A SILENT SONG ESSAY QUESTION

An individual’s good qualities can attract admiration and

love. Citing illustrations from Ninema by Vrenika Pather,
write an essay to support this statement.
Exemplary attributes arouse respect, warm approval and
affection. Ninema is a young beautiful woman whose
praiseworthy character makes her the embodiment of
magnificence. She is respected and loved by all and sundry at
the marketplace.
First, Ninema is respected because she faces her challenges and
wins. She has to wake up at four o'clock on a Monday morning to
reap the herbs from her garden. She is a market gardener. Her
crops are healthy. Ninema has green fingers but she does not
know it. She earns her living by selling her crops at the Indian
market. The walk to the market is long(P14). Her life is tough
and so is she. She arranges her dhania and mint neatly and
sighs. Although she accepts her lot in life, Ninema is not
resigned to it. She has never had hot running water so she
washes her face and feet with cold water from the outside tap.
To take her weekly bath, Ninema boils water on the open fire.
She coils her long black hair into a bun at the nape of her neck.
She will wash it on Saturday when she takes her bath. For now,
it is neat and out of the way. Ninema's presence displaces the
space around her and fills it with gravity(P13). Some day, with
the money she is saving, she hopes to buy a house of her
own(P15). Despite all these challenges, Ninema dreams of the
home that will be hers some day soon. The house will have hot
water. The kitchen will be on the inside. She will have her own
large garden where her herbs will flourish. Maybe, she will start
growing some fruit for herself(P16). The attribute of facing
challenges and winning, instead of resigning to them, earns
Ninema respect.
Ninema earns lots of admiration because she focuses on earning
a living and ignores all other distractions. Although Ninema is a
beautiful woman who makes heads turn as she walks, she does
not take the attention to heart. Ninema’s hips sway from side to
side as she moves her body in rhythm to balance the basket on
her head. Her thin chiffon sari dress drapes around her perfect
body effortlessly as if kept in place by her high, firm breasts. She
has long, toned arms and a cinched waist which cause men to
stop and stare. When she faces them with her piercing, black
eyes they turn around in embarrassment. The women admire her
high cheekbones. Ninema is neither influenced nor affected by
the attention she receives from the men or women. Her concern
is with earning a living. She sets up her stall and arranges her
herbs appetizingly. Other lady hawkers chat with her and each
other amiably. Ninema rarely chats back. She has no time to
waste. Nobody minds the fact that Ninema does not pay
attention to the trifles. She only focuses on earning a living.
These qualities attract admiration(P13-14).
Ninema has the wisdom of family trading so she has the
perception that the first and last customers are very important.
She knows that the first customer opens the business day while
the last closes it. She takes extra care of them for they bring
luck. She learned the trade from her mother and father who
passed down this wisdom from generations of family trading.
Ninema believes in its grace and power. She also has good faith
in accounting and can count faster than you can say the word
‘herb' (P14). Mr. Chinran is her first customer and she treats him
with respect and appreciation for he is loyal. At the end of the
market day, when a new customer, a last minute buyer drops by,
Ninema gives her an extra bunch of mint for free. The customer
is happy and promises to always shop at her stall for herbs(P15).
This wisdom makes Ninema an admirable individual.
Also, Ninema treats all her loyal customers with respect and
appreciation. Mr. Chinran is one of the loyal customers. He often
was the first to support Ninema when she opened her stall. The
ladies in the other stalls tease saying he was in love with her.
She simply smiled away their silliness. Mr. Chinran is a rich
lawyer from the Brahmin caste while Ninema is a poor girl from
a low caste. How could he be interested in her? It was
unthinkable like having a relationship with a white man. This
notwithstanding, the mere sight of Ninema made Mr. Chinran’s
day. He is so infatuated with her that the thought of his mother
arranging a marriage for him makes him hot under the collar.
Some prying, jealous wife would take over the herbs buying
rounds and deny him the opportunity of seeing Ninema. His
mother complains that he buys too much and this morning he
buys even more than usual. Ninema does not encourage his
infatuation with her but since he is a loyal customer he treats
him with respect and appreciation(P14). Although Mr. Chinran is
from a prestigious caste, his fondness of Ninema is proof that
someone’s good qualities can endear them to people.
Ninema handles her customers masterfully and this makes them
fond of her. This is evident in the way she handles Mrs. Singh.
Ninema refers to her respectfully as auntie. When Ninema tells
her that three bunches of parsley cost six cents, she exclaims
that it is too much, expecting her to lower the price but she does
not budge; not for rich Mrs. Singh not for anyone else(P14). Mrs.
Singh tries the ploy on the next herb to get better prices but it is
inadequate. Mrs. Singh likes to haggle out of boredom. She
wants a long market day to avoid going back to her large empty
house where the servants do everything including cooking. She
bargains in order to interact with Ninema for as long as possible.
Ninema’s skills earn her adoration and loyalty from rich people
such as Mrs. Singh(P15).
Ninema earns the love, respect and admiration of the other
market women because she is her own person. She acts
independently and confidently. Ninema runs her business with an
iron fist. Some people like her herbs and her manner of doing
things and support her. Some are offended ostensibly because
she does not bring down the prizes, she sells only herbs and is
not chatty. Really what they did not like is that she is her own
person. She does not give in to what other people expect of her.
This frightened some as much as it thrilled others. The ladies in
the other stalls like Ninema because of this. They look up to her.
She is one of them but something about her is different. The
difference draws them to her rather than repulse them. They
want to learn her secret because unlike her they often
compromise themselves at work and at home. This makes them
angry with themselves. They admire how Ninema carries herself.
Ninema’s qualities of independence and confidence make her
admirable and lovable(P15).
Ninema has a steady flow of customers since she takes personal
interest in each of our customers. At lunch time she eats her
packed sandwiches as she works. Her stall is busy. She arranges
her herbs appetizingly and every day she picks up on passing
trade. Customers are attracted by the smell and look of her stall.
She has to grow more seed in order to keep up with the demand.
She hopes to have enough to satisfy all her customers since her
herbs diminish fast. Business is flourishing. Most rich people buy
herbs from Ninema during their lunch break making this the
busiest time of the day. These are clerical workers and
professionals. Although she is busy, Ninema finds time to take
personal interest in each of her customers. She knows whose son
is studying to be a doctor far away in India, whose daughter just
got married, who moved in their new home and where they
bought it. Ninema has many customers because she is genuinely
interested in their lives. Indeed such good qualities attract
respect and love(P15).
Lastly, Ninema gets cheers of approval from the other market
women for the way she stands up to the indecent man who
assaults her. She hits the man much to the delight of the
cheering market women. The man had approached her and
blocked her away. She stared at him straight in the face. The
strange man grinned at her lasciviously, and then suddenly
extended his arm and pinched her erect nipple, hard. He then
laughed out loud, turned away in a cocksure stride and told her
in a vulgar tone, “If you liked that, follow me.” After placing her
basket down with deliberate care, to avoid bruising the herbs
nestled neatly inside, Ninema follows the man and beats him on
the back of his head with her chumpal. She then hits him all over
his face and torso. The astounded man covers his face with his
hands. Ninema only notices that the other market women had
been keenly watching the fight when she hears their jeers,
cheers and laughter. The man is too embarrassed and
dumbfounded to react. He is scared that the women could gang
up against him. Ninema gives him a few extra hits on behalf of
all the women. He whimpers for she is strong. The women clap
and laugh heartily. Ninema bends gracefully, picks the basket
and places it gently on her head and says goodbye to the other
women. Ninema is loved and respected as a result of such
attributes(P16).
In conclusion, good attributes or traits are bound to attract
affection and admiration from our peers and other people,
regardless of age, financial status or class.

