The Girl Who Can ICSE Class 10: Summary, Characters and Questions
Updated 14 October 2026 · Draft, not yet fact-checked
The Girl Who Can by Ama Ata Aidoo is told by Adjoa, a young girl born in Ghana. Her grandmother Nana says her thin legs are useless for bearing children, while her mother Maami defends her. Adjoa wins the cup for the best all-round junior athlete, and Nana changes her mind. The story challenges narrow ideas of a woman's role.
What The Girl Who Can is about
The Girl Who Can by the Ghanaian writer Ama Ata Aidoo is a short story in Treasure Chest, narrated in the simple, honest voice of Adjoa, a young girl born in Ghana. Three generations of women live together: Adjoa, her mother Maami, and her grandmother Nana. Nana judges women by traditional standards: a woman's legs must be sturdy so that she can bear children. Adjoa's legs are thin, and Nana constantly criticises them.
The story is about gender roles, tradition and change, and about a child proving her worth on her own terms. Adjoa's thin legs turn out to be good for running; she wins at school sports, and Nana, who mocked those legs, becomes their proudest supporter.
In ICSE papers it has appeared as Section A MCQs: where Adjoa was born (2025), and what her final thought, 'But that's how I was feeling and thinking all along', suggests (specimen: that her legs were useful for more than child-bearing). It may also be set as a 16-mark extract.
Weightage: CISCE publishes no weightage by text. Section A has 16 one-mark MCQs (about 5 on the short stories), and Section C offers two 16-mark prose extract questions.Source: CISCE ICSE 2027 Specimen Question Paper, Literature in English (T27 012)
The Girl Who Can: summary
In our own words, in the order of the text. Read the NCERT text itself too: the board quotes from it.
Adjoa, the narrator, is a young girl born in Ghana. She lives with her mother, Maami, and her grandmother, Nana, three generations of women with different ideas about what a girl is for. (The story is in copyright, so this summary keeps to the points CISCE's own questions rely on; check the details in your Treasure Chest.)
Nana is unhappy about Adjoa's legs. They are thin, and Nana judges them by the traditional view that a woman's legs must be strong enough for her main purpose, marrying and bearing children. She criticises them again and again, and Adjoa, though only a child, wonders why legs should be judged only for that. Maami defends her daughter and stands for a different view, in which a girl's future includes education and more than child-bearing. The grown-ups' arguments, which often go over Adjoa's head, are reported with a child's innocence and humour.
At school Adjoa turns out to be a fast runner, and she wins the cup for the best all-round junior athlete. The thin legs that Nana criticised have proved that they can do far more than Nana believed, and Nana, once their harshest critic, comes round to admiring them.
Adjoa notices the change with quiet amusement. The idea that her legs are useful for more than child-bearing is, she thinks, 'how I was feeling and thinking all along'. The story ends with this gentle irony: the child understood from the start what the adult learnt only when the cup proved it.
Themes and message
Challenging traditional gender roles
Nana believes a woman's worth lies in marriage and child-bearing, and judges Adjoa's body only by that standard. Adjoa's success in running shows that a girl's body and life can be valued for many other things. Aidoo questions a society that limits women to one role.
From the text: Nana's repeated criticism of Adjoa's thin legs; Adjoa's athletics cup.
Education and opportunity for girls
Maami stands for education: she wants more for Adjoa than the traditional path. At school Adjoa discovers her talent. The story suggests that education and opportunity open doors that tradition keeps shut.
From the text: Maami's determination that Adjoa be educated; Adjoa's success at school sports.
Three generations and changing attitudes
Nana represents tradition, Maami represents a bridge between old and new, and Adjoa represents the future. Nana's change of heart shows that even fixed views can change when faced with real achievement.
From the text: Nana's pride in the cup.
A child's wisdom
Adjoa's innocent narration exposes the adults' contradictions. She sensed all along that her legs were good for more than one purpose; the adults needed proof.
From the text: Adjoa's final thought: 'But that's how I was feeling and thinking all along'.
Characters
Adjoa
The young narrator.
- Innocent and observant: she reports the grown-ups' arguments with a child's honesty.
