Government by Magic Spell

In this story, a woman named Halima has tricked her entire town into thinking she is possessed by a jinni. She uses this "power" to make all of her local people think that she can control what the jinni does and also predict the future. This story reminded me a little bit of "The Crucible", where all of the young women pretend that they can see evil spirits. This would be a typical example of a child who discovers that she can twist the truth to her advantage. And so she does as she continues to grow up and amass more and more power. When Halima is summoned by the government (which is currently being run by her own clan), they place her in power because they know that people will be to frightened to question her decisions. She continues to abuse her power to gain money, build businesses, and restrict and control natural resources to her benefit. When the story ends it is apparent that at the expense of her native people, Halima has made sure that her own clan has benefited and stayed in power. I would say a revolution is in order.

A Night Out

I had a serious problem with the man named Mika in this story. He has sex with a prostitute and spends the night in her home. He is fully aware upon arrival at this woman's home that she has a gravely ill child. When he awakens the next morning while the mother is still asleep, he discovers that the young child has died in the night. The man makes a quick getaway, (but has some conversation with the mother) before the mother discovers her child has died. Now, I know that this woman has been paid to have sex with this man, and therefore "feelings" aren't supposed to be involved in this situation. But the fact of the matter is, that when this man left that home knowing that the child was dead and did not alert the mother to this fact, he really shows what a cowardly, low-level creep is capable of. Humanity in this man is nonexistent and it really saddened me to think that one human being could act so cruelly towards another. Almost as if this man, Mika, has no feelings whatsoever. Regardless of whether or not she was a prostitute, this woman is still a person. She is a single mother of a child and that child has now perished. Mika must have been a gutless person.

Cages

This story is about a shopkeeper named Hamid who seems to have lived a very sheltered life. He is single, never married, and keeps generally to himself. Until one day a young girl starts coming into his shop. He falls in love with her over the next multiple visits that she makes and it is at this point that I begin to feel sorry for Hamid. Hamid gives out little "extras' to the young women when she comes in and really seems to form a fascination about her. It was obvious to me right away that this young women was "working" Hamid. She knows that he is interested in her and she is going to use it to the best of her ability for personal gain. Sadly, Hamid sees her interactions as an indication that he may have a chance. Hamid continues to put this woman on a pedestal so to speak. Until finally the woman comes into the store one night and indicates that she knows Hamid wants to sleep with her, and that when she finally submits he will have to compensate her more than an extra bag of sugar. It is at this point that Hamid realizes he has totally built this woman up to be something that she is not and reality comes crashing down on him. Such a sad story! I felt so bad for Hamid.

The Man

"The Man" is a story surrounded in irony. A man assassinates the leader of his nation and flees without getting caught. The policemen spend days tracking and trapping him, refusing to give up until they find him! Finally the soldiers gather a mass of people people and randomly pull a man out of the crowd threatening to kill him unless someone reveals who the true killer is. This seemed like a dumb tactic to me anyway, I mean what are the odds that anyone in the crowd knows the actual name of the killer? If the killer acted alone then no one will be able to give up any information. So the police execute the man that they have randomly selected not realizing that they have just killed the actual murderer! The killer almost seems to be glee full as he is shot, in essence because he is getting what he wants, he is succeeding with getting away with the crime. Serves the police right! Here they are murdering an innocent man (at least they think he is innocent) as a threat. I also felt that this leader which he killed was probably a tyrant anyway. It seems like most leaders in these era in Africa were all blood thirsty killers.

The Rubbish Dump

This story, about a young boy who would much rather be at the local airport watching planes land and take off than in school, was a little bit gross. The young boy watches the workers come and go from the planes with their wheelbarrows full of discarded food and garbage from the planes. The childs fascination with the planes as they take off and land is easy to understand considering he lives in a part of the world with very little connection to everyday technology. He is in wondermeant of how a machine can fly in the air. The gross part was when the young boy reveals that the workers are actually spending time foraging for food in the garbage pit (after it has been discussed that the barf bags have also been tossed in the pit ew!) Although this again just shows what kind of impoverished area these people must live in. Also, it was very interesting that the workers thought of the planes as nothing more than a vehicle for the "fat white man" to be transported into their country in. Kind of a sign of the changing times I suppose.

