Nervous Conditions | Summary

Biography of the Author

Tsitsi Dangarembga  

Education

Tsitsi Dangarembga was born in Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) on February 14, 1959. At age two, she moved with her family to England and started school in the British system. Four years later the family moved back to Rhodesia, where Dangarembga completed her early education at a Christian mission school. Upon graduation, she returned to England to study medicine at Cambridge. Feeling isolated and homesick, Dangarembga returned to Rhodesia in 1980, just before the country gained its independence from Great Britain and became Zimbabwe. After becoming concerned over a lack of female African film directors, Dangarembga moved to Berlin, Germany, to study film at the Deutsche Film-und Fernsehakademie Berlin. In 2008 Dangarembga moved from Germany back to Zimbabwe to give her children the opportunity to connect with their African roots.

Artistic Career

While studying psychology in Zimbabwe in the early 1980s, Dangarembga joined a theater club. When the club was looking for new works to perform, Dangarembga decided to write them herself. Some of her works included The Lost of the Soil (1983) and She No Longer Weeps (1987), which chronicles a black female college student's efforts to escape the confines of Zimbabwean patriarchy—themes later re-explored in her Tambu trilogy, which begins with Nervous Conditions. Dangarembga's first feature-length film, Everyone's Child, about four siblings orphaned after their parents die from AIDS, debuted in 1996. Dangarembga has been a founding force in shaping many artistic communities in her home country, including the Zimbabwe Association of Community Theatre, the Women's Action Group, and the Zimbabwe Women Writers.

Nervous Conditions

Dangarembga's first critical success came with the publication of her debut novel, Nervous Conditions. The novel was the first to be published in English by a black female writer from Zimbabwe. The sequel, The Book of Not, was published in 2006, followed by the final book in the trilogy, Chronicle of an Indomitable Daughter, in 2013. Dangarembga has said she wrote Nervous Conditions after returning to a Rhodesia struggling under colonial rule. She was concerned that black students were taught an intangible history removed from African roots, and they were isolated from their native languages. Dangarembga felt "the need for an African literature that [she] could read and identify with." Her trilogy, along with her film career, led British online newspaper The Independent to name Dangarembga "one of the fifty greatest artists shaping the African continent."

Summary

Nervous Conditions tells the story of a Rhodesian girl's journey in pursuit of education from impoverished homestead to missionary school and finally to private Catholic school. When the novel opens, 14-year-old Tambu lives on an homestead with her parents and siblings. The family, who lives pitifully off the land, relies almost entirely on Babamukuru, Father's brother. As a child, Babamukuru excelled academically and was selected for further education at a Christian missionary school. After five years of training in England, Babamukuru now runs the missionary school and lives a relatively pampered existence at the mission. He visits the homestead throughout the year to dole out money and guide the family in social betterment. Before leaving for his training, Babamukuru suggested Tambu's family invest in education as a way of lifting themselves out of poverty. They scrounge up enough money to send Tambu's older brother, Nhamo, to school but they don't have enough to send Tambu. Determined to be educated, Tambu starts growing mealies (corn or maize) to sell in town to white tourists in the hopes of raising enough money to pay school fees. Nhamo threatens her success by jealously stealing and eating her mealies. When she finds out, Tambu attacks her brother at Sunday school, prompting one of the teachers to take her to town to sell what she has left. In town, a white woman takes pity on Tambu's poverty and gives her 10 pounds toward her education, an unprecedented sum that covers her tuition.

When Babamukuru and his family return from England, everyone at the homestead notices changes in the family, particularly the children. After five years away, Chido and Nyasha no longer speak their native language, Shona, and their mother doesn't want them partaking in customary dances and music, which Tambu finds strange. Tambu excels at the local school and is disappointed when Babamukuru selects Nhamo to join him at the missionary school for further education. She understands and fully expected Nhamo to be chosen because of his gender, but remains frustrated at being overlooked simply because of her gender. Tambu's jealousy worsens due to Nhamo's incessant bullying and superiority, also results of gender expectations. When Nhamo dies unexpectedly from mumps, however, Tambu receives her wish and takes his place at the mission school.

Moving to the mission transforms Tambu's life. Rather than living in squalor, she lives in "white" luxury, with a bathtub and running hot water, three hearty meals a day, and no chores to distract from her studies. She shares a bedroom with her cousin, Nyasha. Although Nyasha appears aloof when Tambu first arrives, the two grow to share a deep, meaningful friendship. The family dynamics become clear to Tambu on her first day. Babamukuru, like most Rhodesian men, acts as figurehead and master of the home. Whatever he says, goes. Nyasha, raised in England, pushes against the strong patriarchy by regularly disobeying her father's requests. This behavior shocks Tambu who would never dream of disrespecting Babamukuru, whom she has come to revere as a god. She does not understand how Nyasha, raised with everything, could possibly be unhappy. Later, the volatile relationship between Nyasha and her father boils over to violence after he catches her with a white boy after a dance without a chaperone. He accuses her of being "a whore" and whips her, but she fights back, punching him in the face. Babamukuru threatens to kill her and hang himself, but his wife, Maiguru, and Tambu defuse the situation.

Time passes as Tambu grows comfortable in her new, privileged lifestyle. When she returns to the homestead for Christmas, she—much like Nhamo—feels embarrassed by her family's obvious poverty. She chides her mother for failing to clean the latrine while she was away, but her mother, now pregnant and depressed, doesn't care. Babamukuru has bigger problems to worry about than the decrepit homestead. Mother's sister, Lucia, has returned to the homestead to care for her ailing sister. Unmarried and pregnant by Babamukuru's cousin, Takesure, Lucia has also been sleeping with Father, whom she has been accused of seducing in an attempt to marry. Babamukuru worries how Lucia's "loose" behaviors will affect the family's respectability. Babamukuru had ordered her off the homestead weeks earlier, but she refused to leave. When he repeats his request, Lucia promises to leave only if she can take her sister, Tambu's mother, with her. She claims Jeremiah, Tambu's father, treats her poorly and fails to provide anything for his family. The patriarchal elders meet to discuss what should be done, with the men all blaming Lucia for the family's struggles. Meanwhile, Maiguru works tirelessly to cook and clean for the extended family all crammed onto the tiny homestead, with little help or appreciation. In the end, the family allows Lucia to stay and care for Mother, but Babamukuru decides Mother and Father must have a proper church wedding and stop living "in sin."