- Thoughtful: she questions why legs should be judged only for child-bearing.
- Talented and determined: she becomes the best all-round junior athlete.
- Quietly confident: she knew her own worth all along.
Her narration and the ending.
Nana
Adjoa's grandmother, voice of tradition.
- Traditional: values women for marriage and child-bearing.
- Outspoken and critical: she keeps commenting on Adjoa's legs.
- Loving underneath: she is overjoyed at Adjoa's success.
- Able to change: she comes to praise the legs she criticised.
Her criticism of Adjoa's legs and her pride in the cup.
Maami
Adjoa's mother.
- Protective and supportive of her daughter.
- Values education: she wants Adjoa to go to school.
- Brave enough to argue with her own mother for Adjoa's sake.
Her defence of Adjoa against Nana.
How it is written
| Device | Example | Effect |
|---|---|---|
| First-person child narrator | Adjoa tells the story in a simple, innocent voice. | Creates humour and exposes the adults' prejudices through a child's eyes. |
| Irony | The thin legs Nana criticised win the cup, and Nana becomes their greatest admirer. | Overturns the traditional view and makes the point gently but clearly. |
| Symbolism | Adjoa's legs. | Stand for a girl's body and potential, and for whether society values her only for motherhood or for everything she can do. |
Key quotations
Short lines worth knowing by heart: who says them, when, and why they matter.
But that's how I was feeling and thinking all along
Adjoa: Her thought at the end, when Nana praises her legs (as quoted in the 2027 specimen).
The child had always believed her legs were useful for more than child-bearing; the adults caught up only when she won.
The Girl Who Can in real life
Each concept, met in an everyday situation. Read the situation, answer the question in your own words, then compare with the model answer. The one-line hook is what to remember.
Proving worth beyond stereotypes
Suppose a relative tells your cousin that girls should not play football because it is 'not useful for a girl's future', and a year later your cousin is selected for the state team.
How does this mirror the story, and how might the relative react?
Try it first, then show the solutionSolution
- Relative = Nana: judging by tradition.
- Selection = the cup: achievement as proof.
- Likely reaction: pride, as Nana's was.
Answer: Like Adjoa, your cousin proves that a girl's abilities go beyond traditional expectations, and the relative, like Nana, may well become the proudest supporter.
Memory hook: The cup changes minds that words could not.
Parents who open doors
Imagine a mother who left school early insisting that her daughter complete her studies, even when relatives object.
Which character is she like, and why does her stand matter?
Try it first, then show the solutionSolution
- She is like Maami.
- Her stand gives the daughter opportunities she never had.
Answer: She resembles Maami, who defends Adjoa and sends her to school, where Adjoa discovers her gift. One adult's support can change a child's future.
Memory hook: Maami opened the school gate; Adjoa ran through it.
Children's quiet confidence
Suppose a teacher doubts that a quiet student can lead the class play, and after a successful show the student thinks, 'I always knew I could.'
How does this echo Adjoa's last thought?
Try it first, then show the solutionSolution
- The student, like Adjoa, believed in her ability.
- Adults needed proof.
Answer: It echoes 'But that's how I was feeling and thinking all along': the child's confidence came first, the adults' recognition later.
Memory hook: The child knew; the grown-ups needed a cup.
Topics in this chapter
How the board asks The Girl Who Can
The question patterns to expect, and the method that works for each.
| Question type | How it is asked | Method |
|---|---|---|
| Section A MCQ (1 mark) | Factual recall (where Adjoa was born), or what a line suggests ('But that's how I was feeling…' → her legs were useful for more than child-bearing). | Recall the family's views clearly: Nana (child-bearing), Maami (education), Adjoa (her own sense of worth). |
| Extract question (16 marks) | Parts on Nana's view of legs, Maami's response, Adjoa's race and cup, Nana's change of heart, and a personal response on gender roles. | Give each woman's view precisely; support with an incident; for opinion parts, connect to the theme of girls' opportunities. |
| Theme and title | 'Why is the story called The Girl Who Can?' | Explain 'can' as ability beyond what tradition allows: she can run, win and decide her own worth. |
Tricks to remember The Girl Who Can
Short memory aids. Say each one aloud once, then use it on a question the same day.
