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Welcome to our blog, In this post, we’re sharing the IGNOU MEG 8 Solved Question Paper of June 2024 examination, focusing on New Literatures in English.
This guide is here to help you prepare for your exams with clear answers and explanations. Whether you’re just starting or revising for your exams, this resource will make studying easier and more effective.
In this post, we’ll discuss all the answers including the short and long answer questions.
You can also download all previous year question papers of Meg 8 from our website.
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Question 1
1. Is it correct to state that ‘migrant intellectuals played a role in the institutionalisation of postcolonial theory’ ? Discuss.
Yes, it is absolutely correct to state that migrant intellectuals played a significant role in the institutionalisation of postcolonial theory. Many of the key thinkers who shaped the field of postcolonial studies were themselves migrants — either born in former colonies and later moved to the West, or working between multiple cultures. These intellectuals used their personal experiences, academic training, and cultural insights to build a theoretical framework that could explain the impacts of colonialism on literature, identity, and culture.
One of the most important migrant scholars in this field is Edward Said, a Palestinian-American academic whose book Orientalism (1978) is considered the foundation of postcolonial theory. Said studied and taught in the United States but wrote passionately about the misrepresentation of the East by Western scholars and writers. He argued that colonial powers created false images of the East to justify control, and he called this process “orientalism.” His analysis helped develop the idea that literature, history, and culture must be examined in the context of power and colonial domination.
Another influential figure is Homi K. Bhabha, born in India and later a professor at Harvard University. His work explores hybridity, mimicry, and the in-between identity of colonised people. Bhabha’s theories help us understand how colonised subjects do not simply copy the coloniser but mix their own culture with the imposed one, creating something new. His idea of the “Third Space” has been widely used in postcolonial studies to show how cultural identity is fluid and not fixed.
Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak, another Indian scholar who became a key academic voice in the West, contributed greatly to the field. Her famous essay “Can the Subaltern Speak?” raised critical questions about who gets to speak and be heard in global discourse, and whether the voices of the most oppressed — the subaltern — are ever truly represented in academic or political discussion. She also translated and brought attention to Indian writers and philosophers in Western academia.
These migrant intellectuals used their own cross-cultural positions to question the dominance of Western ideas and to argue for a more inclusive, global understanding of literature and culture. Their movement between colonised and colonising cultures gave them a unique perspective on how power, identity, and representation work. They did not just write about postcolonial issues; they also helped create university courses, academic journals, and conferences that formalised postcolonial theory as an academic discipline.
To conclude, migrant intellectuals were not only important in shaping the content of postcolonial theory but also in building the academic structure that allowed it to grow. Their writings, teachings, and activism helped turn postcolonial theory into a major field of study that now influences literature, history, sociology, and cultural studies around the world.
Question 2
2. Comment on the title A Grain of Wheat
The title A Grain of Wheat by Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o carries deep symbolic, biblical, and political meaning that reflects the core themes of the novel by Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o. The title is taken from the Bible, specifically the Gospel of John 12:24, which says, “Unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it produces much grain.” This verse is used as an epigraph in the novel and serves as a central metaphor for the story’s exploration of sacrifice, freedom, betrayal, and rebirth.
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Question 3
3. Does Soyinka make a political statement in A Dance of the Forests ? If yes, what sort of a statement is it ? Elaborate.
Yes, Wole Soyinka makes a strong and complex political statement in A Dance of the Forests. The play was written and performed in 1960 to celebrate Nigeria’s independence from British colonial rule. However, instead of glorifying the moment with a joyful message, Soyinka uses this opportunity to deliver a serious warning about the future of the nation. His political statement is that true independence is not just about breaking free from colonial rulers; it also requires moral growth, self-examination, and responsibility from the people themselves.
Soyinka’s political message is expressed through a symbolic and spiritual drama, rather than a straightforward political speech. The play features both living characters and supernatural beings like The Forest Head, Aroni, and The Dead Man and Woman, who force the living to confront the ugly truths of their past. Instead of sending honourable ancestors to bless the new nation, the gods send two restless spirits who suffered injustice in the past. This action forces the characters—and the audience—to face the crimes and failures of their ancestors.
By doing this, Soyinka warns that a nation cannot build a good future without first dealing with its past. He criticises the tendency of people to forget or ignore their history and repeat the same mistakes. His political statement is clear: independence alone will not solve all problems. Without a deep moral and spiritual transformation, the new nation may fall into the same traps—corruption, greed, abuse of power, and division—that existed before.
The characters in the play also symbolise different parts of Nigerian society. For example, Demoke, the carver, represents the artist or intellectual who must take responsibility for shaping culture and truth. His personal guilt and his act of destroying another man’s life show how even artists and leaders can become selfish and weak. Rola, who used to be a prostitute, now wants to be seen as respectable—but she cannot erase her past. These characters show that everyone has a role to play in building a better society, but only if they are honest and willing to change.
Soyinka also includes the idea of the cycle of history. He suggests that unless people actively learn from the past and break the cycle, they will keep repeating the same errors. This is shown in the symbolic figure of the Half-Child, who cannot be born properly because of the pain and confusion in the present generation. The child represents the future of the nation, and it will remain incomplete unless the current generation takes responsibility.
So, the political statement Soyinka makes is not about praising independence blindly. Instead, he challenges the new nation to go beyond celebrations and start the real work of nation-building, which includes truth, justice, self-awareness, and a commitment to ethical growth. Through A Dance of the Forests, Soyinka gives Nigeria—and all postcolonial nations—a powerful message: freedom must be earned not just by struggle, but by learning from history and choosing a better path forward.
Question 4
4. Examine the characters of Lenny’s mother and God mother in Ice-Candy Man.
In Ice-Candy-Man, Bapsi Sidhwa presents two strong and memorable female characters—Lenny’s mother and Godmother—who play crucial roles in shaping Lenny’s understanding of the world around her. Both women are part of the Parsi community and are portrayed as caring, courageous, and morally strong, especially during the horrific time of the Partition of India in 1947. While they are different in personality and approach, both women reflect the novel’s deeper themes of compassion, justice, female strength, and resistance.
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Question 5
5. What is a diasporic novel ? Comment on A House for Mr. Biswas as a novel of the diaspora.
A diasporic novel is a type of literary work that focuses on the lives, struggles, and identities of people who live away from their ancestral homeland, often due to migration, colonialism, or historical displacement. These novels usually explore themes such as cultural confusion, identity crisis, displacement, nostalgia, longing for belonging, and the attempt to create a sense of home in an unfamiliar land. The characters in diasporic novels often live in multicultural societies and experience a mix of their original traditions and the influences of their new environment.
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Question 6
6. Do you think popular cultural forms such as the calypso had an impact on Walcott’s poetry ? Discuss.
Yes, popular cultural forms such as Calypso had a significant impact on Derek Walcott’s poetry. As a Caribbean poet from Saint Lucia, Walcott’s work reflects the region’s vibrant, mixed cultural heritage, and Calypso plays an important role in shaping the rhythm, language, themes, and voice in his poetry. Calypso, which originated in Trinidad and Tobago, is not just music—it is a form of storytelling, political commentary, humour, and social expression, often performed in local dialects with lively beats and sharp wit. Walcott absorbed many of these elements and brought them into his poetry to reflect Caribbean identity and life.
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