The family prepares for the lavish wedding, which Maiguru notes will cost Babamukuru much more than their own wedding did. Mother arrives at the mission hospital to give birth. Lucia arrives soon after to care for her, but before returning to the homestead, she asks Babamukuru to find her a job that will put an end to her reliance on men at the homestead. Babamukuru finds her a job in the mission school kitchen. To her delight, Lucia earns enough money to be independent, while taking night classes to advance her own education. As the wedding approaches, Tambu begins feeling anxious—then angry—that her parents must be subjected to the ridiculous ceremony. She fears they will be a laughing stock, so she refuses to attend. In uncharacteristic defiance, she refuses to get out of bed when Babamukuru orders, shocking even herself. Even when Babamukuru threatens to withdraw her from school and cut off her funds, Tambu refuses. When Babamukuru returns home from the wedding, he lashes Tambu and orders her to perform the maid's duties for two weeks, but does not send her back home.

In an unusual fight over Babamukuru's punishment, Maiguru asserts that he has been taking advantage of her for too long. He doesn't appreciate her financial contributions or value her as his partner. She leaves him and spends time visiting her son, Chido. For the first time, Babamukuru must get by on his own. When she returns a few days later, Maiguru has regained her voice and doesn't fuss nearly as much over the family. She also refuses to care for Babamukuru's extended family any longer.

As Tambu and Nyasha prepare for their final exams, nuns from the private Catholic school visit and administer a test, offering a scholarship to the student who earns the highest grade. The school offers an incredible educational experience, but Nyasha warns Tambu she would essentially have to give up her "African-ness" and fully embrace white culture if she were accepted. Tambu earns the scholarship and eagerly announces her desire to attend the school. Everyone—Babamukuru, Nyasha, and Mother—tells her it would be a bad idea, but Maiguru defends Tambu's choice to make her own future. Tambu chooses to attend. The convent school touts itself as integrated, but the six African students must cram into the same small bedroom. Nevertheless, Tambu busies herself with her studies, spending long hours in the vast library. She falls out of touch with Nyasha, rarely responding to Nyasha's many letters.

When Tambu returns home for the first time, Nyasha looks like a skeleton. She rarely eats, and when she does, she immediately vomits afterward. One night, overcome with emotion, Nyasha rages about the evils of colonialism that have stolen everyone's souls, her own and Tambu's included. She tears her books and thrashes at her skin before falling asleep. Alarmed, Nyasha's parents admit her to a psychological hospital where she gradually recovers. After the episode, Tambu vows to question her place within a colonized society more carefully and to use caution when allowing white culture to influence her beliefs. 

Nervous Conditions | Characters

Character	Description
Tambu	Tambu (Tambudzai) is the novel's narrator and protagonist. The reader follows Tambu's journey from impoverished life on the homestead to exclusive education at a private boarding school. Read More
Nyasha	Nyasha is Tambu's cousin, born in Rhodesia but raised in England. Read More
Babamukuru	Babamukuru is an educated missionary man who becomes the breadwinner for his entire extended family. Read More
Maiguru	Maiguru is a well-educated woman who chooses a domestic life to appease social expectations. Read More
Mother	Mother is an impoverished peasant who suffers from crippling depression as a result of her pitiful existence. Read More
Andrew	Andrew Baker is the young man whom Nyasha dances with on the evening of her violent fight with Babamukuru.
Anna	Anna is Babamukuru's maid, whose attitude toward Tambu changes once she comes to live at the mission.
Mr. Baker	Mr. Baker, a white missionary, helps Chido get a scholarship to a fancy boarding school so he won't have to feel guilty about sending his own sons there.
Brian	Brian is one of the Bakers' two sons.
Chido	Chido is Babamukuru and Maiguru's son who completely abandons his culture in favor of the upper-class white culture he was exposed to at boarding school.
Dambudzo	Dambudzo is Tambu's infant brother, born just before she leaves for the convent school.
Doris	Doris is the white woman who gives Tambu 10 pounds for her education after seeing her sell vegetables on the street.
Father	Jeremiah, Tambu's father, fails to provide for his family, choosing instead to take advantage of Babamukuru's generosity and drink beer.
George	George is Doris's wealthy, white husband.
Gladys	Gladys is Tambu's heavyset aunt who treats Babamukuru like a prince.
Jocelyn	Jocelyn is one of Tambu's friends at the mission school who feels jealous that she was accepted into the convent school.
Lucia	Believed to be a witch, Lucia comes to the homestead when her sister, Tambu's mother, falls ill. She has affairs with Jeremiah and Takesure, which results in a pregnancy.
Maidei	Maidei is one of Tambu's friends at the mission school who feels jealous that she was accepted into the convent school.
Mr. Matimba	Mr. Matimba is the schoolteacher who brings Tambu to town to sell her mealies, ensuring a white tourist will take pity on her.
Netsai	Netsai is Tambu's younger sister who lives on the homestead.
Nhamo	Nhamo is Tambu's snooty older brother, who believes himself superior to his family after attending mission school. His unexpected death allows Tambu to take over his education.
Nyaradzo	Nyaradzo is the Bakers' youngest child, who attends mission school, although her brothers go to boarding school. She becomes Chido's girlfriend at the end of the novel.
Nyari	Nyari is Tambu's Sunday school friend on the homestead. She reveals that Nhamo stole her mealies.
Patience	Patience is Tambu's aunt, and Thomas's wife.
Rambanai	Rambanai is Tambu's youngest sister, an infant at the beginning of the novel.
Mr. Sanyati	Mr. Sanyati is Tambu and Nyasha's teacher at the mission school.
Sister Emmanuel	Sister Emmanuel is the principal of Sacred Heart, the convent school Tambu attends.
Sylvester	Sylvester is Babamukuru's gardener.
Takesure	Takesure is Babamukuru's cousin, sent to the homestead to help Jeremiah after Nhamo's death. Takesure has an affair with Lucia and blames the entire scandal on her witchcraft.
Thomas Nervous Conditions | Themes Patriarchy The cultural belief that males are superior to females creates a strong force for the women in Nervous Conditions to overcome. The power of patriarchy exerts itself in a variety of ways, such as favoring Nhamo to attend school over Tambu, and Babamukuru having the final say in all family related matters, regardless of whom they concern. The reader sees how strongly patriarchy affects Tambu's life, primarily through her education. The family passes her over for formal education when they have only enough money to send one child, Nhamo. When she makes it to mission school, Tambu must follow Babamukuru's strict rules about gender expectations or risk being thrown out. When she is accepted to the convent school, she must convince her father and uncle to let her go. Throughout the novel, Tambu manages to navigate the patriarchy without much struggle, but other female characters aren't as lucky. Mother, for example, lives in impoverished squalor, working long hours in the fields every day. As an uneducated woman, Mother has no other options than to accept the life her lazy husband provides. Growing up in this environment, Tambu feels determined to get an education, like Maiguru. But even Maiguru suffers under the patriarchy, handing over her earnings, slaving for her husband's extended family, and receiving no respect or say in family matters. The character who feels the brunt of patriarchy strongest, however, is Nyasha, who was raised in England and experienced life with gender equality. Returning to Rhodesia, Nyasha doesn't respect her father in the same way Tambu does, which leads to constant conflict. Nyasha recognizes the value of her individual mind, which she determines to use regardless of social protocol. Colonialism Nervous Conditions is set in Rhodesia under British colonial rule in the 1960s. Although the presence of British forces is never directly referenced, the contrast between British and native (Shona) culture is sharply felt. Tambu views her impoverished life on the homestead as dirty, backward, and oppressive. She pities her mother for having been forced to eke out an existence when women like Maiguru have so much. However, Tambu's attitude as a child—before she starts attending school—is different, as she describes the beauty of her homestead and the joyful gatherings when her family is together . One aspect of colonialism, particularly African colonialism, was the idea that British culture was more refined than native culture, so missionaries set up schools to educate native children on the "proper" ways to live, leaving behind the "savagery" of their villages. The reader sees this in the way the missionaries educated an industrious young Babamukuru, training him to eventually run the mission, whether he wanted to or not. For native people like Babamukuru, once they have been deemed "special" by the colonizing power, they are no longer free to choose their own path, lest they appear ungrateful for the white generosity. This can be seen when Babamukuru would prefer not to move to England for five years but does so anyway. The white government holds all the power over black education. The colonial government decides whether black children are "sufficiently developed cognitively" to understand reading and writing, and the nuns force all the black students at convent school to share one small room. Another negative aspect of colonialism is the way it replaces native culture with its own, as seen in the way Tambu's views of homestead life change as she progresses in her education, and the struggles Nyasha feels to fit in with her Shona family after having been raised in England, separated from her native traditions. Duality The children who have been raised in two cultures struggle to fit in either place, creating two identities in constant conflict with each other. Nyasha's conflict between her Shona identity and British identity were likely strongest in England, which the reader doesn't see. To survive in England, Nyasha buries her Shona traditions, eventually forgetting them altogether. She adopts Western views and ideals, which strongly shape her personality. Returning to Rhodesia, Nyasha's new identity no longer fits. Ostracized at school and a constant source of disappointment to her father, Nyasha's struggle turns inward as she fights to control her weight. Similarly, Chido loses his Shona identity, but it doesn't cause his parents as much distress because he is male. When she moves to the mission, Tambu also experiences a divide. She literally creates a new identity for herself when climbing into Babamukuru's car, "leaving behind" the old version of herself and expecting to meet the new version at the mission. The two selves battle strongly against each other when Babamukuru calls for Tambu's parents to have a church wedding. On the day of the service, Tambu has an out-of-body experience in which her Shona self refuses to get out of bed and her "mission" self stands idly by, watching Babamukuru's rage. Mother suggests Nyasha's breakdown is a result of her English identity, which causes Tambu to reflect on her own duality. She realizes that her Shona identity is being brainwashed and erased, which she vows never to let happen.	Thomas is the youngest brother of Father and Babamukuru.

