Comprehension 7

A boy Who Was Afraid

Read this passage from The Boy who was Afraid by Armstrong Sperry and then answer the
questions in the question paper.

It was the sea that Mafatu feared. He had been surrounded by it ever since he was born. The
thunder of it filled his ears; the crash of it upon the reef, the mutter of it at sunset, the threat and
fury of its storms – on every hand, wherever he turned – the sea.

He could not remember when the fear of it had first taken hold of him. Perhaps it was in the great
hurricane which swept Hikueru when he was a child of three. Even now, twelve years later,
Mafatu could remember that terrible morning. His mother had taken him out to the barrier-reef to
search for sea urchins in the reef pools. There were other canoes scattered at wide intervals along
the reef. With late afternoon the other fishermen began to turn back. They shouted warnings to
Mafatu’s mother. It was the season of hurricane and the people of Hikueru were ill at ease,
charged, it seemed, with an almost animal awareness of the impending storm.

But when at last Mafatu’s mother turned back toward shore, a swift current had set in around the
shoulder of the reef passage: a meeting of tides that swept like a millrace out into the open sea. It
seized the frail craft in its swift race. Despite all the woman’s skill, the canoe was carried on the
crest of the churning tide, through the reef passage, into the wider ocean.

Mafatu would never forget the sound of his mother’s despairing cry. He didn’t know then what it
meant; but he felt that something was terribly wrong, and he set up a loud wailing. Night closed
down upon them, darkening the known world. The wind of the open ocean rushed at them
screaming. Waves lifted and struck at one another, their crests hissing with spray. The woman
sprang forward to seize her child as the canoe capsized. The little boy gasped when the cold water
struck him. He clung to his mother’s neck.

Off the tip of Hikueru, the isle of Tekoto lay shrouded in darkness. It was scarcely more than a shelf
of coral, almost awash. The swift current bore down upon the isle.

Dawn found the little boy with his arms locked about his mother’s neck. Little Mafatu buried his
head against his mother’s cold neck. He was filled with terror. He even forgot the thirst that burned
his throat. But the palms of Tekoto beckoned with their promise of life, and the woman fought on.
When at last they were cast up on the pinnacle of coral, Mafatu’s mother crawled ashore with
scarcely enough strength left to pull her child beyond reach of the sea’s hungry fingers. The little
boy was too weak to even cry. At hand lay a cracked coconut; the woman managed to press the
cool, sustaining meat to her child’s lips.

Sometimes now, in the hush of night, when the moon was full and its light lay in silver bands
across the mats and all the village was sleeping, Mafatu awoke and sat upright. The sea muttered
its external threat to the reef. The sea … and a terrible trembling seized the boy’s limbs, while a
cold sweat broke out on his forehead. Mafatu seemed to see again the faces of the fishermen who
had found the mother and her whimpering child. These pictures still coloured his dreams. He
shuddered when the mighty seas, gathering far out, hurled themselves at the barrier-reef of
Hikueru and the whole island quivered under the assault.
Perhaps that was the beginning of it. Mafatu, the boy who had been christened Stout Heart by his
proud father, was afraid of the sea. What manner of fisherman would he grow up to be?

Read the text and answer questions 1–13.

1 Which words in paragraph 1 show Mafatu has always lived by the sea?

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2 Look at the first paragraph

Give one thing that Mafatu does not like about the sea.

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3.Look at the second paragraph

Give one phrase that suggests the boats are far apart from each other.

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4 Look at the second paragraph

Why are the people ‘ill at ease’? Tick (v') one box.

obecause of the changing weather

5 What language feature is ‘it seized the frail craft’ (third paragraph) an example of?

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6 Give two ways that the writer builds up a sense of danger in third paragraph.

Support each answer with examples from the text.

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7 . ‘But the palms of Tekoto beckoned with their promise of life’ (sixth paragraph).

What impression of the isle of Tekoto do these words give?

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8 Look at the sixth paragraph

Give two examples of Mafatu’s behaviour which show his fear.

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9 Give one word from seventh paragraph that shows the sea wanted to take Mafatu.

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10 Look at paragraph four to eight

What impression does the writer give of Mafatu’s mother?

Identify two characteristics and support each one with examples from the text.

Characteristic:

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Example:

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Characteristic:

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Example:

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11(a) How does the writer show that Mafatu’s experience of the storm is a memory?

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(b) How does the mood in the text change in paragraph eight?

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12 Look at paragraph 8

How does Mafatu feel about the sea now? Give a word or phrase from these lines to support your

answer.

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13 Look at paragraph 8

Identify one quotation about the sea in these lines and explain its effect.

Quotation:

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Effect:

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