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Question
Explain the things the poet has learnt when he grew into an adult.
Solution
The African poet observes a marked change in the altitude of Africans. Those who were once so genuine, warm and sincere, have now suddenly turned cold and hostile towards him. He realizes that the early values in African society like sincerity, good-naturedness, simplicity, whole-heartedness, hospitality, friendliness, originality, and uniqueness have now drastically changed. The earlier warmth and heartfulness have gone. He finds himself behaving the same way as those around him. He has learned to wear different faces for different occasions. He wears faces like dresses. He says not what his heart tells often. His smiles are also fake. He smiles only to be socially accepted. He has learned to say “Goodbye”. After being bored, he brings a fake smile and says “It’s been nice talking to you” when he meant “good-riddance”.
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