Arrow of God

 

Arrow of God Summary

Arrow of God is set in rural Nigeria during the 1920s in a southern part of the country where the Igbo people reside. The novel begins with a war between two neighboring regions of rural Igboland: Umuaro and Okperi. Though we don't know the boundaries of Okperi, we do know that Umuaro is made up of six villages. These six villages are linked by their worship of a common god, Ulu.

The people of Umuaro start a war with Okperi over land they want to claim; they are encouraged to start the war by a wealthy man named Nwaka, who challenges Ulu. This war is launched against the advice of Ulu's chief priest, Ezeulu. The colonial administration steps in to stop the war and rules in favor of Okperi after discussing the matter with Ezeulu, the one man in Umuaro who tells the truth. Captain Winterbottom, a British colonial official who commands the local station, breaks and burns all the guns in Umuaro, becoming a legend. Meanwhile, the people of Umuaro become angry with Ezeulu because he didn't take their side.

Five years later, life in Umuaro has returned to normal. Sort of. Christian missionaries have made major inroads into society, establishing converts and trying to show that the old gods are ineffective. Ezeulu is sending his son Oduche to church, to be his eyes and ears, and to learn the ways of the white man. Animosity between Ezeulu and Nwaka and their respective villages has grown to the point called kill and take the head (4.1). In other words, things have gotten to the point where men in the two villages try to kill each other using poison. Nwaka is fortified and strengthened by his relationship with Ezidemili, the high priest of the god, Idemili. Though Idemili is a lesser god in comparison to Ulu, the competition between the two priests is dividing Umuaro, creating suspicion and ill will among brothers.

But the competition isn't limited to within the Igbo religion; the missionaries call the Chrisitan Igbo, including Oduche, to kill the sacred python. Oduche chickens out at the last minute, putting the snake in a box instead, but his family discovers the terrible deed when he's at church. Doing anything to the royal python is considered an abomination. The royal python belongs to the god Idemili, and as soon as the priest of Idemili hears about it, he sends a messenger to chide Ezeulu, and to ask what he intends to do to purify his house, (i.e., to make up for what his son tried to do). Ezeulu responds by telling Ezidemili to die (literally) and the matter rests there, uneasily.

The colonial administration has commissioned a new road to be built, connecting Okperi with Umuaro. They've run out of funds, but still need to complete the road, so Mr. Wright, the overseer, petitions to conscript labor. He receives permission and Umuaro is the unlucky recipient of the demand for free labor. One day, Ezeulu's son Obika is late getting to work. He had too much palm wine to drink the day before. But when Mr. Wright whips him, it stirs up the resentments of all the men. Why are they forced to work for free, when Okperi men are paid for their labor? What makes them different? Why should they be treated like this? Though they grumble among themselves, they are never able to come to a decision about what to do.

Because Ezeulu assumes that Obika has done something to deserve the whipping, he precipitates a crisis in his own household. Edogo, his oldest son, gets to thinking, and decides that the old man's propensity to choose favorites among his sons has created a problem. He believes that Ezeulu has tried to influence Ulu's decision about which son will be the next priest. By sending Oduche to learn the religion of the white man, Ezeulu has essentially taken Oduche out of the running. And Ezeulu has trained Nwafo in the ways of the priesthood, so he's clearly staking his claim on Nwafo as the one Ulu will choose. But Edogo begins to wonder what will happen if Ulu doesn't choose Nwafo, if he chooses Edogo or Obika. It will create conflict and division in the family and Edogo, as eldest son, will have to deal with it. He goes to Ezeulu's friend, Akuebue, and asks him to speak to Ezeulu.