A SILENT SONG ESSAY QUESTION

People commit unethical acts as a result of lack of care.
Citing illustrations fromIncident in the Park by Meja
Mwangi, write an essay to support this statement.
Immorality stems from people’s indifference. Unethical acts like
negligence and brutality result from lack of care. Blood thirsty
city dwellers brutally murder an innocent fruit seller without
batting an eyelid in Incident in the Park.
Government workers go about their business ignoring the
ravaging effects of the drought on the neglected park. The park
is dirty and brown. There was no promise of rain that August.
The ground is dusty brown, bare and parched. The ministerial
offices, City Hall and parliament buildings and the ominous
cathedral are a stone throw away from the pathetic looking park.
The ministerial offices are modern fortresses and its occupants
conveniently ignore the park which clearly lacks proper care.
This is evidenced by the dry bits of grass, dry leaves and thirsty
trees. Only delicate flowers, planted like oasis islands at various
spots, are watered in a desperate effort to keep the dirty brown
park beautiful. The sad-looking boathouse and dirty, muddy
water sum up the government's lack of care for the park.
Secondly, the park is filled with many idlers who have little care
in the world. They waste many hours lying idle in the park. They
ignore the city and parliament clocks which strike suddenly,
together - reminding them of how much time they had wasted.
They care less about being useful. The clocks’ pleas go
unheeded. Some insolent loafers simply shake their heads
defiantly, curse loudly, face the other way and go back to sleep.
Only every now and then, does a misplaced idler heed the clocks
nagging disapproval and accusing fingers and walk away. The
park people have no intention to go anywhere else but while
away. They are here to stay. They have arrived. During the
afternoons, the park looks parched and almost dead, dotted with
a few loungers. More idlers sit by the lake watching the rowers,
day in day out. This unproductive lot is a burden to the city and
to society.
The neglected pond in the park is another sign of lack of care by
relevant authorities. The fish pond is dangerously overgrown
with weeds. Colourless weeds choke the yellow, blue and purple
water lilies. An ugly mishmash of weeds has replaced the
aesthetic blue-green surface of the once beautiful pond. Initially,
the pond flowers stuck out buds, thick colorful fingers and
proclaimed order but not anymore - the existence of these
beautiful fauna has been snuffed out by a riot of unclassifiable
intruders and bastard flowers. To make matters worse, the park
soil has collapsed, forcing the pond’s murky, brown water and
bewildered fish to the deeper, further end. The sorry state of the
pond points to acute lack of attention or care.
The hairy loafer who feeds the fish is defiant. He ignores the
public notice on the board that cautions people against feeding
the fish. He carelessly tosses debris, tiny bits of grass and soil at
the hungry fish. The fish fight for the useless things but let go
when they realize they are worthless. The idler throws in more
rubbish and carelessly sniggers - he has no iota of empathy
whatsoever. He also drops in a piece of soil at the fish. When he
learns that fish feeds on insects, he tries to find some and later
decides to throw in a flattened cigarette end when he cannot
catch any insects. The big fish that catches the cigarette butt
releases it since it is useless. At last, the uncaring idler curses
after violently hurling a large rock at the confounded fish. His
lack of empathy leads him to defy the order not to feed the fish
and as a result he harms the fishes.
The police constables are callous. They harass innocent people
heartlessly, displaying no shred of sympathy. The two city
constables accost the old fruit seller and demand for his license
and identification. As fate would have it, he has neither. He
cannot afford a licence. The old man nods uncomprehendingly
and shakes his head sadly when the police demand for a license.
He desperately tries to bribe the constables by offering five
shillings; all he had made that day. The policeman grabs him by
his old coat and remarks that he would explain it to the judge.
The old man swears by his mother. He is devastated because he
has another case with the cruel judge. A tyrant who would hang
him this time round. The fruit seller cries that the judge is crazy
and would castrate him but his pleas fall on deaf ears. He offers
the constables a 10- shilling bribe and even his foot baskets. The
constables remain indifferent even when he cries that he has a
wife and children. They do not care. They match him right ahead.
When he realizes that he is talking to a brick wall, he decides to
leap and run for it but not before cursing the cops, their wives
and their children.
The judge is portrayed as being unjust or outrightly cruel. When
the police insist on taking him to the judge, the old fruit seller
cries desperately. He has no licence and identification. He
swears by his mother. He already has a case with the judge and
he does not want to be taken back. He believes the judge will
hung him. He is selling the fruits in order to afford the fine that
was earlier imposed. He pleads with the police men as brothers.
He even tells them that the judge is a tyrant - a crazy man who
will have him castrated. The allusion to his wife and children
does not bear any fruits. He tries to bribe the police with 10
shillings and appease them with his fruit basket but the uncaring
constables match him ahead. The fruit seller curses the
policemen and their families and decides to bolt. He takes this
desperate measure to avoid facing the evil, apathetic judge.
The bloodthirsty city dwellers have no regard for human life.
Realizing that the city constable were adamant about taking him
to the judge, the fruit seller decides to run for it. He leaps,
breaking away, leaving the policeman holding onto a piece of his
one coat. He runs across the park. The policeman shouts for
help. The old man hopes to get protection by disappearing into
the city dwellers. That was not to be. The barbarous city dwellers
lunge at him trying to nab him. The old man is savagely
desperate to escape. When he stumbles and falls into a ditch, the
ferocious mob stones him to death. He cries out pleading for
mercy. The bloodthirsty crowd leaves him for dead, looking like a
broken twisted rag doll, covered in stones and a thick red blood.
The crowd mistakenly label him as a thief.
Lastly, the injustice witnessed after the innocent fruit seller
killed is the height of brutality and lack of care. The constable
strives to shift blame. No one looks guilty enough. The
constables conveniently withdraw. An inspector confirms that the
man is dead. The crowd that stoned him and those that
witnessed his savage murder lower their eyes. Unwilling to
openly testify, some of the residents hurriedly return to their
offices, indifferently. The word ‘thief’ oozes out discreetly from
mouth to mouth. They mistakenly condemn the man to be a
desperate thief. They judge him by the unmistakable uniform of
his trade - dirty torn clothes and a mean hungry face. Even the
inspector of police is uneasy and doubtful about his next course
of action. The poor man finds no justice even in his death. All and
sundry conclude that a thief is a thief. The twisted garbage-
strewn dark alleyways are lawlessly governed by one savage
unwritten law concerning the fate of apprehended thieves.
Ironically, the man is killed before his identity is established.
Sadly, he can only be identified by his grieving wife and children
in a cold room. An innocent life is cut short due to the heartless
nature of idle, uncaring city dwellers and the inept police
department.
In conclusion, any society that lacks benevolence disintegrates
into an abyss of lawlessness and immorality.

A SILENT SONG ESSAY QUESTION

When someone is given too much power, they can abuse
their position. Write an essay in support of this statement
citing illustrations from A Man of Awesome Power.
When someone is given too much power or control, they can
become corrupt and misuse their power for personal or selfish
reasons. For example, they may mistreat others and this can lead
to negative consequences to the people they are supposed to
serve. In A Man of Awesome Power by Naguib Mahfouz,
Tayyib al-Mahdi loses his power after misusing it.
Tayyib al-Mahdi uses his awesome power to punish the taxi
driver who ignores him when he hails it. Tayyib al-Mahdi tries to
flag down the taxi but the driver ignores him disdainfully. This
had happened to him in the past. Unlike when this happened in
the past, now Tayyib al-Mahdi is filled with greater irritation.
Power has corrupted him. In this moment of anger, he makes an
impulsive decision to punish the man. He considers that he could
make the driver suffer an accident. He decides to shatter the
taxi's rear wheels instead. He knows that he should use his
powers only for good but his anger results in his cruelty. He
stares at the taxi's rear wheels and both of them explode like a
bomb. The taxi driver is frustrated for losing two wheels at one
time. As he walks by the helpless man, Tayyib al-Mahdi gives him
a meaningful look and offers to help him but his unknowing pupil
glares at the hapless man, resentful and enraged. He feels like
he had taught the man a much needed lesson. Initially, al-Mahdi
had thoughtful dreams but after acquiring awesome power, he
becomes corrupt and abuses his power.
Secondly, Tayyib al-Mahdi hastily punishes the radio announcer
only because he is annoyed by his views. The announcer was
expounding on promising developments expected in the future.
This is after Tayyib al-Mahdi's memorable services were
mistaken for an awakening of the state or outright renaissance.
Tayyib al-Mahdi fills a gaping pothole, locks a dangerously
hanging electrical box, removes a pile of rubbish and drains a
sewer using his awesome power. In the past, such promises
excited Tayyib only to leave him frustrated. Now that he has
awesome power, Tayyib al-Mahdi is infuriated by the announcer’s
promises. He commands him to talk about what has been
accomplished not the future. Tayyib al-Mahdi is overcome with
fury and thoughtlessly punishes the man with a bout of incessant
sneezing. He makes the man to sneeze massively without
warning. Then he sneezes abruptly - more emphatically. He
sneezes uncontrollably until he could not complete a full
sentence. Sneezes keep waylaying him so he chooses to play a
recorded song “Walk Around and See”. Al-Mahdi plans to censor
mass media by stopping any talk that annoys him. He would
make speakers that displease him to sneeze spontaneously, emit
shrill cries like women at a wedding, or suffer uncontrollable
diarrhoea. Tayyib al-Mahdi is intoxicated with an intense feeling
of happiness and victory. He forgets his benevolent dreams. After
acquiring power, he uses the power to bad effect by mistreating
others.
Tayyib al-Mahdi also misuses his awesome power when he uses it
to charm the gorgeous woman at the zoo at the expense of the
righteous plans he has. Tayyib al-Mahdi visits the tea garden at
the zoo purposely to properly plan how to put his new powers to
greater use. However, he instead uses it to seduce a gorgeous
and enticing woman that catches his eye. Tayyib al-Mahdi is
filled with an inexplicable desire - one that is not ordinary and
his inappropriate since he has a tremendous burden of proper
planning and awareness of need. This woman does not take
notice of Tayyib al-Mahdi. Her large, round eyes are
preoccupied with the the ducks floating in the green lake.
Tayyib sends her a hidden message using his awesome powers,
instantly setting her head-over-heels. He decides to heal himself
before repairing the world. In one shared smile, Tayyib utterly
forgets both his faith and his life. He surrenders to his fate. This
ill-advised move results in the loss of his powers and his
vibrant mood. The miracle disappears like a dream because of
his selfish imprudence. He will be haunted eternally by an
awesome sadness. Before getting his awesome power, Tayyib
was contented. Now, he uses his powers to satisfy his selfish
desires.
Lastly, Tayyib loses his power when he strikes the man on the
bus with severe cramps. When an argument between the man
and the woman erupts, Tayyib could not hear but he studies the
dimensions of the argument carefully. He is shocked when the
man suddenly slaps the woman. Tayyib focuses all his anger on
the man’s stomach. The brute doubles over and moans and
screams in pain when Tayyib strikes him with severe cramps. He
has to be carried outside for an ambulance to fetch him. Some
people on the bus opine that the man deserves it owing to his
bad manners and cheekiness. Tayyib is satisfied and believes
that he had done his duty in the best manner possible. Instead of
using his awesome power to fulfill his compassionate dreams for
his country and the planet, Tayyib misuses his power by
punishing anyone that displeases him.
In conclusion, when someone is given excessive authority or
control, they can misuse it as in the case of Tayyib al-Mahdi. He
becomes callous when he acquires awesome power. Initially, he
was humane and had thoughtful dreams for his country and the
planet.

A SILENT SONG ESSAY QUESTION

People living with disability face many difficulties in life. Using
Mbane in Leonard Kibera’s A Silent Song, write a composition
to support this assertion.
People living with disability find it more difficult to do
certain activities or to interact with the world around
them. In Leonard Kibera’s A Silent Song, Mbane is a
visually impaired and disabled man whose movement
and other activities are constrained as a result of his
disability.

First, Mbane’s movement is inhibited as a result of his

disability. He gropes slowly towards the door of his hut.
He can only crawl weakly on his knees and elbows. He
cannot go further since the pain in his spine and
stomach gather violence rapidly. The pangs paralyse him
for a short tormenting moment. The pain soon
disappears but with the same savage fury of its
onslaught, leaving Mbane cold with sweat. He
anticipates another imminent attack. Giving up the
fight, he lets go his chin and hits his forehead on the
dirty flea-ridden floor. Mbane’s freedom of movement is
curtailed by his visual impairment, disability and pain.
He is restricted to the suspicious hut.

Secondly, his perception of time, day or beauty is

limited. Although he is hungry, he does not know what
time it is. He wallows in the gloom of his eternal night.
Time, day and beauty lie beyond the bitter limits of
darkness. He is restricted to feeling, hearing and
running away from danger. He is also limited to a world
of retreat. Due to his lameness, he can only crawl away.
He has no power to hit back. Surely, people living with
disability suffer certain restrictions.
When his brother Ezekiel brings him from the streets to
his home, Mbane is restricted to his new confinement.
His brother says that he rescued him from the barbaric
city so that he could see the light of God. The hut is
serene but so suspicious. This is Mbane’s new life away
from the streets of the City. His new confinement is
devoid of the urban ruggedness and noise. It lacks the
quick prancing footsteps of the busy city people. In his
limitation, Mbane can never fathom their business. Also,
he is restricted to pleading with the people to help him
stay alive by offering him some coins.

