Night Train By Fhazel Johanesse Revision Quiz
Questions and Answers
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1.Line 2: "in this third class coach What does this line tell you about the speaker? Fill in the blank spaces to answer this question. This poem is set against the political background of _________________ during the ______________ and early 1980 apartheid period. The poet is traveling home by _________________ which is taking him home in a _____________late at_____. First class carriages had blue seats while second and third class carriages had ____________ wooden seats. The first class seats were more expensive and were mostly used by _________ people. Second class carriages were for poorer White people as well as for wealthier Black people. Third class carriages were used by _________, Coloured and __________ travellers. In the poem the speaker was travelling in a third class train carriage. From this we know he was probably a ________, Coloured or Indian.
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2.Why does the poet say that "there was no comfort here"? Fill in the blank spaces to answer this question. The third class seats were green, wooden, un________ seats but the poet also felt uncomfortable because he was _________ travelling in these carriages late at night.
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3.Lines 4-7: "i twitch and glance around...crossing my legs and flicking my cigarette". What do these adverbs and adverbial phrases tell about the poet's state of mind? These tell us that the poet felt ________, ____________ and ______________.
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4.Match the following from the poem with the most suitable answer.
- A. italiced word
- A.
- B. seat
- B.
- C. point of view in this poem
- C.
- D. compartment
- D.
- E. image
- E.
- F. few too few
- F.
- G. quick finger movement
- G.
- H. time of day
- H.
- I. green seat
- I.
- J. stale
- J.
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5.What is the importance/significance of the word "out" being written in a line of its own? Choose the option which does not fit.
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A.
The word on its own in one line shows the poet's panic.
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B.
The word on its own in one line creates a sense of urgency.
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C.
The word on its own in one line shows that the poet wants to escape from his fear.
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D.
The word on its own in one line shows how alone the poet feels.
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E.
The word on its own in one line interferes with the natural rhythm of the poem.
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A.
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6.What is the significance of the word "out" being written in italics? Choose the correct option.
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A.
The italics are used to indicate that "OUT" could just as well have been the title of the poem.
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B.
Italics makes the message that the poet wants to portray stand out clearly: to get off the train.
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A.
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7.Explain why the poet uses personification in the last line. The smell "__________". Turning the "small" into a person, the poet makes his__________ real. A smell is real and it _________.
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8.Choose the correct answer.
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A.
This is a very emotional and unreliable account.
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B.
This is a subjective and unreliable account.
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C.
This is a subjective, immediate and realistic account.
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A.
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9.Who are the "stale men that the poet refers to?
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A.
The conductors on the train.
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B.
The sweaty, dirty mine workers returning home.
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C.
The people sleeping on the train
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A.
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10.This poem is not written in metrical pattern. However, it has a definite jerky(stop and go) feeling to it. Tick the factors that contribute to this.
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A.
There are no punctuation marks starting and ending sentences.
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B.
Ongoing lines (enjambment) are used to contribute to the feeling of the swaying movement of a train.
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C.
The short sentences add to the quick tempo of the poem.
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D.
The word "out" is written in a line of its own and this adds to the jerking movement of a stopping train.
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A.
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11.Which word in the poem gives it an ominous, eerie feeling?
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A.
Darkness
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B.
Haunts
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C.
Whispering
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D.
Smell
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A.
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12.The night train is a suburban one, transporting workers to thei homes in the townships.
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A.
True
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B.
False
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A.
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13.Identify the literary device in "not the smell of stale man but the whispering nagging smell of fear"
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A.
Personification
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B.
Alliteration
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C.
Assonance
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D.
Irony
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E.
Toutology
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F.
Synechdoche
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G.
Simile
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A.
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14.Why is line 11 ironical?