Akuebue finds that Ezeulu is not receptive to a talk about the divisions within Umuaro, blaming the people of Umuaro for the white man's arrival. The people of Umuaro try to blame Ezeulu because he told the white man the truth when Winterbottom stepped in to stop the war between Okperi and Umuaro.

Ezeulu is also unreceptive to reports of divisions within his own household. He admits that he sacrificed Oduche, not so much to put him out of the running for the priesthood, but because he sees the threat to Umuaro and to the Igbo posed by Christianity. Such a situation requires the supreme sacrifice, that of a human being.

Meanwhile, Captain Winterbottom has been under another kind of stress. "Indirect rule" is the ideology that rules the day and he is under direct orders to find a chief for Umuaro. He decides that Ezeulu is just the man for the job, and sends a messenger to fetch Ezeulu. Ezeulu refuses to come, saying that the Priest of Ulu doesn't leave his hut, and dispatches the messenger back to Winterbottom with the message that if he wants to see Ezeulu, he'll have to come visit Ezeulu. Winterbottom issues an order for Ezeulu's arrest and sends two policemen to fetch him.

The next day, after consulting with the elders and men of title in Umuaro, Ezeulu decides to set out for Okperi, to find out what Winterbottom wanted. His heart is angry because Umuaro continues to blame him for the white man's presence, and because they don't show Ulu proper respect. His archenemy, Nwaka, continues to challenge Ulu and the people do nothing about it. The two policemen sent to arrest Ezeulu pass him on the way, but don't realize it until they reach his compound and learn that Ezeulu has gone to Okperi.

In Okperi, Winterbottom suddenly becomes ill. The African servants decide that Ezeulu must have a lot of power because Winterbottom is struck ill only after he issues the warrant for Ezeulu's arrest. So when Ezeulu arrives, the servants are afraid. They don't want to lock him up as ordered; instead, they pretend that the guardroom is a guest room and try to make him comfortable.

On this first night in Okperi, Ezeulu has a vision and realizes that his real battle is with his own people, not with the white man at all. In his vision, he sees Nwaka challenge Ulu, and the people spitting on him (Ezeulu), saying he is the priest of a dead god. He begins to see that the white man has been able to take advantage of Umuaro's division to sow further seeds of destruction. He hopes Winterbottom detains him for a long time, so he can better plan his revenge.

Ezeulu is detained for a couple of months. First, Clarke decides to teach him a lesson by making him wait. Then he offers Ezeulu the position of chief, but Ezeulu refuses. Angry, Clarke claps him in prison, and Winterbottom commends him, saying he should keep Ezeulu locked up until he learns to cooperate. But Clarke begins to suffer pangs of conscience, realizing that he doesn't have a legitimate reason to keep Ezeulu imprisoned. He's relieved when he hears from Winterbottom's superior advising against creating new Warrant Chiefs. This gives Clarke the excuse to let Ezeulu go.

Ezeulu returns home. Everybody is glad to see him again and Ezeulu realizes that his anger was directed not against his real neighbors but against an idea that they were mocking Ulu and disrespecting Ezeulu. Nevertheless, he lays low and sets his plan in action. When the time for announcing the Feast of the New Yam comes, he fails to announce it. His assistants come to ask if he's forgotten his duties. He gets mad and sends them away.

Next, the elders of the village come and ask, gingerly, why he hasn't announced the Feast of the New Yam. Ezeulu tells them that he has three sacred yams left. He can't announce the Feast of the New Yam until he has finished all the sacred yams. He was unable to eat the sacred yams while imprisoned in Okperi, and now he has to follow the rules – one yam a month. The men are horrified. If they wait three months before they are allowed to harvest their crops, the crops will be ruined and the people of Umuaro will suffer widespread famine.

The elders tell Ezeulu that he should just quickly eat the yams and if there are any repercussions, they will ask Ulu to let it descend on their heads, not Ezeulu's. But Ezeulu is steadfast. Such a thing is unheard of. And anyway, no matter what their intentions are, as chief priest he will be the one to suffer the consequences of breaking the rules. He can't do it. They must wait.

The Christian catechist, Mr. Goodcountry, recognizes this as an opportunity. He says that anybody who wants to offer their yams to the Christian god instead, so they can harvest their yams, will receive the protection of the Christian god as well. As people begin to suffer, they do just that. Meanwhile, Obika – who is sick – is asked to help in the funeral preparations for Amalu, one of the elders in the village who had died some months back. He helps with one of the funeral rituals by carrying the mask for Ogbazulobodo, the night spirit, and chasing after day. He runs so hard and so fast, however, that he drops dead when he returns.

The people say it is a judgment against Ezeulu. His god, Ulu, has spoken: Ezeulu has become stubborn and proud, and the god has not sided with his priest against the people. But it was a bad time to humiliate the priest. It allowed the people to take "liberties." That year, many of the yams were harvested in the name of the Christian god; and the crops reaped afterwards were also reaped in the name of the Christian god. As Arrow of God comes to a close, it seems that worship of the Christian god has replaced that of Ulu.

ARROW OF GOD THEMES

Competition

Arrow of God revolves around competition. We see competition between Ezeulu's wives for his attention; between Ezeulu, the chief priest of Ulu, and Ezidemili, the chief priest of the lesser deity Idemili; between the communities of Umuaro and Okperi; and between Ezeulu's village and Ezidemili's village. But the most important competition is between the god Ulu and the Christian god. This fight is always in the background, and we realize that Arrow of God is an illustration of the saying "When two brothers fight, a stranger reaps the harvest." As the region roils in division, Christianity quietly steps in and takes the respect and place of honor that had previously belonged to the god Ulu.

Religion

Arrow of God explores how Igbo spirituality and religious life dies an ignominious death when confronted by Christianity. Christianity is backed by the white man's military and political power. As a result, Christianity is also identified with the source of their power. When the people of Umuaro are faced with famine because the chief priest of Ulu refuses to break tradition, the catechist at the church offers protection so the people can harvest their yams. When Ezeulu's son Obika dies, the people interpret that as a sign that Ulu was punishing his priest. With Ezeulu's power broken, Umuaro turns to the Christian god for help.

Tradition and Customs

Traditions dictate the lives of the people of Umuaro. Seasons are punctuated by rituals, and festivals are managed by the priests of the various deities associated with each village. The overall deity, Ulu, provides the important purification rites as well as feast associated with the rhythms of agriculture. In Arrow of God we see that these traditions are undermined by the coming of Christianity, the power of the British colonial office, and, most importantly, by Ezeulu's inflexibility and insistence on adhering to tradition. Ezeulu insists on waiting a full month to eat each sacred yam, even though that means he can't call the Feast of the New Yam for another three months. Meanwhile, the people's crops are rotting in the field and people are starving to death. The elders of Umuaro offer to take the punishment on themselves, but Ezeulu refuses. While Ezeulu is stubbornly following tradition – and punishing his people – the people of Umuaro slowly begin to starve because they are unable to harvest the crops.