Three women, three views
Nana = Nursery (child-bearing); Maami = Mind (education); Adjoa = Athlete.
Use it when: Character and theme questions.
Born in Ghana
Adjoa, Aidoo, Africa: the A-trio (the story and its writer are from Ghana).
Use it when: Recall of Adjoa's birthplace (asked in 2025).
The Girl Who Can: board-level solved questions
Ordered from board level to HOTS. Cover the solution, write your own, then compare step by step.
Example 1: MCQ on the ending · 1 mark · MCQHarder board level
At the end, Adjoa thinks, 'But that's how I was feeling and thinking all along.' This suggests that Adjoa had known that:
(a) she would win the cup
(b) Nana had always been right about her legs
(c) her legs were useful for more than child-bearing
(d) Maami was right about education
Try it first, then show the solutionSolution
- Nana has just praised Adjoa's legs for something other than child-bearing.
- Adjoa says she always felt this.
Answer: (c) her legs were useful for more than child-bearing
Example 2: Nana's view · 3 marks · Short answerBoard level
Why does Nana disapprove of Adjoa's legs? What does this show about her values?
Try it first, then show the solutionSolution
- Thin legs, in Nana's view, cannot support a woman's body or child-bearing.
- Values: a woman's worth lies in marriage and motherhood.
Answer: Nana thinks Adjoa's legs are too thin to support a woman's body and to bear children, which she sees as a woman's main purpose. It shows her traditional values: she judges a girl only by her future role as a wife and mother.
Example 3: Maami's role · 3 marks · Short answerHarder board level
How does Maami support Adjoa, and why is this important?
Try it first, then show the solutionSolution
- She defends Adjoa's legs against Nana.
- She insists on Adjoa's schooling.
- Importance: school is where Adjoa discovers her talent.
Answer: Maami argues with Nana in Adjoa's defence and stands for education and a wider future for her daughter. This matters because it is at school that Adjoa discovers her running talent and wins the cup.
Example 4: The title · 3 marks · Short answerHOTS / competency
Comment on the title 'The Girl Who Can'.
Try it first, then show the solutionSolution
- Link 'can' to Nana's 'cannot' (thin legs, useless).
- Adjoa can run, win and prove her worth.
- The title celebrates girls' abilities beyond tradition.
Answer: Nana's criticism suggests that Adjoa's legs cannot do what a woman's legs should. The title answers her: Adjoa is the girl who can, who runs, wins the cup and proves that a girl's worth is not limited to child-bearing.
Example 5: Nana's change of heart · 4 marks · Long answerHOTS / competency
Is Nana's change of heart sincere? Give two reasons for your view.
Try it first, then show the solutionSolution
- Take a stand.
- Two reasons from her behaviour.
Answer: Sincere: her change comes from seeing with her own eyes what Adjoa's legs can do, and her criticism always came from worry about Adjoa's future, so success removes the worry. (A reasoned view that she is mainly proud of the family's prestige is also acceptable.)
Where the marks are
How a typical answer is marked: the value points the examiner looks for and the marks each earns.
Personal response, 4 marks: Is Nana's change of heart sincere? Give two reasons. (4 marks)
| Step | Marks |
|---|---|
| Clear stand | 1 |
| Reason 1 with evidence (e.g. spontaneous joy, showing off the cup) | 1.5 |
| Reason 2 with evidence (e.g. her criticism came from concern for Adjoa's future) | 1.5 |
Where students lose marks in The Girl Who Can
The slips examiners see most often, and what to write instead.
Mistake: Mixing up Nana and Maami
Both are elders with strong views.
Do this: Nana = grandmother, tradition; Maami = mother, education.
Usually costs: Content marks wherever their views are asked.
Mistake: Saying Nana is simply cruel
Students miss the love behind her criticism and her pride at the end.
Do this: Present her as traditional and worried, and show her change.
Usually costs: Character marks in evaluation parts.
Mistake: Missing the irony of the ending
Students narrate the cup but not its meaning.