The Prophetess

I really enjoyed "The Prophetess", so much so that I wrote my second essay on it! The young boy in this story is scared for his life when he approaches the mystical prophetesses house to retrieve holy water for his mother. All of his fears which have been fed by the rumors spread about town come to a culmination as he trembles outside of her door wondering if he should flee or continue on inside. It is finally when the young boy is inside the prophetesses house and he smells camphor oil, which his mother uses for her ailments, that the young boy realizes that the prophetess is human just like everyone else. His fear turns to slight comfort as he begins to see the prophetess in a motherly fashion. Finally when the young boy gets the holy water and begins his trek home I was filled with trepidation as he encountered obstacle after obstacle out on the streets. I knew before I read it that the bottle of holy water was going to be dropped and broken all over the street! But thank goodness it did because it helped the boy to understand that it is not necessarily the holy water which will heal his mother, but the love and devotion that mother and son have for each other. Good story!

Clocks Like Horses

"Clocks Like Horses" may have been in my top 3 least favorite stories of the semester. It was very difficult at times to understand exactly what was occurring in the story. Essentially there is a man who travels to a town to have a watch which he has inherited, from an original seamen, repaired by one of the only watch repairmen left who knows how to repair the watch. I did think that it was kind of cool that the watch repairman had clocks that track all of the different times throughout the world. Then there seemed to be a discussion about the Turkish war and sailors shipping horses for sale. And the saddest part of the whole story was when the man tells of the horses who drowned once the ship sank! The end of the story was the most confusing for me when the man arrives to his bedroom and observes another man already in his room? Overall this story just confused me!

Small Sun

I'm fairly certain that "Small Sun" is a type of Arabic "cautionary tale". When this man stumbles home in the dark of night, drunk, and comes across a djinn whom promises him gold, the man releases the djinn before collecting his money. Upon returning home safely to his wife, despite being completely obliterated, the man tell this story to his wife. They greedily lay in bed fantasizing about everything that they will purchase with the gold once the husband has caught the djinn again. Rather than waiting for day light, or just being happy to have arrived home unharmed, the husband stumbles back out into the night to look for the djinn again in order to collect the gold. In his greedy mind the money is the only thing that matters at this moment. The man runs into another drunkard who attacks him with a razor. As he lays on the ground bleeding to death, he hears the djinn talking about all the gold he would have gotten. The main theme here is simply. Greed is evil and will only bring about very bad things. Be happy for what you have and don't push your luck!

Flower Crazy

"Flower Crazy" is a very "descriptive" story about a young woman who is helping to earn income for her family by prostituting herself. The story itself wasn't really a story, it is more of a description of the life that this young woman is leading and about the area she lives in. Her father is crazy and spends all of his time giving out flowers that he purchases with his own mothers money (thus the nickname "Flower Crazy") so he does not contribute anything to the family. Her mother is a peddler of produce on the street so most likely does not bring home a lot of money either. Prostitution is, in this particular circumstance, probably the only way this young woman can afford to feed herself and her family. She very obviously lives in a severe sort of poverty as the author takes time to describe all of the hungry children which surround her and the lack of food in her own home. I also think that this young girl must be pregnant because the first thing she does upon waking up in the morning is get violently ill. All in all this story is a very depressing but entirely believable tail of what an impoverished family must go through to survive.

The Persian Carpet

In the beginning of this story I felt a strong sense of pity for this woman who had been forced into marriage, bore two daughters, and then was determined to make her way out of the marriage to marry a man she had been in love with before her forced union. How unimaginably difficult would it be to be forced to marry someone that you don't love and raise a family the entire time knowing that you are in love with someone else. And then on top of that to know that your children are going to be ripped away from you because of the divorce. I'm assuming that this woman had no rights to her children because of the country they live in? As the story progressed, however, my feelings did a complete 360 as one of this woman's daughters recognizes a Persian carpet in her mother's new home as a carpet that her mother had accused a family friend (who also happens to be blind) of stealing. This accusation had driven the family friend away and it was a hard loss to both of her daughters. At this point I really felt a strong revulsion for this woman and her lie. At the same time her lying about the loss of the rug was probably the only way that she would be able to retain some piece of property from her previous marriage.