Power

A lust for power motivates many of the characters in Arrow of God. As the British administration's power rises, the men in Umuaro discover that their power is diminishing. All the men discover that their power is limited when the British administration steps in and stops the war with Okperi. Meanwhile, Nwaka and Ezidemili accuse Ezeulu of desiring power in order to mask their own attempts to unseat him and usurp his place. Ezeulu punishes the people of Umuaro because they didn't accord him and his deity Ulu proper respect. The power struggle between Ezeulu and the people of Umuaro gives the Christian catechist, Mr. Goodcountry, the opportunity to win converts. The book concludes with Ezeulu's power receding as Christianity takes precedence.

Men and Masculinity

Manhood in Igbo life is marked by stages of life – marriage, fatherhood, gaining titles, becoming an elder. A man accrues respect, rights, and power as he moves through the stages of life. Though Obika may drink too much, he is still admired as a man because he is handsome and has physical prowess. Edogo, on the other hand, is steady and dependable, but not flashy; he gets little respect from the people of Umuaro.

CHARACTERS LIST

Ezeulu

Ezeulu's pride motivates him throughout Arrow of God. He's the chief priest of Ulu, the god that rules Umuaro. Ezeulu plays a prominent role in Umuaro, a collection of six villages in southeastern Nigeria. As chief priest, Ezeulu feels obligated to offer his advice, even though the people don't seem to pay attention to him. When they ignore him, his feelings get hurt. He believes that the people don't have proper respect for Ulu, and when Nwaka challenges Ulu, suggesting that he may be a useless god and the people should get rid of him, Ezeulu is put on the defensive.

Ezeulu's adherence to duty means that he tells Winterbottom the truth when Winterbottom asks how the war with Okperi began. The people of Umuaro are angry with Ezeulu, especially since it causes Winterbottom to rule in Okperi's favor. They are further disturbed when Ezeulu sends his son Oduche to school and to church to learn the ways of the white man. They blame Ezeulu for bringing the British to Umuaro. Ezeulu resents all the backbiting of his neighbors, friends, and kinsmen, and recognizes that it is coming from one source, Nwaka, who is aided by the priest of Idemili.

When things start to go badly in Ezeulu's household, the tension escalates between Ezeulu and his enemies. Ezeulu's son, Oduche, commits an abomination against the royal python, which belongs to the god Idemili. Because of the priest Ezidemili's insults, Ezeulu refuses to do anything special to purify his house. Then his son Obika is whipped by Mr. Wright because he's late coming to work on the road. Ezeulu blames Obika, and his son Edogo criticizes him for choosing a stranger over his own son.

Ezeulu is further frustrated when Captain Winterbottom sends a mysterious message that Ezeulu should appear before him in Okperi. As chief priest of Ulu, Ezeulu doesn't wander far from his hut. But the elders and men of title convince him that he should go, and he sets out the next day, unaware that Winterbottom has put out a warrant for his arrest.

Detained in Okperi for several days, he has a vision of Nwaka inciting Umuaro to rise up and destroy Ulu. Ezeulu sees the people spitting on him, and claiming that he's the priest for a dead god. He suddenly realizes that his battle is with his own people, not with the white man at all. The longer Ezeulu is detained, the better he can plan his revenge. He recognizes that he is Ulu's arrow of punishment. He believes the people need to be taught a lesson, and need to learn to respect Ulu (and, by default, his priest.) While imprisoned for several months, Ezeulu's anger with Umuaro eats away at him, and he plans the punishment carefully.

When Ezeulu finally returns home, the people of Umuaro welcome him. Ezeulu's anger relents, but not completely. He continues to plan his revenge in secret. What is interesting about Ezeulu's revenge is that he clearly tries to separate himself from this revenge; he doesn't see it as revenge for his own sake, but for Ulu's sake. He sees himself as doing Ulu's will, rather than seeking personal satisfaction for his own wounded pride.

The moment for revenge finally arrives. Ezeulu informs the people that he can't name the day for the Feast of the New Yam until he has finished the sacred yams – because he was gone for so long, there are three yams left, which will take three months to eat. The people panic. After three months, their crops will be ruined, rotted away in the ground. They beg him to reconsider, but Ezeulu is steadfast – he must do what Ulu calls him to do.

Famine settles in to Umuaro. Ezeulu's family also suffers. When Ezeulu's son, Obika, dies suddenly, the people see it as a judgment against Ezeulu, who is too proud, headstrong, and stubborn. It gives them the latitude to turn to Christianity, to a god who seems less unpredictable in his need to punish the people.

Ezeulu's pride is what breaks him in the end. Shocked that Ulu would allow Obika to die, Ezeulu begins to wonder if he is being punished. But he can't figure out what he did to deserve punishment. He was only following Ulu's will, no matter how much he personally suffered as a result. His mind wanders, and he becomes delusional.

Nwaka

Nwaka is Ezeulu's nemesis. Every time we see Nwaka in Arrow of God, he's challenging Ulu or criticizing Ulu's high priest, Ezeulu. Nwaka believes strongly that Ezeulu is power-hungry, that he's trying to grab more authority than he is due.

Nwaka appears to be motivated by his friendship with Ezidemili, the priest of a lesser god, Idemili. Ezidemili fortifies and strengthens Nwaka in his attacks on Ezeulu's character. Nwaka might be power hungry himself, or he might be manipulated by Ezidemili, who may be hoping to destroy Ulu so that Idemili can take his place.

Though we don't see any growth in Nwaka's character over the course of the novel, he does accompany the other men when they visit Ezeulu to beg him to announce the day for the Feast for the New Yam. In other words, he squashes whatever enmity he has towards Ezeulu for the good of all of Umuaro.

T.K. Winterbottom

We can see that the Administration's inflexibility and lack of respect for experienced men like Winterbottom who have lived in Africa for years eats away at him. In the final scene, Winterbottom expresses total contempt for the orders of his superior.

Obika

Obika is Ezeulu's son and is an irresponsible young man who drinks too much and acts impulsively. One example of his impulsive behavior is the time when he almost kills his half-sister's husband. Everybody lets Obika get away with his rash actions, however, because he's so handsome. In the course of the novel, Obika changes. Two things change him: the humiliation of being whipped publicly by the white man and getting married. His marriage in particular seems to help Obika to grow. But Obika doesn't have a chance to explore his new found maturity and wisdom. Almost as soon as he gains it, he dies suddenly.