Do this: Explain that the legs Nana mocked win the cup, and Adjoa had always believed in them.
Usually costs: Analysis marks.
Mistake: Unsupported personal responses
Students give opinions on gender without linking to the story.
Do this: Give your view, then two reasons, at least one from the story.
Usually costs: Most of a 4-mark part.
Practice questions on The Girl Who Can
Write each answer on paper first. Open the hint only if you are stuck, and the answer only when you have finished.
Q1 · 1 mark · MCQBoard level
Where was Adjoa born?
(a) Nigeria
(b) Ghana
(c) Ethiopia
(d) KenyaHint
2025 paper.
Answer
(b) Ghana
Q2 · 3 marks · Short answerHarder board level
How does the child narrator affect the way the story is told?
Hint
Innocent narration.
Answer
Adjoa reports the adults' arguments without fully understanding them, which creates humour and lets readers see the prejudice behind Nana's views more clearly than an adult narrator could.
Q3 · 3 marks · Short answerBoard level
What does Adjoa achieve at school, and how does the family react?
Hint
The cup.
Answer
She wins the cup for the best all-round junior athlete. Nana, once her harshest critic, comes round to admiring the legs she had criticised.
Q4 · 4 marks · Long answerHarder board level
Compare Nana's and Maami's views on what matters for Adjoa's future.
Hint
Tradition versus education.
Answer
Nana values physical fitness for marriage and child-bearing, the traditional role of women. Maami values education and wants Adjoa to have opportunities she herself lacked. Nana looks to the past; Maami looks to a wider future.
Q5 · 3 marks · Short answerHOTS / competency
Do such attitudes about girls still exist today? Give one example and say how they can be changed.
Hint
Personal response linked to the theme.
Answer
Yes, for example when girls are discouraged from sports because they are 'not ladylike' or told to focus only on marriage. Such attitudes change through education, role models and girls' achievements, as Adjoa's cup changes Nana.
Q6 · 3 marks · Short answerHOTS / competency
What do Adjoa's legs symbolise in the story?
Hint
What are they judged for, and what do they achieve?
Answer
They symbolise a girl's body and potential: judged by tradition only for child-bearing, they prove capable of speed and achievement, standing for all the abilities society overlooks in girls.
Q7 · 1 mark · MCQBoard level
Which word best describes Nana at the end?
(a) jealous
(b) proud
(c) indifferent
(d) angryHint
Her reaction to the cup.
Answer
(b) proud
Test your recall
Answer in your head or on paper first, then open the card. Pulling an answer out of memory makes it stick far better than re-reading.
1.Who wrote 'The Girl Who Can'?Show answer
Ama Ata Aidoo.
2.Who is Nana?Show answer
Adjoa's grandmother.
3.What does Nana think legs are for?Show answer
Supporting a woman's body and child-bearing.
4.What does Adjoa win?Show answer
The cup for the best all-round junior athlete.
5.Where was Adjoa born?Show answer
Ghana.
Quick revision checklist
The night before the exam: can you do each of these without looking?
- Can you give the views of Nana, Maami and Adjoa in one line each?
- Can you explain the irony of the ending?
- Can you explain the title?
- Can you explain what Adjoa's legs symbolise?
- Can you connect the story to girls in sport today?
The Girl Who Can: frequently asked questions
What is the theme of The Girl Who Can?
It challenges the traditional view that a woman's worth lies only in marriage and child-bearing, and celebrates girls' education and abilities.
Why does Nana criticise Adjoa's legs?
She believes they are too thin to support a woman's body and to bear children, which she sees as a woman's purpose.
How does the story end?
Adjoa wins the cup for the best all-round junior athlete, Nana becomes proud of her legs, and Adjoa reflects that she had felt this way all along.
Based on: CISCE ICSE 2027 English syllabus (Paper 2: Literature in English); CISCE ICSE 2027 Appendix I: List of Prescribed Books; CISCE ICSE 2027 Specimen Question Paper and Draft Marking Scheme: Literature in English (English Paper 2); CISCE Analysis of Pupil Performance 2025: Literature in English (examiners' comments)