Cairo is a Small City

In this story a man named Adil falls in love with a woman named Salma. Adil is an engineer who lives in the city and watches Salma for almost a year from his balcony as she herds her families sheep through the streets of Cairo with her mother. Adil encourages interaction with his beloved thru the gift of bread for her sheep. When Adil finally approaches Salma's family he realizes that they know of a man that he had murdered. Finally, Adil is killed by Salma's family as she is nearby. The title "Cairo is a Small City", had obvious significance in that Adil just happened to fall in love with a woman who's father knew of his killer past. You should never underestimate the chances of running into someone, whom you have wronged, in your future. The world is a very small place!

Another Evening at the Club

This story was disturbing. A man and wife accuse a servant of stealing a ring that they later on discover has simply fallen behind a piece of furniture. The young servant girl has been dragged off by the police and has been beaten regularly in an attempt to draw a false confession from her. Rather than doing the right thing and admitting to the discovery of the ring, this man and his wife choose to allow the torture of the young servant to continue and go on living their lives as if there is nothing wrong with their choice. This story is a perfect example of what might happen in a culture where the biggest concern is what your neighbors think of you. These people avoid telling the truth because the husband feels that revealing it will let people know that the wife had a beer before dropping the ring behind the furniture. Why does this man just assume that this is what people will think? Is it completely inconceivable that someone might misplace or lose a ring somewhere in their own home and draw an incorrect conclusion? Why didn't they just make up a story and say that they discovered a break in had occurred and that the young servant was innocent? I really wanted to slap these two hard across the face.

The Birds of God

The depression and desperation in this fathers story of his plight to feed his family is sad. Immediately it is easy to feel bad for this man who cannot feed his wife and children because the drought in his area is so bad that his crops will not grow and he is not able to catch any fish. A fisherman by trait, this man spends his time daydreaming about how much easier his life would be if he could fly away like a bird. When a bird lands on his boat on the river, the man thinks briefly about eating it, but instead seems to develop some type of worship for the bird. He takes the bird home and feeds it what little food he has to the dismay of his wife and family. Finally, it becomes apparent that his wife thinks he has lost his mind and she leaves him, taking the children with her. The worship that this man has heaped upon the bird has driven off his family. At the end of the story I'm pretty sure that the man has died as he is in the river and cannot be pulled free. I then came to the assumption that perhaps this bird was the angel of death.

A Wasted Land

I think the title of this story should be "A Wasted Life". The main character of this story is telling the tale of her uncle who has been leading a double life in England. He is mentally ill and suicidal when he arrives home back to Africa. Come to find out he is married with a family, not only in his native land, but also is married with a family in England. When he eventually commits suicide my cutting his wrists I was angry. Mental illness is a horrible thing, but this man has left nothing but a wake of destruction in his path. Not only do both of his wives have to live with what he has done by his betrayal but his children have to try to accept it. The main character also talks about how the war in her country has cost her family so much. Her father has died soon after her country has won its independence and the family has been left in ruins by the debt that they have incurred. It seems to me that even though this family wasn't directly involved in the fighting they have still suffered losses. The strain of debt seems to have sucked the life right out of this family in a way that disabled them so severely that they never recovered.

Wake...

I had almost no idea what was going on in this story. From what I could tell it was being told from a child's point of view? It seemed like their were some references to a war and a lot of killing surrounding Johannesburg which is a major city in Africa. Further into the story though I think the author was writing about displaced people? Maybe people who were forced away from their homes because of fighting in their area and were forced into the city as refugees. There were also references to "the regime" and a reference to the regime giving back the children? Overall I didn't really understand the story other than to gather that their was a lot of misery coming through the pages and that people had been killed and displaced. Perhaps there were children who were left behind because their parents were killed in fighting. Without more background into the history of this particular time in Africa it is just really hard to understand what exactly is going on.