Because of his disability, Mbane had little

comprehension or knowledge of the city. He earns his
living on one street only, retreating to the back lane
when it was deserted. His condition inhibits him from
telling the length, width, beauty or size of the street. He
is used to the talk of bright weather, lovely morning or
beautiful sunset but he cannot take part in the small
talk. He feels challenged when pedestrians sing to the
blue sky and whistle to the gay morning. In his
impediment, he cannot perceive these senses. During
the day, Mbane has to endure the overly generous heat
of the sun and obstinate flies mobbing the edges of his
lips. At night, he cannot escape the hostile biting cold
when he retreats to the back lane unsheltered, to
surrender to his vulnerability to sleep and is
occasionally victimized by some ignoble thieves.
Mbane is also constrained in his ability to eke out a
living since he is disabled. He is forced to beg on that
lonely street of the City. Mbane has come to understand
that money is the essence of urban life. He is therefore
happy with gay people since they mostly answer his plea.
Dull people with heavy tired footsteps and voices have
empty pockets. Unlike him, the good men and women of
the city have the ability to work in the buildings next to
him and more up the street. He has no option but to
endure the scorching sun and stubborn flies. At night,
he is tempted by the strange rhythms but cannot indulge
because of his condition. He is limited to hearing voices
cursing and singing and bottles cracking. Mbane is
restricted from joining the good men’s and women’s
merry-making after a hard day’s work. Only pimps and
whores enjoyed the proceeds of the good men’s sweat.

Also, Mbane's condition has restricted him from getting

married. His brother Ezekiel is married to Sarah. He
must have been married around Mbane's age. Mbane
would never be able to reach out his hand in fulfillment
of his life in the same way. He can only yearn impotently,
sadly constrained because of his darkness and lameness.
He is overcome by bitter self-pity and can only console
himself about his own light and thus he would smile
broadly and bravely. His brother’s wife occasionally
brings him some bitter medicine. His condition impedes
him from getting a wife of his own and settling down.
Mbane has become accustomed to limited conversation
or communication. His brother enters his hut and sits on
his bed but for a long time no one speaks. Mbane cannot
be expected to start a conversation. All his life, he has
been speaking to himself in his thoughts while living on
the streets. He had no one to address except himself.
Occasionally, he would blurt out a mechanical plea of
“Yes?”. Now, if anyone speaks to him, he carries the
subject on a line of uncommunicative thought in his own
mind. When his brother asks if he believes in God,
Mbane replies that he does not know since to him he
does not matter.

Apart from that, Mbane's condition makes him feel

alienated and thus he holds a different religious view
from his mother’s and his brother’s. His mother views
men as one stream flowing through the rocks of life.
They would twist and turn the pebbles and get dirty in
the muddy earth. They cry in the falls and whirlpools of
life and laugh and sing when the flow is smooth and
undisturbed. Some cry in the potholes of life’s valley,
while others laugh triumph elsewhere. Mbane's
condition inhibits him to not only ceaselessly crying but
also feeling that he is not even part of the stream. He
feels like the bitter fluid in his own throat. His pain
gives him no reason to believe in God. No one
understands his darkness. God is white cleanness of
eternal light but his life only contains darkness and
blackness. He is forgotten and unnoticed. Sometimes, he
is cursed and called able-bodied, only crippled by
idleness of leisurely begging.
Lastly, Mbane feels trapped in his unwashed body which
reeks of sweat. He craves freedom that he cannot
achieve. He dreams of a glorious future away from his
pangs of darkness where light lies. Right now he is
restricted since his eyes are denied the lights. He
dreams of a future where someone would understand
him and raise the innocence of his crippled life along
with the chosen. It gives him hope and he sings his own
happy song, silently to himself. He cannot seek refuge in
the brothels like other men so he can only find it in his
silent song. His soul has a destination, or so he thinks.
But for now, he has to make do with it being
incarcerated in his sweaty smelly body, which is
unwashed except when in the rain. Surely, disability can
be limiting.

In conclusion, people living with disability undergo

many impediments and limitations that deny them some
pleasures or opportunities in life.

