot satisfy the natural needs of a woman for freedom and this idea forms the background to his criticism of the contepory life or society. He believes that there is a contradiction between the official and the private life of an individual. He tries to suggest that this ideas commentator on the contemporary life. In his point of view the individuals is sustaining element in the society. Hence his status in the family stands as an illustration of his position in the whole society. The power structures within the domestic home reflect the hierarchical power structures which prevail in the outside world. In this way he is able to embody contemporary social problems through the media of women. Economically, Ibsen indicates a family which is financially stable. Well presented as “well of family’ Ibsen uses Torvald to show how economic the family is. That is to say Torvald chastise Nora of spending too much money on shopping for charismas. He counts out each bill, as if bestowing a great favor. at least outwardly Nora is reliant o her husband for money. Some of Torvald’s pet names for his wife allude to her inability to save money .he calls her, again and again “a spendthrift” and depending on the translation “my little money bag” when he asks Nora for money as charismas present, he smiles at her indulgently . According to Torvald, Nora spends a lot of money just like her father In the adoll’s House paints bleak picture of the sacrificial role held by women of all economic classes in the society ,the plays female character exemplify Nora’s assercetion that even though men refuse to sacrifice their integrity that hundreds and thousands have in order to support her mother and brothers ,Mrs. Linda found it necessary to abandon Krogstad her true but penniless love and marry a richer man. The nanny had to abandon her own child to support herself by working as Nora’s care taker. As she tells Nora, Nanny considers herself lucky to have found the job since she was a poor girl who would be led astray. Though Nora is economically advantaged in comparison to women or female characters in the play, she leads a difficult life because the society dictates that Torvald be the marriage’s dominant partner. Nora’s abandonment of her children can also be seen or interpreted as an act of self sacrifice. Despite Nora’s love for her children manifested by her interaction and great fear of corrupting them she chooses to leave them with Nanny whom she thinks can be the best mother for children. It is through this theme of motherhood that we learn to appreciate the sacrificial role of women. Besides appreciating, the students learn that they have to work hard to earn a living for their families and not to depend on their husbands for even the small items like basic needs. As Nora reveals to Mrs. linde, she faced amoral crisis at the beginning of her marriage .unable to procure, legal manner, the funds needed to save her husband’s life, she resorts to forging her father’s name asguarator to the loan. She places her love concern for her husband’s well being above the law. Since she diligently works to pay back the loan, the offense doesn’t seem so severe; it is a crime in definition only. In a higher sense, Nora has not acted in an immoral manner. However, those who are there to societal standards like her husband ultimately have different values. Torvald values social responsibility and honor above all else including actions done out of love; Nora values love over social honor. Consequently a conflict emerges regarding their priotization of values. Practicability is a social justification of the play A DOLL’S HOUSE, from this text we see Nora as a practical person in that she does not let her husband die, she borrows money just to save his life even if society condemns a woman borrowing money. She looks at the bigger picture where she opts to save life other than losing a life or rather her husband instead of preserving societal norms(the smaller picture) therefore one is encouraged to be practical rather than rigid and illogic. The marriage that IBSEN presents is oppressive to one of the participants. The doll metaphor is an indication of a situation that is intolerable to a human being one does better in classifying IBSEN as an advocate of human rights. Nora is not an object yet she has felt like one her whole life. Ibsen does not absolve Nora from the duties of motherhood. Rather, he shoes that in order for Nora (or a woman like Nora) to become a truly successful mother; she must first follow her heart and learn what it is like to be an individual instead of a doll or a toy. The play encourages women emancipation and this is justice enough for it to be on the syllabus because we need to encourage, uplift and empower the girl child who is also part of the learners. Evidence is in the emancipation Nora earns herself after realizing and refusing to be trumped over more so by men i.e. her father and husband. At the end of the play she stands up for herself and even decides to go discover herself and become a better woman that be can stand on her own. Parenthood has been a kind of adult hood in literature for many years. As dramas announces and as Nora confirms in the last act, marriage and marriage have been for her kind of existence in a doll’s House in which she has played with her children, with helmer and even her father before her marriage. This theme of parenthood teaches students to learn responsibilities when they grow up. Hence this book should be on the syllabus because it addresses the economic social and political issues. Other plays I wound recommend on the UACE include aminater.it also addresses social, economic and political issues in the society.forexample in this play the major aspect is focused on women emicipatation. The liberty of women in the society and mostly we look at the tradition against the modern way of living. In the tradition way women were not allowed to go school and only had to be submissive to their men. This contradicts with the play; the girl goes to school and she succeeds compared to his brother who becomes nuisances in the public.