Amnesty

In "Amnesty" the young mother in the story has a very strong love for her husband. She has stayed with him for almost a decade while only getting to see him a handful of times. Because her husband is an activist and is a supporter of unions at a time in Africa when this viewpoint could cost you your job and your freedom, this young woman must have been very brave. It saddened me to think that the best part of their lives, their younger years, was spent with the husband in prison (for his beliefsand actions) and this young woman was raising their only daughter without a husband to help and support her. The level of responsibility for this young mom to take care of herself and her family without any support from her husband must have been unreal. Nowadays women worry about whether or not they look good in their new outfit for Saturday night, but in this story this poor woman had to survive on her own while the man she loves is imprisoned. Kind of puts things into perspective!

The Home-Coming

"The Home-Coming" was a melancholy, sad story. A woman who seems to be somewhat elderly is coming home to her native land and is met at the bus station by her daughter. Her daughter has obviously grown into a young woman that this mother seems proud of, but her sadness is palpable as she reflects on the fact that she has missed out on so much of her daughters life while she has been away. It never becomes clear exactly why this woman has been forced to live away from her home and her family, even as she reflects on the fact that her "homecoming" is a bit less than a jubilant celebration. She does reveal that she has been working for a woman (I'm assuming a white woman) and her family, but she never states if this was imposed on her by force, or if this was the job she undertook in order to support her family. The end of the story does seem to be a bit more promising as the young woman's daughter says that their are people waiting to greet them at their intended destination. I wish the story would have continued on because I felt so sorry for this mom that I wanted to read about her having a little bit of joy at the end of her journey.

A Perfect Wife

"A Perfect Wife" starts out very suspenseful. I wondered what the big secret was that everyone was so intent upon keeping. When we finally read that it is a secret about war I was surprised. It seems to me that war is not something that people whisper about, as the author writes, but something that here in the U.S. anyway, is heavily debated in the public forum. As the story shifts to Sira, who is a 12 year old bride, my disgust rose. A 12 year old...bride. I realize that we are talking about a whole different part of the world with different cultures at a slightly earlier time in history but the very thought of a 12 year old being married makes me ill. Then when Sira's husband dies I breathed a sigh of relief! Regardless of whether or not she is ok with being married and he is a good husband I just could not get over the age thing. And the thought of being shut in a chamber at the age of 12 with your dead husbands other wife seems like an unimaginable amount of torture to take for one hundred and thirty two days. When finally Sira is married off to another man and then gives birth to a daughter 9 years later, I even found myself thinking, "I wonder how long that young woman will have to wait before being married off as a pre-teen." Sometimes cultural differences are hard to look past. Especially when they involve pedophilia.

The Barrel of a Pen

"The Barrel of a Pen", was the most disturbing story I have read so far this semester. Abortion is never a fun topic anyway but the light-heartedness that these young women approached this topic with was unsettling. Particularly when the pregnant woman states that the baby these three girls are aborting has "a hard head like her mother". I literally wanted to be sick when I read that. Here this woman is paying another woman to stab her baby with a pen barrel and she is cracking jokes. Furthermore, the baby is old enough not only to be identified as a girl, but old enough to kick. I also felt this story was a perfect example of what happens when abortions are considered illegal and women are forced to perform them "in back street alleys" as they say. The danger that a woman may face when attempting to abort a fetus in this way is unbelievable.

Night Thoughts

"Night Thoughts" was definitely an interesting read. The opening paragraph was absolutely depressing and desolate with the main character giving scenes from what seems to be the inside of a hospital "of death". He is surrounded by the dead and dying (of AIDS possibly?) who seem to be in agony. As the story progresses and the main character continues to share his story I found it a little confusing in my own mind to understand how in a particular time their can exist 1) a ruling king, 2) cars, and 3) tabloids! The tale that the main character tells is basically a story about the king in power during his lifetime and all of the "rumored stories" surrounding that king. The character is speaking to someone who has already passed on. Finally towards the end of the tale we learn that this man is confined to a hospital with a brain tumor that is slowly killing him, surely a painful way to die. I found it very odd that this man would think to himself that his brain tumor was the only thing he had ever "owned". Was his body and mind not ever his own? It almost seemed like this guy welcomed his prognosis and was eager to die.