A SILENT SONG ESSAY QUESTION

Citing illustrations from Eric Ng'maryo'sIvory Bangles,
write a composition showing how established customs are
difficult to change.
People are often reluctant to change their way of doing
something especially something which they have been doing for
a long time. The society in Ivory Bangles is superstitious and
also holds on to norms such as polygamy and hunting game for
ivory.
Firstly, this is a society where people are apt to believe in
superstitions. When the old man notices blood specks on the
liver of a goat he had slaughtered, he has to go and consult the
seer. Although he has a deep-seated suspicion of the seer, he still
goes to him since he is a tribal seer, and a priest of the people.
The seer gives him some unsettling revelation and a difficult task
to do in order to avert a disaster. He reveals that the seer’s
pebbles said someone was going to die. That is the old man’s
wife. In order to avert this, the old man is supposed to give his
wife a thorough beating and send her to her parents. The seer’s
pebbles are adamant that there is no other way to appease them.
This worries the old man so much. His mind wanders as he walks
home. Only a small trickle washes the trunk in front of him when
he relieves himself. The old man believes the seer is the
mouthpiece of their departed forefathers. Visiting the seer is so
common that the wife can guess where he went earlier that day.
He tells his wife that the spirits want him to give her a ritual
beating. Once upon a time, the seer wanted to marry the woman.
He had even promised to put a spell on her. His warning is
therefore laughable but according to the man it is solemn since it
is not he who put the blood specks on the goat’s liver. The
woman comes up with a simple, ingenious scheme to fool the
spirits. Old habits, like superstitions and consulting seers, die
hard since the people have held on to them for a long time.
Despite having a deep-seated suspicion of the seer, the old man
still considers the viability of the ritual beating since established
habits are difficult to change.
Secondly, the habit of wife battering is part and parcel of the
society and is even considered a solemn ritual. The seer’s
pebbles claim that the spirits are jealous of a happy wife, a
woman unmolested by her husband until old age when she is
called “Grandmother”. To avert her death after he finds blood
specks on the liver of a goat he was slaughtering, the old man
has to give his wife a thorough beating and send her to her
parents after the beating. The pebbles insist on wife battering
and refuse the offer of countless goats by the old man. The man
is reluctant to lay his hands on his comely caring wife who
bathes him when he arrives home and cooks him a delicious
meal. According to the spirits, this is supposed to be a ritual
beating to avert calamity. The woman says, the seer - “that old
vulture”, was once interested in marrying her and had even
promised to put a spell on her. It appears he is just jealous of her
happy marriage. But the man considers him the mouthpiece of
the departed forefathers. The old man is different from his son
who is accustomed to the norm of domestic violence. He beat his
wife Leveri to a fingernail’s distance to her grave. Such cases are
so common that there is a prescribed way of solving them. Clans
would meet and the offending man would be fined, they would
then drink reconciliatory beer and everyone would go home
happy. Surely, wife battering has been accepted as a norm in this
society.
Polygamy is another accepted custom in the society. The old man
earned the enviable position of the chief’s councillor as a reward
for bravery in the Battle of the Five Rainy Days. The wife calls
him son of a Chief. He is a wood carver, son of a wood carver and
a very brave warrior. He is thus much respected in the society,
but also much talked about because he has only one wife. A
chief’s councillor is considered a small chief, and whoever heard
of a chief with one wife? The ageing chief even advised him to
get himself another wife. The old man loves his wife. As much as
polygamy is customary, he does not comply. However, it is so
deeply-rooted in the society that the people find it strange for a
man of his social standing to have only one wife and even the
chief himself advises him to consider polygamy.
Another practice that seems so deeply-rooted in this society is
the hunting and killing of game like elephants. The old man
killed an elephant using a poisoned arrow and from its ivory, he
carved twenty four bangles for his wife. She wears eight
bangles in either hand and four heavy ones on each leg. The ones
on her hands are etched with mnemonic marks for a long love
poem. He presented the bangles to her when their son and only
child was named. She looks beautiful like a chief’s wife when
adorning the bangles. When the elephants invade the village, the
villagers are worried about the devastation they leave in their
wake. They destroy young crops. The beasts are pursued by
people who know how to use poisoned arrows. With poisoned
arrows, several can be killed. The scouts sit atop of trees and
warn people about the movement of the six elephants; one bull
and five cows. Unfortunately, the old man’s wife is attacked by a
wounded bull elephant which stamps on her and kills her. The
people are accustomed to shooting and killing elephants.
Sometimes, the wounded animals tend to be wild.
The people have a customary way of solving conflicts in the
society. To confuse the spirit of death, the woman plans to go to
her brother’s home weeping and complaining that her husband
had beaten her without any reason. She would refuse to go back
to his home when he comes for her. This would force their
respective clans to confer, with the view of reconciling them. The
husband would be fined and they would drink beer of
reconciliation. This would be done to fool the spirits and life
would continue as before. After she comes from the market, the
woman plans to cook for the man and go to her brother’s. She
plans to hoe the weedy part of her grove before squeezing tears
out of her eyes and going to her brother’s house. Indeed, these
people have certain prescribed ways of conflict resolution that
are hard to change.
Lastly, the woman is accustomed to performing her normal wifely
duties of taking care of her husband and grandson. When he gets
home, she unstraps his leather sandals and leads him behind the
house to the lean-to, to bathe him. She cooks him a meal
consisting a pottage made of mashed green bananas and finely
shredded meat and stock vegetables, herbs and a touch of her
hand. At night, she lies with the old man, her husband, before
stealing back to her grandson’s, ‘her husband’. When she goes to
the market she buys the boy a length of sugar cane and some
snuff for the man. After coming from the market, she cooks and
carefully covers her husband’s food. She has plans to go to her
brother’s but first she plans to hoe in the part of the grove the
man said was very weedy. She is also so accustomed to hoeing
that despite the heavy load of ivory bangles on her hands, the
small hoe goes at a fast practiced speed. Only three weeks ago,
she weeded the same spot with her daughter-in-law Leveri.
Although she has to visit her brother’s home, she can’t help but
perform the habitual tasks at home first. Unfortunately, she is
killed while still hoeing in the grove. Surely, old habits die hard.
In conclusion, people are predisposed to doing things that are
customary or typical and it is difficult to convince someone to do
something they are not used to.
A SILENT SONG ESSAY QUESTION
In some communities, marriage is regarded as a valued
custom. Making reference to Abioseh Nicol’s The Truly
Married Woman, write an essay in support of this
statement.
In most societies, marriage is considered to be important and
beneficial. The society in The Truly Married Woman cherishes
marriage as seen in the story of Ayo and Ajayi. A married woman
is proud and is respected more than a mistress.
Marriage is an important tradition in this community. Ayo is
optimistic that one day she will be married to Ajayi. They have
lived together for twelve years and have three children together
and a fourth child on the way but they are not yet married. Ajayi
has always meant to marry Ayo. He truly meant to marry her as
soon as she had their first child but he had never found time to
do it. Somehow, the right moment never came. Ayo went to live
with Ajayi despite her parents protests. In this community,
marriage is a valued custom. In their first year together, Ayo
would talk to Ajayi in detail about her friends' marriages looking
at him with hopeful eyes for. She hopes to get married like her
friends since marriage is an important right in the community.
The marriage ceremonies cost a fortune and Ajayi would attack
Ayo's friends' wild spending. All in all, the community values
marriage and that’s why Ayo hopes to get married one day.
The fact that the priest insists that unmarried couples should not
live together is an indication that the community values
marriage. He would speak out violently against unmarried
couples living together. Ajayi and Ayo have lived together for
twelve years. Ayo is a good mistress. She has given Ajayi three
children and is now pregnant with another. She is a patient,
beautiful woman with honest eyes. Despite these, their union is
seen as illegitimate in the eyes of the church leadership. During
their regular church visits, the priest would sound off against
their kind of union, two or three times a year. Their friends
would sympathize with them and the men would opine that the
church should stay out of people’s private lives. Ajayi would skip
church for a few weeks but would go back after a while since
apart from his proclivity for singing, he secretly knows the priest
is right. The community cherishes marriage.
Ayo's father had his own special wishes about his daughter’s
marriage. Ayo left their home to go and live with Ajayi against
her parents' wishes. She loved Ajayi. She cooks his meals and
has borne him children. Her father had hoped that she would
marry a high school teacher at least. Ayo had chosen a
government clerk instead. When Ayo’s father learns about Ajayi's
plan to marry Ayo, he makes her move out of Ajayi's house with
everything she owns back to his house. He sends the kids to
Ayo's married sister. When Ajayi's uncle and other kinsmen visit
Ayo’s father to ask her to marry Ajayi, the father hands her over
to them with tears in his eyes. This is proof that marriage is a
valued custom in this community.
When missionaries from WGCA visits Ajayi’s home, Ayo goes out
of her way to give an impression of a truly married woman. She
sends Oju to buy fruit drinks. She also takes down the calendars
with pictures of lightly clothed women and replaces them with
family pictures instead. She removes magazines and puts out
religious books. She also hides wine glasses under the sofa.
Before the visitors arrive, she changes into her Sunday dress and
borrows her wedding ring from her neighbour. The clerk is
surprised by the change in the room, Ayo’s dress and the ring.
The children are also neatly dressed. Olsen, one of the
missionaries, is so delighted that he takes pictures of the “God-
loving and happy African family”. After serving them drinks, Ayo
leaves to let the men discuss serious matters. Ajayi is pleased
greatly and decides to finally marry Ayo. Surely, marriage is a
revered tradition in this community.
Since marriage is a valued custom, Ajayi and Ayo make elaborate
plans for their marriage ceremony. They discuss the wedding
that night. Ajayi wants Ayo to have a traditional white wedding
dress, with a veil and flowers. Ayo decides sadly that a mother of
three should not wear white at her wedding. They agree on grey.
Ayo wants a corset. Ajayi agrees. They also decide to forgo a
holiday after the wedding since they could not afford one. They
also agree on a church wedding. When Ayo’s father hears about
the upcoming nuptials, he makes her leave Ajayi’s house with
everything she owns back to his house. The children are sent to
her married sister. Marriage is really valued in this community.
A married woman is more important in the family than one who
is not married. Although most of Ajayi's family members
welcome the idea of Ajayi and Ayo's marriage, his sister has
reservations. She is worried that if Ajayi marries her, Ayo would
become more important in the family than she was. She even
advises him to seek the insight of a soothsayer to look into the
future. When Ayo gets word of this from the women at the
market, she beats Ajayi's sister at her own game by going to the
soothsayer first to fix things. She really wants to get married.
When Ajayi and his sister visit the soothsayer, he predicts a
happy marriage. Ajayi's sister capitulates and accepts defeat.
Marriage is such an important custom that Omo, Ayo’s friend is
jealous when she gets wind of her friends upcoming wedding.
When Ayo wasn’t married, Omo would not hesitate to lend her
her wedding ring whenever she needed it. When Ayo shows her
her wedding dress, she turns cold. She is filled with both anger
and jealousy. She makes critical, disparaging remarks about
Ayo's see-through dress. She says in case Ayo has an accident
the doctors will see through everything. She pushes the dress
angrily back to Ayo. Ayo laughs it off saying she does not have to
hide anything from her husband when they are married.
Marriage is indeed a valued tradition in this community.
Marriage is a cherished custom that involves elaborate
negotiations between relatives of the bride and those of the
groom. The day before the wedding, Ajayi's uncle and other
relations take a Bible and a pin to Ayo's father. They also take
with them two young girls carrying large gourds containing
things like pins, small coins, fruits and nuts. These customary
gifts are necessary lest Ayo says during future arguments that
Ajayi was so terrible that he had given her neither a pin or a coin
since they got married. The party deliberately walks past Ayo’s
father’s home then returned to it. When Ajayi’s uncle knocks the
door several times, Ayo's relatives ask for his name, his family
and the reason for coming. Later, they argue and discuss for half
an hour. Ayo's father opens the door after clearly demonstrating
that his family is proud, difficult and above ordinary. He asks
why they had gone there. Ajayi's uncle answers that they had
gone to pick a lovely rose. After much haggling, they are finally
allowed in the house. They are served drinks and gifts are
exchanged. For about thirty minutes, they talk about everything
but the wedding. Ajayi's uncle asks for Ayo as a wife for Ajayi.
Ayo's father brings out a short sister, then a fat cousin and asks if
that’s whom they wanted. They decline. Ten different women are
brought out but none is right. Finally, he brings out Ayo with
tears in his eyes. He also kisses her. After a successful
negotiation, everyone shouts and dances around Ayo. This
rigorous negotiation process shows how marriage is revered as a
beneficial rite in this community.
A marriage is a cherished tradition and emotions run high when
Ayo finally gets married. Although she is a woman in her mid
thirties with slightly grey hair, she cries with joy and her unborn
child moves inside her for the first time. This is after her father,
with tears in his eyes, calls her out from the bedroom, kisses her
and shows her over to Ajayi's family. The next morning the
women of her family help her to wash and dress. Her father
gives her away in a quiet church wedding attended by about
sixty people. They then go to Ayo's family home for a meal. An
aunt gives them water and some wise counsel. She tells Ayo not
to be too friendly with other women lest they steal her husband.
She advises them not to sleep before resolving their disputes and
to Ajayi, she asks him not to use violence against his wife - their
daughter. Ayo’s mother tearfully acknowledges Ayo as an
enthusiast of the true work of an African woman - having
children. Ayo and her parents are overcome with emotions when
she gets married. They value marriage.
Since marriage is an important aspect of culture in most
societies, a wife is valued more than a mistress. After the
wedding, Ayo seems different in Ajayi’s eyes. He notices her
proud head, her long neck and her handsome shoulders. The
next morning, after the alarm goes off, he notices that his normal
cup of tea is not there. He sits up and quickly looks around. He
listens for Ayo’s footsteps outside in the kitchen. When he
notices her sleeping next to him, he assumes she is ill after the
excitement of the wedding. He asks Ayo if she was ill. Still lying
down, she turns slowly and looks at him. She gets even more
snuggly under the cotton bed cover. She is terribly calm. She
asks Ajayi if there is anything wrong with his feet. He thinks she
is a little crazy. For twelve years, she has woken up at five
o'clock and prepared tea for her husband who was then her
lover. She informs Ajayi that now she is a truly married woman
and asks him to behave with some respect towards her. He is her
husband and not her lover. She tells him to get up and make
himself the cup of tea. Surely, marriage is indeed a valued
custom in this society.
In conclusion, marriage is surely regarded as a cherished and
important practice.

