4. Lines 45-62: What details refer to Mallam Sile's social position and economic status? Make inferences about why he did not attend his parents' funeral. Draw conclusions about Mallam Sile's character and his relationship with his parents, citing additional evidence as needed.

The lines that refer to Mallam Sile's social position and economic status from the text are:

1. "Within a week of his arrival in the city, Sile landed a job as a house servant. Although his monthly wages were meagre, he sent a portion of them home to his ailing parents, who lived like paupers in their drought-stricken village."

2. "With his parents deceased, Sile suddenly found himself with more money in his hands. He quit his house-servant job and found another, selling iced kenkey in Kumasi's central market. Sile kept every pesewa he earned, and two years later he was able to use his savings to open a tea business."

Mallam Sile did not attend his parents' farewell as their village was too far away (more than nine hundred miles) from the city he was working in. However, he sent money for a decent funeral. The reason is clear from the line "Though Sile didn't travel up north to attend their funeral, he sent money for a decent burial."

Mallam Sile is a tea seller on Zongo street. He is short, stout and hairy in appearance due to which he is often referred to as a "pygmy". He is partially blind from a childhood illness. He is a peace loving person who treats everyone with a lot of kindness. Due to his kindness and simple nature, many people take advantage of him and pay him in credit at his tea shop and the three benches meant for customers are almost always occupied by gossipmongers. He is a very lonely man as he works alone in his tea shop in Kamasi. He is a hard working person but is often cheated by customers using fake notes and claiming to be poor. He is a hard working man who is full of strength and self confidence. He does not mind people making fun of him or spreading rumors about him and is at peace with himself. He is a smart and wise person who knows what he wants from life and strives hard to get it. He has a firm belief that "every man was capable of goodness, just as he was capable of evil." He is unmarried and does not have much success with women until he meets Abeeba, whom he marries at the age of forty six.

Nothing much has been mentioned in the text about Sile's relationship with his parents. Mallam Sile had left home at the age of sixteen to earn money for the treatment of his aged, ill and bed-ridden parents. However, the little that he earns is not enough to save them from the clutches of death. The lines "The young Sile received the news of his parents' death with mixed emotions. He was sad to lose them, of course, but he saw it as a well-deserved rest for them, as they both had been ill and bedridden for many months." best describe the relationship he shares with his parents.