Crocodile Tails

"Crocodile Tails", is a story about two women, one from Africa, the other British, who become friends after meeting at the school they both teach at. Gill is from a wealthy family and has come to Zimbabwe to live and learn about difficulties. She is disappointed when she is assigned to work in a school whose biggest problem is the corporeal punishment that is inflicted on the students by the headmaster. On the other hand, Gills friend (who is not named) is astounded that someone wants to give up all of the comforts that they have been given in life. The story continues and eventually the two friends split up when Gill returns home to continue her education. Eventually they plan for a visit and the story closes as the un-named friend lands in England.

A State of Outrage

This is a story about a woman, Vuyokazi, who has been murdered by a mob in her hometown because she has AIDS. The story is a tale about how her girlfriends from school are all brought back together after her death and how they band together to form an "AIDS awareness" group, aimed at educating people about AIDS. Because AIDS is so prevalent in Africa I was surprised by this story. Although educational levels in this country are extremely low so I suppose that the people who are native to this country, especially when AIDS began popping up, were terrified of what may happen to them. There was a time in the United States when similar things (perhaps not as violent) happened to people who were found to be HIV positive. Before the disease was understood, and before it was discovered that it was not hyper-contagious, the general population was terrified that AIDS was the next plague. I remember children being forced to stop going to school and men and women losing their jobs over this disease. Sadly, in places throughout the world where violence is a lot more common, I think that this kind of "mob mentality" is a very common thing.

Stress

What a terrible story this was. Told from two points of view from two totally unrelated people, who really aren't connected, "Stress" does an excellent job of drawing a picture of how different two lives can be even when they are being lived in such close proximity. The first point of view is told by a woman who is only referred to as "the major-generals lover". She is a woman who thinks very highly of herself for someone who is technically, a whore. This woman spends much of her day absorbed in her own vanity and thinking disdainfully of those people who are not as well off as she is. Ironically, she has only achieved her status of wealth by sleeping with a married man that she doesn't even love. She is a gold-digger who becomes very frustrated when she cannot garner the attentions of a man who lives across from her porch. Then, the story swithches to this mans point of view. He is a teacher who is barely making ends meet caring for displaced relatives who keep showing up on his doorstep. Finally, the stress of providing for so many people is just too much for him to bare, and this man murders his wife, then turns himself in to the police. The irony is that here this is a good person, who is doing his best to care for his family, and nothing but bad things happen to him. While on the other hand, this prostitute lives comfortably and benefits from the war that is going on in her country.

Papa, Snake & I

This story was a little hard for me to understand. "Papa, Snake & I", is a story about a family whose son becomes transfixed with a snake that lives in the families chicken coop. I understood the story, the snake bites the neighbors dog, who dies, and the neighbor becomes enraged and insists that he be paid some type of compensation. I found myself wanting to yell at the kid to kill the snake when he has the opportunity rather than to allow it to attack and kill the dog. If a snake came near my dog I would throw myself across then yard to protect her! I thought it was weird that the mother kept insisting that the son take a laxative..I was wondering if this was considered a "cure" for an imagined illness or something along those lines? Also, I was confused as to the references that were made towards the hired help, a young woman named Sartina. At one point she is not dressed appropriately and then she is flirting with other young men who works with her. These references just seemed out of place and I was not quite sure how they fit in to the big picture of the story. Overall I understood the story, but I felt like I couldn't form the whole picture to grasp the larger message.

The Power of a Plate of Rice

"The Power of a Plate of Rice" was a story about a gross abuse of power. Mr. Aziza, the principal of a secondary school has cut off Cheta Adu's salary because she has been forced to take 4 days off due to a sick child. Not just a sick child, but one who was on his death bed. This monster of a man has suspended Cheta's salary for 5 months, which has put her in such dire straights that she cannot afford to feed her family. Furthermore, she is a widow and her child depends solely on her. Finally, Cheta Adu arrives at Mr. Aziza's house, eats his dinner in defiance and refused to leave until he releases her salary to her! And it works, Cheta Adu gets her money. Persistance does pay off!