A SILENT SONG ESSAY QUESTION

People suffering from mental illness need a close, loving
bond from family members. Making reference to December
and September in December by Filemon Liyambo, write an
essay to validate this statement.
It is important to maintain sincere, meaningful relationships with
loved ones who are suffering from mental illness in order to
provide the support that they need. September loves and cares
for his sister who suffers from a mental illness.
First, despite the mean treatment by the KFC waitress,
September is determined to get his sister a meal she enjoys. The
waitress is impudent. She eyes September with a deathly stare
and the furrowed brow and rudely asks him if he was ordering
anything. When he orders chips, she sneers at him. This reminds
him of how his grandfather Ezekiel looked at him over his
glasses whenever he sensed “traces of idiotism” or absent-
mindedness(P84). September endures the nonchalance for the
sake of his sick sister. Like most Namibian towns where
everyone knew each other, there was an indifference to those
who did not reside there. Strangers had to wait until Jesus
returned for decent customer service. The rude waitress hands
September his chips and scoffs at the idiocy. She wonders who
comes to KFC to order chips. September samples the chips and
they are soft just like his sister preferred them. He even asks for
an extra sachet of tomato sauce(P85). When he visits December
in hospital and gives her the chips, she acknowledges that they
are nice. September adds that they are soft, just how she liked
them. A further display of affection is evident when he rubs the
tomato sauce off her lips gently(P89). It is important to maintain
such a loving bond with our family members who suffer from
mental illness.
Despite the cold reception at the hospital and his lateness,
September is adamant that he must see his sick sister. When he
greets the nurse sorting paperwork at her desk, she shouts
rudely: “What do you want?” To which he replies that he was
there to visit his sister. Her curved eyebrows point him to a chart
on the wall. He is thirty minutes late according to the wall chart
for visiting hours and the clock. Determined to see his sister, he
tries sincerity and charm by flashing a smile. His courteousness
does not spare him the indifference. Rolling her eyes, the nurse
insists” “Kamatyona, you’re late.” The nurse call security on him.
He is not moved by the two giants and the smaller man. He sits
on the grey waiting benches, hoping to see his sister. Luckily, the
head of security is Tshuuveni, September’s childhood friend. He
was one of the several boys who pursued December when she
was young. He was the reason why September acquired a puppy
named Kali, which hound Tshuuveni whenever he came near the
homestead. The rude nurse learns that it was December
Shikongo, his sister, that September wanted to see so
badly(P87). Due to his resolution, she finally capitulates and
allows September to see his sister for twenty minutes.
September’s persistence is born out of the loving bond between
him and December.
September maintains a loving bond with his sister despite her
challenge of mental illness. December affectionately refers to
September as Ka Brother, little brother. This is her favorite
greeting. December and September have always shared a loving
relationship since they were children. When they were too small
to join their siblings working in the mahangu (pearl millet) field,
December tended to her mother’s vegetable garden, together
with September. September, four at the time, liked hiding. When
the sister was digging with a hoe, he sprang up when she was in
mid swing. The impact made a small but deep gush on the head.
December shows sincere affection for her brother when she rips
off her T-shirt to stem the bleeding. She also nurses him back to
health when he returns from the hospital(P85). At the hospital,
September notices that December’s hair was scattered like
patchy Kaokoveld Dress. Her eyes shine. She is gaunt. Her lips
are swollen. She had probably walked into a wall again. She
looks thin – like that time her grandfather had taken her to a
healer and she returned looking skeletal, as if the healer had
tried starving the voices out of her head. September sympathizes
with his sister, and can only manage a weak: “How are you?”.
This notwithstanding, they engage in a warm conversation. They
talk about school. They both laugh and share a smile(P88). When
it is time to go, December has to be pried out of her brother’s
arms. The nurse comforts her saying that tomorrow is also
another day. It is important to maintain such a loving
relationship with relatives suffering from mental illness.
When September visits, he often brings his sister food and
thoughtful gifts. He had visited the hospital a few times before so
he did not need directions to the psychiatric ward. He even knew
a shortcut: a narrow path between pediatrics and the pharmacy.
He was so familiar with the hospital that he notices that it had
been renovated twice since the last time he had been there. The
turquoise and green paint was still fresh. He also notices that
the bars on the windows of the ward had been reinforced(P86).
The ward had a small garden outside, made-up of three beds of
irises. That is where he used to sit with his sister when she was
first admitted. He would bring her food – beef or mutton – and
ask her how she was. She always responded: “Fine”. She would
plead with him: “Onda vulwa mo mu!” She wanted to go home
because she was tired either of her mind or the hospital. He
cared for her and could not promise something he could not
fulfill(P86). September brings his sister some thoughtful gifts. He
gives her a jersey – a grey hoodie. She thanks him saying the
place is always cold(P89). He also gives her a pen and a book full
of puzzles. Then a T-shirt: simple, navy blue, with the Union Jack
on it. A replica of the one December ripped to stem September’s
bleeding. She shows the indifferent nurse the gifts her brother
had brought her. Lastly, he hands her chips: soft, just how she
liked them. September displays loving affection for his sister
when he visits her regularly and brings her food and gifts(P89).
Lastly, September has to be there for his sister December since
he is the only relative in a position to do this. He tries to inquire
from his grandfather why December is forbidden from eating
chicken but his grandfather never clearly explains. He simply
says: “That’s how things are.” He was hiding something(P85).
September did not understand how December unraveled the way
a thread comes loose: in parts then all at once. She went from
having problems with her classmates, catfights and name-calling,
to walking half-naked through the streets talking to herself. He
believes people did not go crazy overnight, there had to be a
plausible explanation. September is angered by his grandfather
Ezekiel’s insistence that December was bewitched. Ezekiel’s
brother Josef was also mentally ill. The illness also afflicted
September’s father, Silas Shikongo, who passed away.
December's descent from being a stellar student to a psychiatric
patient was too abrupt and inexplicable. The grandfather felt
there were other forces behind it(P86). Besides their
grandfather’s superstitious beliefs, their mother's heart was
broken and her daughter’s sickness had aged her faster than her
husband’s untimely demise. September is also hurt that
December was left on pause, while life moved on. He cannot also
inform December that their grandfather had passed on. He keeps
this information to protect her feelings. September has no choice
but to maintain a loving bond with his sister who has no one else
to turn to.
In conclusion, it is important to maintain a loving relationship
with family members suffering from mental illness.