Oduche

Oduche, Ezeulu's next to youngest son, is proud to be his father's "eyes and ears" in the white man's culture by attending church and school. But soon, he finds his loyalties are divided. On the one hand, he wants to please his father; on the other hand, he wants to please the catechist at church. He can't do both. 

Oduche commits a second act that his father considers a betrayal. When the catechist decides to take advantage of Ezeulu's stubbornness and the famine to encourage people to leave the old religion and become Christians, Oduche doesn't mention it to his father. Although Ezeulu intended Oduche to be his eyes and ears, he doesn't realize that Oduche's exposure to another way of life and another god will change him into somebody who no longer fits in his own culture.

Summary of The Beautyful Ones Are Not Yet Born Ayi Kwei Armah

 

The Beautyful Ones Are Not Yet Born Summary and Study Guide

Thanks for exploring this SuperSummary Study Guide of “The Beautyful Ones Are Not Yet Born” by Ayi Kwei Armah. A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality study guides that feature detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, quotes, and essay topics.

OVERVIEW

The Beautyful Ones Are Not Yet Born, published in 1968, is a debut novel by Ayi Kwei Armah, one of the most noteworthy writers of postcolonial Ghana. Armah was born in Takoradi, Ghana, in 1939. He was educated at schools in Ghana and private institutions in America, including Harvard University. He has also worked as a translator, scriptwriter, and a university lecturer.

The Beautyful Ones Are Not Yet Born focuses on life in post-independence Ghana and takes place between Passion Week in 1965 and February 25, 1966 (the day after the overthrow of Kwame Nkrumah, Ghana’s first president). It tells the story of an unnamed man, referred to as simply “the man,” who struggles to reconcile himself to life in a new political order. Much of the book’s central action focuses on the man’s attempts to resist corruption. Large segments of the book are composed of long internal dialogues wherein the man reflects on the materialism, moral decay, and disillusionment of a newly independent Ghanaian society. The man also reflects on the recent colonial past and the traumatic legacy of war and violence.

Plot Summary

Working as a railway clerk, the unnamed protagonist refuses a bribe at work. On his way home, he runs into his old classmate Koomson, who is now a corrupt minister in Nkrumah’s government. Upon returning home, he is confronted by his wife, Oyo, who does not understand why the man refuses to participate in financial dealings which would better their family’s life. Oyo comments on a deal Koomson has mentioned to her involving fishing boats that she believes will make their family rich. The man feels guilty, even though he knows that he hasn’t done anything wrong. He slips out at night to meet with his friend Teacher, who helps him to discuss his feelings of guilt and shame. Teacher, although he has given up all hope himself, encourages the man to remain steadfast.

The next day, the man goes to work and encounters many forms of bodily waste—including excrement and vomit—as well as physical environments which are molding and deteriorating. Later, the man goes to buy expensive imported food for a dinner he and Oyo are hosting for Koomson and his wife, Estie. Even though he

cannot easily afford the food, he is filled with happiness and satisfaction that he can own such things—and garner admiring looks from the other people in the shops. For once, he feels satisfied with himself.

The man and Oyo clean their house in preparation for the dinner party. The man takes his children to his mother-in-law’s house for a break and is subjected to his mother-in-law’s disappointment in his refusal to become a man like Koomson. During the dinner party, the man notes how much his old classmate has changed—his hands are flabby and soft, and he refuses to use their latrine. Koomson reveals that the fishing boat deal is not intended to provide any profits to Oyo and the man’s family—Koomson needs a signature to mask his involvement in the corrupt money-making scheme, and in return, they imply that Oyo and the men will receive fish.

Koomson and Estie return a dinner invitation to Oyo and the man. The man is once again bombarded with feelings of guilt and shame when he sees the material differences between his children’s lives and that of Koomson’s daughter, Princess. He chooses not to sign the fishing boat deal, but Oyo signs the documents.

The fishing boat deal turns out to be largely inconsequential to their lives—for a while, they receive packets of fish, but only for a short period. One day, the man leaves work only to learn that there has been a military coup, and Nkrumah’s government ministers are being arrested and placed under protective custody. When he reaches home, he finds Koomson waiting for him, asking for help. Men arrive at the house looking for Koomson, but the man helps him to escape by crawling through the latrine which he had previously refused to use. They find the boatman, who takes them out on the fishing boat that Oyo’s signature had helped make a reality. Once they clear the harbor, the man prepares to jump into the bay. Koomson tells him that they will meet again someday, but the man finds this childish and leaves without feeling much for Koomson. He swims to shore and falls asleep on the beach.

When he wakes up, he sees Sister Maanan, a friend from his past, but she does not acknowledge him. As he walks home, the man sees a bus with an inscription on the side matching the title of the book. This, along with an illustration alongside it of a beautiful flower, gives him a momentary feeling of hope for future generations. But when he remembers the day-to-day drudgery of the life to which he must return, he falters and walks more slowly towards home.

The Beautyful Ones Are Not Yet Born Character Analysis

THE MAN

A railway clerk in post-independence Ghana, the man is the unnamed protagonist of The Beautyful Ones Are Not Yet Born. The man’s anonymity points to his character as a representation of the ordinary and honest members of Ghanaian society. He struggles to meet the expectations of family, including his wife, Oyo, and his children. He is reflective of the differences between the past and present Ghana, and he often battles feelings of frustration, bitterness, and despair when he thinks of the political situation in his country.

The man refuses to accept bribes and to otherwise participate in a corrupt economy, but this leads to other characters judging him and pressuring him to change his mind. Although the man makes a moral choice to avoid corruption, he does not feel righteous or vindicated when his choice turns out to be the right one. Instead, he is constantly plagued by doubts about whether he is doing the right thing.

KOOMSON

An old classmate of the protagonist’s, Koomson is a wealthy and corrupt minister in Nkrumah’s government. He represents the moral decay and materialism of the new Ghanaian elite, with his taste for luxury European goods and his growing distance from the life of ordinary Ghanaians.

The Beautyful Ones Are Not Yet Born Themes

TENSION BETWEEN THE COLONIAL PAST AND THE POLITICAL PRESENT

The protagonist often reflects on his memories of growing up in the colonial era in Ghana. He tells a striking story of going with a friend to a golf course estate in the “white men’s hills” (76) to steal mangoes and almonds growing overripe and unpicked on the trees. The green, lush grass is beautiful, the man remembers—clean, bright, and soft, the golf course figures almost like an Eden in his memory. Then he remembers that he and his friend were spotted and chased by Black guards and dogs hired by the white men who lived in gleaming bungalows in the hills. This combination of beauty and violence is a hallmark of the novel’s depiction of the colonial legacy.

