Question
How does Syal use Meena as a narrator in Anita and Me? (30 marks)
Mark scheme guidance:
- Child narrator: dramatic irony throughout — we understand adults' racism, kindness, or complexity more than Meena does at the time.
- The lying: Meena constructs a better self through fiction. Syal uses this to explore the relationship between storytelling and identity.
- Retrospective narration: adult Meena filters childhood memories — warmth, nostalgia, occasional sharp political insight.
- The comedy: Meena's observations are often funny — but humour makes racism more visible, not less.
- Context: the unreliable child narrator tradition (Scout in To Kill a Mockingbird; Pip in Great Expectations).
30 marks · take your time before peeking.
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Generated by TopMyGrade AI · cross-check official sources before relying on the mark-scheme phrasing.