A SILENT SONG ESSAY QUESTION

War adversely affects families and communities. Making
reference to Boyi by Gloria Mwaniga, write an essay to
support this statement.
When conflict thrives, it destroys family ties and communal
bonds. Family members are affected when they are separated
from one another, some are traumatized and others killed as a
result of the crisis. In Gloria Mwaniga's Boyi, the militia meant
to protect community land from strangers turns out to be the
enemy within, wreaking untold havoc on the same community
they had vowed to protect.
First, Mama is adversely affected when her son is separated
from the rest of the family. Madness enters Mama's eyes when
Baba gives Boyi away to the militia leader as collateral until he
finds 40,000 land protection tax. As if fire ants had invaded her
body, Mama stands up abruptly. She tears off her kitenge
headscarf and start shouting. Mama says that Baba must be sick
in the head to think Boyi would return. He must be deaf if he has
not heard tales of neighbours whose sons had been recruited by
the militia. A child was not a mat that could be folded and
returned to the owner or a dress that one can borrow from a
neighbour. Baba is enraged but he just sits there. In a metallic
whisper, he asks Mama what she wanted him to do. He justifies
his action by saying he did it to protect his family from the
militia’s cruel actions of chopping off heads of whole families,
carrying off fresh heads like trophies and hanging them on trees
or eating them like Idi Amin. They also tortured victims by
chopping off their ears and feeding them worm-filled earth.
Mama does not buy this explanation. Hives break out on her
skin. Her eyes are deathly white like the eyes of one who did not
know her own mind. The narrator feels queasy as if someone had
pulled her insides out through her nostrils. War indeed has a
devastating effect on loved ones. (P91-92)
Apart from that, Boyi's family is gripped with fear, desperation
and anxiety. When reproached by Mama, Baba holds his rage
firmly with his hands. He pulls in his lips to a narrow thread, like
a line drawn on his dark face by a ruler. His voice sinks to a
metallic whisper and he asks Mama what she wanted him to do.
He tells her that the militia was chopping off heads of whole
families if one did not give them money. They carry off fresh
heads like trophies and hang them on trees or eat them like Idi
Amin. They torture their victims by slowly chopping off their ears
and feeding them worm-filled earth. Boyi's sister feels queasy as
if someone had pulled her insides out through her nostrils. The
family knew that the militia would come to their house.
Chesober, Baba's friend who taught at Chepkukur Primary
School, had them that the militia had a long list of people who
aided the government exercise to subdivide their land and give
some of it to the strangers. Baba had lent a panga and ‘makonge’
ropes to the government surveyors. When news breaks out that
they had begun attacking government representatives, Mama
desperately starts blocking the sitting room door with sacks of
maize and beans. Out of fear or denial, the narrator and Boyi
laughed at the thought of the militia attacking them, their own
kin. That is the night Matwa Kei knocks at their door and
demands to be given 10,000 land protection tax and 30,000
betrayal tax, failure to which they would be shown “smoke
without fire”. That is when he pushes Boyi forward and tells
Matwa Kei to hold onto him. Surely, war causes fear within
families or communities. (P92)
The war also causes devastation that pushes Mama to the brink
of insanity and disconnection from reality. Boyi’s sister finds her
mother seated alone on a kitimoto in the kitchen. She neither
looks up nor responds to greetings. She screams at the girl to
leave some tea for her brother who will return from the caves
hungry. The screaming goes on for weeks. “Stupid girl, you want
to finish tea and your brother will come from the caves hungry,”
she bawls. She would sit stunned gazing at the whitewashed
wall, declaring in a quiet voice that she was seeing a vision of a
dazzling white dove. God of Israel was showing her that her son
was returning home after escaping from the snare of the militia.
After her monologues, she would sit sadly and silently. When her
madness takes a walk, they would brew tea together with a girl
and she would nostalgically reminisce stories about Boyi; about
how he saved her marriage, his shiny ebony skin and eloquence
in English which was too good for a fifteen- year-old like him.
This is a clear testament of a mother’s agony, anguish and
disconnection from reality. War really causes devastation to
families. (P92-93)
The war drives Baba, a Christian, to partake in a strange cultural
practice to escort Boyi’s spirit away. Together with his cousin
Kimutai, he digs a shallow grave and buries a banana stem
wrapped in a green cotton sheet. He asks death to take that body
and never bother his family again. They do this after Saulo
brings news that a troop of two hundred Armed Forces men had
been dispatched in green lorries to carry out an undertaking
dubbed ‘Operation Okoa Maisha’. They were coming to flush out
the militia. The war had gone on for too long and it is them
themselves who had forced the mighty arm of the government.
Boyi’s sister is taken aback that her pious father had turned his
back on religion. Her mother refuses to play a part in the mock
burial. She only follows Baba's movements with her eyes.
Mama’s voice bears manic vibrancy when she declares that she
would not participate in escorting her son’s spirit away. She has
lost touch with reality and lives in denial. This is as a result of
the pointless conflict.(P93-94)
In her anguish, Mama is too despondent to eat. She sits
muttering to herself without touching her food. The ugali would
remain untouched until a crusty brown film formed and the food
had to be thrown away to the chicken coop. Boyi's sister would
catch the twist of her mouth when she would sit and talk to
herself for hours on end lamenting about her suffering. She asks
God to tie a rope around her stomach - to help her bear the
anguish of losing her son to the ruthless militia. She asks Boyi’s
sister if she remembers his perfect teeth. After weeks of
watching Mama, Boyi's sister gets tired and starts going out with
the rest of the children to the chief’s camp in Cheptap-burbur
where the army had pitched their green tents. War really causes
suffering of family members. (P94)
Boyi's sister helplessly wishes that rituals would protect her
brother. After getting tired of watching Mama, she goes with the
rest of the children to the chiefs camp in Cheptap-burbur where
the army had pitched their tents. They spend hours peeping
through the Cypress fence eavesdropping the soldiers’
conversations and making up fabulous tales from them. The very
black officer called Sah-gent defeated Idi Amin in Uganda. He
told the others that Matwa Kei had more magic than Idi Amin.
The man is a real djinni. Boyi’s sister pictures Matwa-kei's
favourite Chicago Bulls red cap absorbing Sah-gent’s bullets.
These stories make her think of the tales Boyi was telling her
about the militia. How they drank magic potions from Orkoiyot
so that their bodies, like the Luo legend Lwanda Magere, would
become stone and enemies’ spears would slide off them. Their
bodies were embalmed in bloody cow dung to make them
invisible for successful raiding missions. When they marched
through dry lands, clouds of red dust would rise up to the
heavens like a swarm of locusts because the earth god Yeyiin
went with them. She held on to these stories tightly. Willing them
to be true. Willing Boyi to be more powerful than the
soldiers. (P94-95)
Boyi's sister recounts horrific tales of the militia’s cruelty. That
December the farmers do not clear their shambas for the second
planting of maize. The militia steals young crops from the fields
and goats from the pens. Instead of working, men and women sit
under mtaragwa trees and exchange dreadful tales of the
horrendous cruelty of the militia. The militia cuts up people and
throw their bloodied bodies in rivers, pit latrines and wells. They
recruit boys as young as ten who are forced to kill their own
relatives. Instead of protecting the land from being given to lazy
strangers, the militia goes on an indiscriminate killing spree, and
their kin are victims of the aggression instead of beneficiaries.
Koros, their neighbour, informs Baba that the recruited members
of the militia had to first go home and kill a close relative so that
their hearts were strong to kill others. Baba replies solemnly:
“Puoot, war is a maggot that nibbles and nibbles at the heart of
men.” Boyi’s sister has a terrible dream that her brother, whose
eyes were the colour of Coca-Cola, attacks her and chops her
into “small-small” pieces so that his heart would become strong
to kill. The thought is traumatizing. She wakes up feeling like an
anchorless red balloon was floating in her stomach. (P95)
The chilling tales of war causes fear and trauma. There is a mass
exodus to Bungoma and Uganda as families try to escape. The
family of the narrator’s friend, Chemtai, moves away to Chwele.
The villages of Kopsiro, Saromet, Chepyuk and Chelebei are
engulfed in a thick yellow fog of fear. They did not understand
the militia’s motive anymore. The thugs take away girls to cook
for them. They decapitate people and throw their heads in
Cheptap-burbur river which was scarlet with fresh human blood
from the floating human heads. They also rape their own
relatives. The abused women and girls end up giving birth to
transparent “plastic bag” babies. The narrator imagines the
horror of seeing Boyi’s “plastic bag” baby playing Tinker-tailor-
soldier-sailor with boats that fell from the flame tree. Since
school is disrupted by the war, such thoughts haunt the young
girl as she spends her idle days under a flame tree at home.
Boyi’s family members are devastated when they hear the news
of how Boyi goes from a pious boy to a marked man. Boyi's sister
wonders if it is Mama's mourning that courted misfortune or
Baba's total refusal to talk about Boyi that made their ancestors
forget to protect him. It is raining and the narrator is standing at
the kitchen window staring at the silver droplets when she sees
Chesaina, an old friend of Baba, who works as a watchman in a
grain depot in far away Chwele market. She is surprised to see
him visit. Chesaina tells Baba and Mama that he got word from a
trader, who got it from the mouth of a big government man, that
boy was now a marked man. Because of the war, innocent
children turn into savages. Apart from the boys who were forced
to murder or rape their own kinsmen, Boyi has also gone from a
God-fearing young man to a wanted criminal. Chesaina says:
“This war has taken with it the mind of your son.” Boyi's sister
hides behind the kitchen door watching Mama. Mama says in her
old voice that she must not be told such rubbish about her son.
She tells Chesaina that if he wanted Omo to wash his dirty
mouth he should just say so. Her eyes are flooded with tears. She
puts both hands on her head. She asks: “Matwa kei what did I
ever do to you? Tell me Matwa kei, tell me now so that I repent.”
Her voice chokes. The narrator wanted to tell Chesaina to shut
up but her tongue is clammy and it sticks to the roof of her
mouth. Baba tries to calm Mama down. He tells her that Boyi
was a good son who used to recite his responsorial psalm
earnestly. The distressing news crashes Boyi’s parents and
reduces both of them to tears. They cannot wrap their heads
around the fact that their good son is now Matwa Kei's right
hand man and an enemy of the state. Mama keeps crying so
Chesaina walks out in the rain. That day Boyi's sister sees Baba's
tears for the first time: Two silver streams rolling down polished
porcelain. War really devastates families. (P96)
War causes sad memories as family members think about the
broken bonds. Boyi's sister sleeps on Boyi’s bed for the first time.
His blue bed sheets, with prints of chicks coming out of yellow
egg shells, enfold her with deathly coolness. They smell much of
him; of his boyish laughter which shone like toffees wrapped in
silver foil; of brown butterscotch sweets which appeared as
though by magic from his sticky pockets. She fondly remembers
how he used to hoard items Baba declared illegal for example
jawbreakers and sticks of Big G. She presses her sore stone-
breasts on the sheets willing the pain her brother felt in the cold
caves on herself. She imagines him staring with shiny eyes as
she tells him about the soldiers, especially Sah-gent, whose
adventures she knew Boyi would love the most. She also
imagines them playing Ninja soldier as they had done as
children. Boyi is wearing his checkered school shirt while she is
in a T-shirt. She remembers when their mother caught them
playing that game once, and scolded them for courting
misfortune and calling death by its name. War affects families
and communities adversely. (P96)
Lastly, Boyi’s family is devastated by the news of his killing.
Boyi's sister knows it was a bad omen the night thunderstruck
and a bolt of lightning shattered the huge Nandi flame tree at
the front of their house. Mama jubilantly declares that the evil
which was to come to their house had been struck down and
swallowed by the Nandi flame. She then sits next to Boyi’s sister
on the animal print sofa and listens to the tatatata as the
splinters of tree fall on the mabati roof and shake the whole
house. Early the next morning, Simoni dashes into their
compound and hands her a copy of the Nation newspaper whose
headline screams coldly, “Ragtag Militia Leaders Killed by Army
Forces.” Something throbs with both fists at her chest as she
runs like a mad woman and bangs on her parents bedroom
door. She does not stir when Baba crumples like an old coat due
to shock after reading the article. She does not frown when
Mama’s ribbon laughter pierces the early morning. She does not
weep when neighbours start streaming into their house pouring
consolations for war has robbed them of their kin in the prime of
his youth. Mama does not fall on the ground as Simoni describes
how Boyi had been captured in the sacred cave. She does not
weep when he describes how Boyi was murdered brutally by
Sah-gent who threw him out of an aircraft which was mid-air,
without a parachute. There was no body to bury or for Mama to
slap for that matter. She looks at Baba with unclouded innocent
eyes of lunacy. With death in her voice, she tells him that the
government Sah-gent had thrown Boyi down “without a
parachute, imagine”. Her voice is neither bitter nor sad. It is flat.
It cracks a little like dry firewood when fire eats it. Mama does
not fling words at Baba when he takes his Sony transistor radio
and the Nation newspaper and throws them in the almost full pit
latrine outside. She is truly devastated. She speaks Boyi’s name
softly as though the syllables were made of tin. She sits on Boyi’s
bed together with her daughter who weeps uncontrollably, her
tears soaking her blue silk blouse and purple boob top. Boyi’s
sister does not tell her mother that she had felt life leaving Boyi's
body. War indeed affects families adversely. (P97)
In summary, it is evident that conflict or crisis has no positive
outcome. They instead destroy families and communities.