Even though the novel takes place in post-independence Ghana, the colonial past is not so much past as present—the hills are still where the white men live, alongside Black Ghanaians who have chosen to adopt fake English accents and hyphenated English last names in order to assimilate. The leaders of the new Ghana—who had promised an end to British tyranny and to the “enslaving things from Europe” (149) have instead grown more and more similar to the old British colonizers.

SUMMARY OF THE HOUSEBOY

 

Houseboy Summary and Study Guide

Thanks for exploring this SuperSummary Study Guide of “Houseboy” by Ferdinand Oyono. A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality study guides that feature detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, quotes, and essay topics.

Overview

Houseboy (1956) is a riveting narrative by Ferdinand Oyono. Though shorter in length than most novels, Houseboy addresses the weighty topic of colonization and its effects on the native population of Cameroon. More specifically, Oyono’s story delves into the life of Toundi Ondoua, a young rural African man whose life is changed when he decides to shrug off his African village and enter the world of white Europeans in the city of Dangan. What transpires is a heartbreaking yet didactic narrative about trust and the abuse of power.

Like other boys in his village, Toundi likes to receive gifts, like candy, from touring Catholic priests. Despite his parents’ protestations, he always goes to receive these gifts. From these forays into the world of whites, Toundi first becomes acquainted with Christianity. When violence erupts at home over Toundi’s defiance of his father, and after Toundi refuses to obey his father (as it will result in a beating), Toundi flees to Father Gilbert and asks for help. He asks the amused priest to take him on as a houseboy, and, though Toundi’s father disagrees with the practice, Father Gilbert accepts Toundi. Under Father Gilbert’s tutelage, Toundi is christened Joseph, and given new clothing. He soon learns to read and write, and becomes the houseboy, or servant, of Father Gilbert.

When Father Gilbert’s tour of the nearby villages is over, Toundi accompanies him to Dangan and begins work at the Saint Peter Catholic Mission. While at the mission, Toundi observes the lives of both the native Africans and the whites who come to pray and pay their respects. One day, Toundi’s life is turned upside down when Father Gilbert dies from a horrible motorcycle accident. Father Gilbert meant the world to Toundi, and though he was guilty of patronizing Toundi, the man was all that Toundi knew. With Father Gilbert’s death, Toundi is left to wonder what will become of him in the world without his benefactor to protect him.

Toundi is soon interviewed and accepted as a houseboy for the new Commandant, a position that gives him much prestige among his fellow countrymen. As Toundi says, being the dog of the Commandant is being the king of dogs. He soon moves to the Residence and begins working for the stern Commandant, a man feared by all Africans and many whites. Though the Commandant is stern with Toundi, they get along well enough that Toundi does not fear or want for anything.

Toundi’s life is soon upended yet again when news arrives that the Commandant’s wife, referred to throughout the novel as Madame, will arrive from Paris to live at the Residence. The Commandant seems embarrassed and taken aback, and the natives wonder what sort of woman Madame is. When she arrives, everyone is amazed at her beauty and apparent kindness. She is the most beautiful of all the white women in Dangan (to the chagrin of the other wives in the city). It is evident that she is liked by the white men in the city, even those with wives, just as she is lusted after by the African population. Toundi also finds her attractive and, in a sense, falls in love with her. Toundi witnesses firsthand how enrapturing Madame is when he is in her presence. He also witnesses the lustful comments made by others when she walks through town.

Toundi’s life is again shaken when Madame begins an affair with the prison director, M. Moreau. Toundi, who does not approve, is made the go-between, carrying notes back and forth between the two highly emotional individuals. Neither of the two trusts Toundi, or likes him, but they need him to make their affair work. Others warn Toundi that he is involved in matters that will only end in harm for him, but he continues nonetheless. He is a servant, after all. He must obey, not question. When the Commandant finds out that Madame is having an affair, all hell breaks loose at the Residence. It is revealed that Madame has a history of indiscretions. At the end of these events, Toundi is viewed as a person standing in judgement by all sides of the affair. As a result, he is used as a scapegoat and blamed for crimes he has not committed. He is beaten badly, so much so that he dies after fleeing to Spanish Guinea.

Houseboy addresses themes of sexuality, Christianity, the abuse of power, and the troubling concept of identity. These themes are interwoven into a narrative that is both comical and poignant. Though short, the story hits the reader with explosive themes and symbols, all of which culminate in an ending alluded to by many of the African servants throughout the novel. As the reader already knows that Toundi dies (it is explained in the prologue), the narrative is a tense unraveling meant to show exactly how this once carefree individual ended up on his deathbed, in a country not his own, and with a sobering story that deserves to be told as a cautionary tale against the abuse of power and the effects of racism.

Houseboy Character Analysis

Toundi

Toundi Ondoua is a young man from the Cameroons who initially dreams of leaving his rural life and entering the world of the whites. He leaves his village after having a fight with his father. He asks Father Gilbert to take him on, and from that moment, Toundi becomes bound to the lives of the whites in the Cameroons. He is given the name Joseph, and goes away with Father Gilbert to Saint Peter’s Catholic Mission. After Father Gilbert dies, Toundi becomes houseboy to the Commandant. Toundi watches the lives of whites like the Commandant and is relatively at peace, despite the colonization and violence around him, until the Commandant’s wife, Madame, arrives. Toundi is drawn into Madame’s affair and, after the Commandant finds out about it, is used as a scapegoat for the whites and their feelings. He is beaten and tortured, and though he escapes to Spanish Guinea, dies there not long after.

Father Vandermayer

Father Vandermayer works alongside Father Gilbert in the Mission. He is stricter, meaner, and more distrustful than Father Gilbert, and is feared by all the natives. When Father Gilbert dies, Toundi is forced to obey Father Vandermayer until he is sent to work for the Commandant.

Houseboy Themes

Christianity

Christianity can be viewed as the backbone of the novel, and takes its shape in the Catholicism practiced by the priests and, to a lesser extent, the Europeans in Dangan and other areas of the Cameroons. The first glimpse of Christianity comes when Toundi notes that his people were once cannibals but abandoned the practice after being colonized. He then talks of Father Gilbert and his attempts to preach to the natives, as well as how comical his sermons are because he speaks in bad dialect, rendering his words obscene. When Toundi flees his abusive father, he seeks shelter with Father Gilbert, ready to openly embrace the Christianity of his colonizers. Christianity allows Toundi a way into the European world as he works at the Mission in Dangan. In this capacity, he glimpses the activities of both natives and whites.

The narrative highlights the negative effects of Christianity just as readily as it relates the comical aspects. Father Gilbert, though seemingly pleased with Toundi and willing to take him in, ultimately engages with Toundi from the standpoint of patronizing him. This relationship is viewed as one in which a wise, giving white man puts up with an uneducated African and works diligently to change him into something better.