A SILENT SONG ESSAY QUESTION

People living on the streets apply wisdom in order to
survive the difficult conditions. Write an essay to qualify
this statement citing illustrations from Rem'y
Ngamije’s The Neighbourhood Watch.
Living conditions on the streets are difficult. To survive, one
needs not only determination and effort but also experience,
knowledge and good judgment. Members of The
Neighbourhood Watch apply wisdom to survive the
arduous conditions on the streets.
First, the crew is judicious enough to secure territory-a safe
haven for sleeping or just to lay low when they weren’t out on a
foraging mission. The bridge’s underside is precious real estate
to the Neighbourhood Watch. It is an important shelter when it
rains and during cold winter nights. The letters NW sprayed on
the columns have the same effect as musty pee at the edge of a
leopard’s territory. Other crews know better than to encroach it
lest they face bloody retaliation. It is also a safe place to hide
their stash so that they don’t have to lug their scant possessions
everywhere they go. More luggage would slow them down as
they rummage their neighbourhoods for food and other
essentials. Elias calls their territory headquarters. In the
morning, he wakes up the rest of the crew and they share a can
of water for washing their faces. To a street family a safe
territory is indispensable.
Secondly, they are wise enough to rise early to go searching for
food. Elias, Lazarus and Omagano set out before the light of day
is full born. They leave early so that they can score the real
prizes-that is the overflowing bins behind restaurants. In the
early morning one can get edible semi-fresh morsels. In the late
morning, the food starts rotting. The neighborhood watch knows:
“the early bird does not catch the worms”. In order to get there
in good time Elias, Lazarus and Omagano lengthen they are
strides. They know that time is of the essence on the streets.
The crew knows that they have to maintain a good bond with
other people in order to survive. Elias has a good rapport with
most of the kitchen staff in the city. They refer to him by the
monikers ‘Soldier’ or ‘Captain’. Sometimes, they leave out almost
decaying produce for him and his group. Because of the good
relationship, Elias would sometimes be lucky to get potatoes
with broken skins, rotting mangoes, and wrinkled carrots. The
staff would be generous enough to give them smushed leftovers
from the previous night for instance half eaten burgers, chips
drowning in sauce or salads. Most of the kitchen staff are poor
and many a time they would need to take the leftovers to their
own families. It is amazing that Elias manages to get some food
from them.
The Neighbourhood Watch crew is so astute that they have
organized themselves into specialised units. Elias, Lazarus and
Omagano are always on full duty whereas Silas and Martin are
tasked with searching for other essentials. Before, Elias was in
on his own so when he met Lazarus he suggested that they form
an alliance because it was taxing to rummage for food and other
paraphernalia necessary for survival in the streets. At first,
Lazarus was resistant. Cold winter nights forced him to comply.
It worked for them since two people could cover more ground.
One searches for food and the other for other essentials and thus
they could do more in a day. Now, they know that children and
women are valuable recruits. Some obstinate guards demand for
a 10 or 20 dollar bribe to let them scavenge through fenced off
bins. Elias usually pays them but when he has no money
Omagano goes behind the dumpster with a guard and does what
needs to be done. The valuables crew on the other hand provide
discarded blankets, mattresses, clothing, reusable shoes, trolleys
etc. Trolleys are useful but they can also be traded for better
necessities. The two teams work separately and meet in the late
afternoon. They share the food that is bread, mashed potatoes,
grapes and water. The valuables crew brings newspapers, plastic
piping and poorboy caps.
The Neighbourhood Watch also understands the city and its
neighbourhoods. Elias asks the crew to sleep since they plan to
go foraging in Ausblick tonight. It is too hot to be on the streets
now. Night is better and more lucrative for the Neighbourhood
Watch. The crew knows that if they hit the bins early, they may
score some good things in Ausblick for instance broken toasters,
blenders, water bottles, teflon pots or pans, flat screen TV
cardboard boxes and even some food. People in Ausblick still
know how to throw away things. Elias, Lazarus and Silas will
scout ahead rummaging for valuables while Martin and
Omagano push the trolley. They know that soon Ausblick will be
overcrowded like Olympia and Suiderhof. Pionierspark used to
be worthwhile but not anymore. Now, the Neighbourhood Watch
are deterred by peeking heads, barking dogs and patrolling
vehicles with angry shouting men. They know that the earlier
they get to Ausblick the better.
The Neighborhood Watch understands that in order to survive on
the streets one must focus on the present, not the past or the
future. Everyone brings a past to the streets. Lazarus’s tattoos
are evidence of his prison stint. Elias is not scared of him since
he faced gunfire against the South African Defence Forces.
Because of hunger or need for food on the streets, they have no
time to think about the past. Elias shares some street smartness
with Lazarus. He says the streets has no future, there is only
today. “Today you need food. Today you need shelter. Today you
need to take care of today”. On Fridays and Saturdays, the crew
avoids the streets and retreats safely to Headquarters. They do
this to avoid clashing with patrolling police. Silas wants to leave
but is forbidden from taking Martin with him. Elias and Lazarus
mock the fools who sit on the roadside in Klein Windhoek and
Eros waiting to paint a room, fix a window, install a sink or lay
some tiles because they are too proud to forage for food. They
end up going home hungry. Martin thinks that sometimes those
“fools” can get a job and maybe things will be better. Elias insists
that “maybe is tomorrow” and there is only today. On the street
one needs to focus on the present to survive. “Every day is
today.”
Elias and Lazarus share what they have learned on the streets
with the rest of the crew including how they decided to change
tack. The crew learned that you cannot survive by being around
people trying to survive. When foraging in the poor
neighbourhoods, you only get what they don’t need to survive.
The Neighbourhood Watch realise that poor people only throw
away garbage which is disgusting and babies which are useless.
In the poor neighborhoods you had to be ready to find shit: old
food, used condoms, women’s things with blood, and broken
things. When looking for newspapers to light a fire once, Elias
and Lazarus was shocked when they found a dead baby. They
knew it was time to upgrade. They only went there because they
needed to survive. To survive you go everywhere and do
everything. You cannot be picky. But now they know that they
should upgrade and go to places where people have enough to
throw away. Neighbourhoods with white people and black people
trying to be white people have such people. They finally get
smart and decide to move away from poor people who have
nothing to throw away by themselves.
Lastly the Neighbourhood Watch is wise enough to know that
there are some neighbourhoods you have to avoid. They avoid
Khomsadal which is overcrowded and people drink too much
there. They lost their friend Amos there due to his pride end
alcohol. He used to curse people, use ugly swear words and
always refused to apologize. He was then stabbed to death. The
Neighbourhood Watch knows that on the streets dead bodies are
bad. Police would roughly demand explanations from witnesses.
They used baton bashes, frustrating paperwork and throwing
innocent people in holding cells. When Amos died, everyone
including Elias and Lazarus knew they had to run away. They
were also wise enough to stick to the initial story that they had
nothing to do with the murder when the police caught up with
them. They were beaten, bruised, bleeding, with swollen eyes
broken ribs and injured limbs but that was better than losing life.
They are smart enough to completely avoid Khomsadal.
In conclusion, difficult experiences make people wise enough to
cope and survive. Acuity is essential for survival.

A SILENT SONG ESSAY QUESTION

Failure to listen to wise advice can result in conflict. Write
an essay to support this assertion based on Stanley
Gazemba’sTalking Money.

No one is perfect. We all have some flaws. If unchecked, our

individual shortcomings such failure to listen and heed good
advice can result in misunderstanding. Mukidanyi’s irritability
and obstinacy result in his disagreements with his brothers, his
wife and Mr. Galo.

Mukidanyi disagrees with his brothers over the sale of his land.
When his elder brothers Ngoseywe and Agoya try to advise him
against selling his land, they fall out bitterly and their wrangles
almost come to blows. Mukidanyi throws both of them out of his
compound, his eyes flaming red. Shouting at them, he declares
that he does not need their help. He does not need anyone’s
help. He will run his household however he deems fit. Ngoseywe
tells him that he will need them one day. Today, his head has
swollen like that of an expectant toad in the field. He insults
them and adds that he will do what he pleases with his land. In
that terrible fit of rage, the neighbours can only watch helplessly
from a distance as he clicks loudly, spits angrily on the ground
and dashes a water pot against the wall. Mukidanyi's fury leads
to a bitter disagreement between him and his elder brothers.

Mukidanyi also falls out with his wife Ronika over the sale of his
land. Ronika joins Mukidanyi who is warming himself in the main
room. She persuades him to listen to what his brothers are
telling him. He also advises him to consider leasing the land
instead of selling it off. In her plea, she posits that Ngoseywe and
Agoya have a point. She tells Mukidanyi that no one could stop
him from selling his land, but he should listen to other people’s
advice. Mukidanyi ignores his wife's words of wisdom and
resorts to violence instead. He grabs his hippo-hide whip and
gives Ronika a thorough lashing leaving her screaming and
whimpering till the small hours. Mukidanyi’s obstinacy ends in a
conflict between him and his wife Ronika.

Thirdly, Mukidanyi ignores Ronika’s entreaty when she asks

him to be wary of the Galos. She asks him if he knows the Galos.
She reminds him that hardly anyone in the village does business
with the Galos. Their money is not good, she says. No one knows
where they get it from. Ronika beseeches Mukidanyi not to turn
a deaf ear to what everyone tells him. These pleas leads to a
conflict because Mukidanyi is apt to ignore wise counsel. He
assaults his wife Ronika using a hippo-hide whip and she
screams in pain and her whimpering only dies that morning.
Mukidanyi’s stubborn nature leads to bitter disagreement
between him and his wife Ronika.

Mukidanyi refuses to listen to Ronika and easily trusts Galo.

When Mukidanyi springs his price out of the blue.
Mukidanyi expected a haggle. When receiving the money,
500,000 shillings in cash, Mukidanyi does not count it. He easily
trusts Mr. Galo. He says that he trusts him since he does not
expect a friend to lie to a clansman. Galo offers to take
Mukidanyi to Kakamega for transfer of the title deed at the
surveyor's office. Mukidanyi ignores Ronika’s warning and
accepts Galo's money without batting an eyelid. This causes
conflict between them when the money starts talking later that
night. Ronika furiously throws Mukidanyi out of the house and
tells him to go and return the “devil” money. She finds the
courage to mock and ridicule Mukidanyi , a big man who is hard
of hearing. The row is as a result of Mukidanyi stubbornly
disregarding wise advice.

There is a disagreement between Mukidanyi and his wife the

night he sells his land to Mr. Galo despite her objection. That
night he wakes up twice and lights the lamp to ascertain that the
briefcase was still there, chained to the bedpost of their termite-
infested wooden bed. He calls Ronika and asks her what time it
was, since he is too anxious to sleep. His wife, angry from the
lashing she received earlier that day, nonchalantly asks him how
he expects her to know the time at that hour. Mukidanyi is eager
for the daybreak so that he can go and take the money to the
bank in Mbale. Ronika is bemused at being woken up in the
middle of the night, the hour for witches unless Mukidanyi is a
witch himself. She refuses to engage in Mukidanyi’s midnight
chitchat and returns to her soft snoring. Mukidanyi is a
disturbed man. He cannot sleep. He has to squeeze his eyes shut
and try to force himself to sleep. He is forced to awaken with a
start when he hears the voices. Again, he wakes up an audibly
irritated Ronika. Playfully like a couple of school going children,
the money under the bed was talking. The money Ronika had
warned him about is the cause of their conflict and Mukidanyi's
regret.

Mukidanyi is mocked by his wife because of Galo's money. She

had warned him about. When the money starts talking
Mukidanyi freezes stiff, his whole body covered in sweat. His
wife is also frightened, her bony hand clasped on his wrist, her
bosom heaving. The silence in their hut is morbid. Ronika
commands Mukidanyi to light the lamp. She speaks in a shrill
voice and scolding tone when she says that the house had been
invaded by the ‘viganda’ spirits. Her breath whistles in the tense
darkness. Mukidanyi’s hands shake as he gropes in the darkness
for a matchbox. Ronika’s face is slick with sweats when she tells
Mukidanyi that he will now listen to people. They fight because
of the strange money. Had Mukidanyi listened to her advice this
could have been avoided.

The fallout escalates when Mukidanyi is thrown out of his house

because of the evil money. With a note of hysteria in her voice,
Ronika commands Mukidanyi to take his money. She reminds
him that she had warned him about Galo's money. His elder
brothers Ngoseywe and Agoya did too. But Mukidanyi is hard of
hearing. Ronika's lined face is an indication that she dies to
wrest him to the floor. She refers to him contemptuously as a big
man who is hard of hearing. Mukidanyi is scared of touching the
briefcase, about the voices or the viganda spirits. Her eyes
glowing angrily, Ronika laughs at Mukidanyi hysterically when
the money talks again. She tells him that today, after dipping his
hand in the wound to ascertain, he will learn about the people of
the world. Today, he will know. She forces him to unlock the
padlock after physically dragging him to do it. Then, she throws
the briefcase out and sends her hapless husband after it. The
children are bewildered for they had never seen their mother
that angry or their father that frightened.

Lastly, Mukidanyi changes his mind about selling the land and
finally returns the money to Mr. Galo. He had been warned by
Ronika but due to his stubbornness he did not heed. The journey
is long and harrowing. The couple hundred yards to Mr. Galo's
home seems like a mile. The briefcase gets heavier and heavier
with each step. He is haunted by unseen night creatures
swimming all around him, taunting him with their octopus arms.
Sometimes he trips, slick blood-sucking tendrils would then grip
his arm. He fights the demons when he feels the hold tighten and
the razor edge biting into his flesh, but without drawing blood.
The moment is scary. He is, however, determined to return the
case despite the hurdles. When he finally gets to Mr. Galo's
house and meets him, he says he has changed his mind about
selling the land. He returns the money then dashes away. He hits
himself on the low-hanging branches and outcropping roots as
he returns from Mr. Galo's house. Surely, obstinacy results in
regret and conflict.

In conclusion, one’s weakness can end up causing

disagreements.

A SILENT SONG ESSAY QUESTION

One can cope with the misery of unfair treatment by
forgiving his oppressors. Write a composition to validate
this statement basing your illustrations on Leo
Tolstoy’sGod Sees the Truth, but Waits.
You should not do harm to a person who has done harm to you,
even if you think that person deserves it. We can deal with the
pain of injustice by forgiving those who wrong us, instead of
seeking vengeance. Aksionov finds peace and solace during his
misery when he chooses to forgive those who wronged him.
Aksionov is treated unfairly by the police when they arrest him
for a crime he did not commit. When the police arrest Aksionov
for allegedly killing a merchant, he crosses himself and weeps
painfully. The police officer orders the soldiers to bind him and
put him in the cart. They tie his feet together and fling him into
the cart. His money and goods are taken away from him. He is
then locked up in the nearest town. The police investigate about
his past and find out that Aksionov is a good man but he was
predisposed to drinking and wasting time during his younger
days. The truth is Aksionov met the merchant and they put up
together that night in the same inn. Aksionov paid his bill and
left before dawn. When he had travelled for about 25 miles and
was resting, he is accosted by an official and two soldiers who
crisscross him as if he were a thief or a robber. Oblivious of the
fate that awaited him, he even offers the officer a cup of tea.
When they search his bag, they find a blood-stained knife and
accuse him of killing the merchant. Aksionov is frightened. The
policeman says his face and manner betrays his guilt. They
demand to know how he killed him and how much money he
stole. When the trial comes, he is wrongly charged with
murdering the merchant and stealing his money. He gives up all
hope and only prays to God. He accepts his fate and expects
mercy only from God. He does not blame the police for his
predicament.
Aksionov faces further injustice when he is wrongly charged with
murdering the merchant from Ryazan and robbing him of 20,000
rubles. He is locked up with thieves and criminals. This is after a
blood-stained knife is found in his possession. At the time of his
arrest, Aksionov only had eight thousand rubles of his own. He
swears that the knife is not his. Although Aksionov is innocent,
he is wrongly convicted and charged for murder. He tries to
appeal but his petition to Czar is declined. His wife reminds him
about her dream about his hair turning grey and beseeches him
to tell her the truth if he indeed killed the merchant. Aksionov
begins to weep hiding his face in his hands. He is dejected by the
thought of his wife suspecting him too. Only God can know the
truth. Instead of begrudging and fighting the justice system, he
let's go and decides to appeal for mercy from God alone.
Aksionov is treated unfairly when he is torn away from his family
at a prime age, and locked up for a crime he did not commit. His
wife is in despair when Aksionov is charged with murder and she
does not know what to believe. Her children are small and one is
still breastfeeding. She takes them all with her when she visits
her husband in jail. She is refused from seeing him at first but
after ceaseless entreaties she obtains permission from the
official and gets the chance to see him. She collapses and does
not come to her senses for a long time when she sees her
husband in prison-dress and in chains, shut up with thieves and
criminals. She had tried to dissuade him from going to the
Nizhny Fair. She had had a bad dream about him. In her dream,
he returned from the town when his hair was quite grey.
Aksionov laughs it off and promises to bring her some presents
from the fair. That was the last time she saw him as a free man.
Aksionov tells her that they must petition the Czar and not let an
innocent man perish. His wife informs him that the petition she
had sent had been declined. While serving his lengthy jail time,
no news reaches him about his family. He remains in the dark
concerning the well-being of his wife and children. When a fresh
gang of convicts comes to the prison, Aksionov asks one of them
about his family: the merchants of Aksionov of Vladimir. He tells
him that they are rich though their father is in Siberia; a sinner
like themselves. In his gloom, he nostalgically remembers the
image of his wife when he parted from her to go to the fair. Her
face and her eyes rise before him. He hears her speak in love.
Then he sees the image of his children quite little as they were at
the time. One with a little cloak on, another at his mother’s
breast. Nonetheless, he forgives Makar Semyonich, the man
responsible for his anguish. His heart grows light and the
longing for home leaves him.
Aksionov suffers more injustice when he is condemned to be
flogged and sent to the mines. He is flogged with a knot and
when the wounds made by the knot are healed he is driven to
Siberia with other convicts. Aksionov lives in Siberia as a convict
for 26 years. His hair turns white as snow and his beard grows
long, thin and grey. All his mirth goes, he stoops, he walks slowly,
speaks little and never laughs, but he often prays. He becomes a
pale shadow of his former self: a handsome, fair-haired, curly
headed fellow, who was full of fun and loved singing. He learns
to make boots and earns a little money with which he uses to buy
‘The Lives of the Saints'. He reads the book in prison and on
Sundays in the prison-church, and sings in the choir. Despite his
predicament, Aksionov is likeable since he is meek. The prison
authorities like him and his fellow prisoners respect him. They
call him ‘Grandfather’ and ‘The Saint’. He acts as an arbitrator
and puts things rights whenever there are quarrels among
prisoners, and he also acts as the prisoners’ spokesman. His
contentment helps him to cope with his agony. Instead of holding
a bitter grudge, he remains patient, restrained and affable.
It is unfair that Aksionov suffers for the sins of Makar
Semyonich, who gets arrested for less serious crime of stealing a
horse. When Aksionov asks Semyonich if he had had about the
affair of the murder of the merchant, Semyonich’s response
makes him feel sure that he had killed the merchant. That night
he could not get any sleep. He felt so unhappy. He remembers
the image of his wife when he parted from her to go to the fair.
Her face and her eyes rise before him. He hears her speak in
love. Then, he sees the image of his children quite little as they
were at the time. One with a little cloak on, another at his
mother’s breast. He also remembers how he used to be himself,
young and merry. He remembers the day of his arrest while he
was seated in the porch playing the guitar. He bitterly
remembers the flogging, the executioner and the people who
were standing around him. He remembers the chains, the
convicts and all the 26 years of his prison life, and his premature
old age. These thoughts make him so wretched that he
contemplates suicide. His anger against Makar Semyonich is so
great that he longs for revenge even if it would mean perishing
for it. He repeats his prayers all night but he does not get peace.
During the day he avoids going near Makar Semyonich and
avoids even glancing at him. For two weeks, Aksionov cannot
sleep at night and he's so miserable and does not know what to
do considering the fact that the man who was responsible for his
imprisonment was right there but he had been locked up for a
less serious crime. Despite this, he does not seek revenge. He
had accepted his fate. He says for his sins, he had been in prison
for those 26 years. He did not like to speak of his misfortune. He
says that he must have deserved the punishment. This attitude
helps him to cope with the misery of the injustice the state had
meted upon him.
Even when he gets a chance to avenge againstSemyonich,
Aksionov chooses to spare him the pain and retribution instead.
Aksionov catches Semyonich digging a hole under the wall with a
view of escaping from prison. Makar Semyonich threatens
Aksionov and tells him to keep it a secret or else he would kill
him. Aksionov trembles with anger looking at his enemy. He tells
Makar Semyonich that he had no need to kill him for he killed
him long ago. He adds that he will do as God shall direct. When
the prison officials find out about the hole and they question the
prisoners about it, all of them deny it. Those who knew would not
betray Makar Semyonich, for they knew he would be flogged
almost to death. The governor at last turns to Aksionov, a just
man, and says: “Tell me before God who dug the hole?” Makar
Semyonich ruined Aksionov’s life and he contemplates letting the
cat out of the bag so that Makar Semyonich can pay for what he
had suffered. However, he knows that if he opens his mouth, the
officers would flog the life out of Semyonich. Maybe he suspects
him wrongly. Also he stands to gain nothing. He surrenders in
the hands of the Governor but refuses to tell him the truth, when
he says that it is not God's will that He should tell. He knows that
two wrongs don’t make a right. He keeps his mouth shut and
spares his arch nemesis potential thorough flogging. The
liberation of forgiveness is more fulfilling than the temporary
delight of revenge.
Semyonich is unjust to Aksionov when he chooses to confess his
sins long after Aksionov had endured untold retribution for a sin
he did not commit. Nevertheless, Aksionov forgives Makar
Semyonich even after he confesses to killing the merchant and
framing Aksionov. He confesses that he meant to kill him too but
fled when he heard a noise outside. Semyonich kneels on the
ground and cries asking Aksionov to forgive him. He promises to
confess to the authorities that he killed the merchant so that
Aksionov could be released. Aksionov has suffered for 26 years.
He has nowhere to go. His wife is probably dead and his children
may have forgotten him by now. He has nowhere to go even if he
is released. Makar Semyonich beats his head on the floor and
begs Aksionov to forgive him. The guilt in his heart is
unbearable. He remembers that Aksionov had screened him
concerning the hole he was digging trying to escape. He sobs
bitterly. When Aksionov hears him sobbing he begins to weep
too. He says, “God will forgive you”. He also says that he may be
a hundred times worse than Makar Semyonich. His heart grows
lighter and he does not long to go home anymore. He has no
desires to leave the prison and only hopes for his last hour to
come. Forgiveness is liberating. It supersedes freedom.
Semyonich confesses, and an order for Aksionov’s release comes:
too little too late. He was already dead.
The fact that someone has done something unjust does not
justify revenge. When we forgive our oppressors, we are
contented and we can bear the anguish of the oppression.