DON'T BE TOO LAZY TO MAKE FURTHER RESEARCH

 

Mine Boy Themes

Violence

From Xuma's first interaction with the alcoholics at Leah's to the police attacks on the striking mine workers, violence erupts repeatedly throughout Mine Boy. Drunken fights are a common sight in Malay Camp—fights which the locals view as entertainment. Drunk men also fight each other as a public spectacle on Saturdays in town, only to be disrupted by the arrival of police vans full of policemen who start striking people indiscriminately. Johannes, when drunk, has a tendency to grab men by the throat and lift them. Paddy also instructs Xuma to use violence against workers if they question his authority. The casual violence confuses Xuma: though not naturally violent himself, Xuma will strike back if struck. The overt displays of violence speak to the lack of more humane forms of conflict resolution: when there is no authority to trust to help solve conflicts, individuals lash out against each other in order to survive.

Precarious Work

To survive in the city, most of the characters in Mine Boy undertake precarious work—jobs that are either illegal or dangerous, and often both. The theme of precarious work is evident in Leah's illegal beer selling, which involves secrecy, police bribery, threat of jail time, and the need for violence to solve disputes that would otherwise be resolved by police. While the work Xuma undertakes in the mine is legal, the drive for profits and lack of worker rights allow for conditions that lead to lung sickness and unsafe working conditions.

Poverty

The theme of poverty undergirds much of the conflict in Mine Boy. The lack of economic possibilities up north sends Xuma to the city, where he encounters desperately poor and depressed people, whose need for money keeps them in dangerous and unsanitary conditions. Though Xuma comes to the city to make an honest living, the white supremacist policies of the South African government will bar him from ascending the social and economic ladder, no matter how hard he works

Assimilationist Ideals

Eliza's inability to acknowledge her love for Xuma stems from the fact that she has absorbed assimilationist ideals from living in a colonial society that sees white people as superior. Rather than accepting and appreciating herself for who she is, Eliza seeks to be and act like a white person, whose way of speaking, dressing, and behaving she deems preferable. Even though Eliza likens her assimilationist ideals to "a devil" inside her, she is helpless to rid herself of the possession; ultimately, she rejects her culture and leaves Leah and Xuma, intending to pursue her dreams of assimilating into white society.

Colonialism

Nearly all of the conflict in Mine Boy can be attributed to the settler colonialism that has created such desperate conditions for the novel's characters. As a colonial nation, invaded and taken over by white Dutch and British people whose descendants became the country's minority rulers, South Africa is rife with injustice and exploitation. The theme of colonialism pervades the novel: from the government's attempts to build camps outside the city for black people to live in to Xuma's belief that he and Paddy can never be friends, the colonial project puts barriers between people, both physical and invisible.

Kindness

In the darkness that surrounds the novel's oppressed characters, the theme of kindness emerges as a beacon of hope. Leah, though tough, is consistently generous and respectful when dealing with the people she keeps close. Ma Plank too is a figure of kindness, as she never seems to mind helping others, and asks nothing for herself. At the novel's most trying moments, kindness exists as an inverse to the discord that conflict would otherwise sow: whether between Paddy and Xuma, or between Xuma and Johannes, or Maisy and Xuma, kindness illuminates the characters' humanity in the midst of dehumanizing conditions.

Racial Segregation (Apartheid)

Though Mine Boy was published two years before the first official apartheid law was enacted, the novel depicts the racial separation that would be increased during the apartheid era. The illegal beer selling Leah engages in results from a law that made it legal for white people to sell alcohol but prohibited black people from the business. The areas the characters live in and walk through are also divided by income, which, as far as Xuma can see, corresponds to race. Xuma also reflects on how white people have clean, open restaurants while black people are packed into filthy, confined eating halls. The socially enforced separation of society into black and white public spheres was legally entrenched in 1948 when the minority white ruling party adopted apartheid as an official policy.

 

Mine Boy Character List

Xuma 

Xuma is the novel's protagonist. Xuma leaves his family farm in the economically depressed north to work in a Johannesburg gold mine, where he encounters the social problems and harsh living conditions that arise from racial and economic oppression. Xuma is characterized as naïve and good-natured, and he is often confused by the behaviors and attitudes of the city people he meets. Xuma is strong and good-looking, attracting the attention of multiple women.

Leah

Leah is a middle-aged beer seller who takes Xuma in at the beginning of the novel. Leah is also Eliza's aunt. She is depicted as strong and street-smart but ultimately kind. Though Leah is adept at avoiding police raids, she is eventually caught and imprisoned toward the end of the novel.

Eliza

Leah's niece Eliza is a schoolteacher and the object of Xuma's affection. Eliza is described as beautiful and smart, but she is also often cold and conflicted in her thinking. Though Eliza is attracted to Xuma, she admits she wishes to live as white people do. She says she feels as though she is white inside, despite being black.

Maisy

Maisy is an outgoing young woman who occasionally works for Leah. She is in love with Xuma, who goes to Maisy when Eliza rejects him. Maisy is a patient person who accepts herself and treats other people with respect.

Dladla

Dladla is a violent, alcoholic man who Leah keeps around as a "plaything." After their relationship sours and Leah assaults him, it is suspected that Dladla is informing on Leah to the police. Dladla is found dead from stab wounds, and his death is never explained.

Ma Plank

Ma Plank is an elderly woman who lives at Leah's and works for her selling beer. Ma Plank is generous and helpful, and occasionally makes rude jokes.

Daddy

Daddy is an elderly alcoholic man who Xuma only ever sees drunk or asleep. Though Daddy has become a clownish figure, Ma Plank reveals that Daddy, when sober, was once respected for his wisdom and class. After being hit by a car, Daddy dies from internal injuries.

Johannes

Johannes is a mine worker who Xuma meets at Leah's. Johannes's personality changes when he drinks, turning him boastful and pugnacious. Johannes dies in a mine collapse at the end of the novel.

Paddy O'Shea

Paddy is Xuma's direct boss at the gold mine, where he is nicknamed "The Red One" for his red hair. While Paddy is initially portrayed as an unsympathetic character, Xuma eventually learns of Paddy's progressive politics and opposition to the poor treatment of black South Africans.

Joseph

Joseph is the brother of Leah's imprisoned partner. Joseph himself is imprisoned early in the novel.

Di

Di is Paddy's girlfriend. Though she is apparently sympathetic to Xuma, she argues against Paddy's progressive politics, revealing that she believes Xuma and black people generally are less intelligent and capable than white people.

Lena

Lena is a woman who works for Leah and is romantically involved with Johannes. She is described as thin and colored—i.e. mixed-race