The Museum

I directly related to this story. Shadia, a young woman who is in an exchange program is in school with fellow foreigners and having a difficult time with a statistics course. Currently I'm in a statistics course and having a heck of a time! I cannot imagine how difficult it would be for someone who may not speak very good english. Shadia is engaged to a wealthy, yet unattractive man who lives in her native homeland. She feels trapped in an engagement that will provide handsomely not only for her, but for her mothers and sisters as well. She meets a man at school and starts spending time with him. She seems to treat him cruelly by mocking is earring and long hair but she truly does like him. As the story ends it is clear that Shadia feels she does not have the strength to overcome the barriers she would face if she and this young man were to become a couple. The cultural diversity is too much to overcome in her opinion and she would rather not attempt it.

The Betrayal

I had a hard time interpreting this story. Essentially, a man and a woman decide to have a child, who then for a time raise him and tell him "You will cross continents and meet many people. Tell them what we taught you. Rebuild the cities destroyed by violence and oppression." It is as if the child's parents want him to be some sort of Messiah or God. Unfortunately, the child travels far and wide taking in all of the spectacles he sees, but he never quite develops into a hero. Instead he feels "cut off from others" and "anguish was wrecking his life. It broke his spirit and stripped him of his strength." This continues until one day the young man falls in love with a woman who is completely oblivious to the feelings of love that he has for her. Then the young man drugs the woman, waits until she passes out, and rapes and impregnates her. The story ends violently with what seems like Armageddon.

Uncle Bunty

"Uncle Bunty" is another story about a man who marries a woman, does not lover her, and has numerous affairs. This story is told from the viewpoint of a niece who refers to this particular couple as "Uncle Bunty" and "Aunt Betty". Uncle Bunty has married Aunt Betty because Aunt Betty's father has given him a large amount of property to do so. They remain married for their whole lives because Aunt Betty's family will not allow her a divorce (despite her husbands philandering) until Uncle Bunty develops testicular cancer. Aunt Betty is at home caring for him one day when she receives a phone call from someone else who is also married to Uncle Bunty! Upon the realization that Uncle Bunty has been living a dual life, Aunt Betty's family "allows" her to have her divorce and life happily ever after in her old age.

The Red Velvet Dress

I hate to say it but "The Red Velvet Dress" really kept my attention throughout the entire story. Violence, incest, affairs, it had all the trappings of a Danielle Steel novel. Katrina has been in prison for 20 years for the murder of her father and the story opens as she sits at her mothers death bed with her aunt Tante. As the story unfolds we find out that Katrina and her best friend were sexually and physically abused by Katrina's father for all of their young lives. Katrina's best friend bares one child belonging to Katrina's father and when she becomes pregnant by him a second time and is subsequently run off of the farm they live on, she hangs herself. Katrina comes upon her friends lifeless body and shoots her father. Tante, Katrina's aunt, finally reveals to her that the man responsible for all of this horror was not her real father. This explains why Katrina has dark skin and hair in a light skinned family. Tante also reveals that Katrina's real father was murdered by the father she has grown up with after he discovered the affair between Katrina's mother and the other man. When Katrina's mother finally dies at the end of the novel, I was still in shock.

Enigma

The "Enigma" is a story about a young girl in her fathers care. Her name is Marie and the story is told from her point of view as a young girl who has led a somewhat sheltered life due to her fathers overprotective tendencies. She attends school during the day, but her father locks her in the house when he leaves on business. Her father appears to love his daughter very much and seems to contain her in their home for her own protection. Marie spends much of her time lamenting the fact that she and her father are waiting for a boy to propose to her. As the story continues, we learn that Marie is in fact secretly pregnant and knows that not only will she be forced out of school, but that she will lose her fathers love and protection and be cast out on her own; just her and her baby. I have to admit I found myself thinking "Is sex really that important that you would risk losing your family, education, and your future?" The funny thing is, here in the US, even in today's society, young people do this every day!

Deciduous Gazettes

Deciduous Gazettes was a little confusing for me to read. The basic concept of the story is that women marry men who cheat. And the rest of the tale is about what happens when those men get caught, and the choices that women do, or do not have, when it comes to either divorce, or revenge. The first portion of the story is told about a woman who knows that her husband is cheating on her, and she even knows the mistresses name! If I understood the story correctly, she overhears several of her friends discussing the affair in a woman's restroom and this is how she finds out. It is almost the ultimate form of embarrassment, to be the last one to know among your peers. Then this particular woman divorces her husband, something which is not popular in her culture, and is forced to allow her niece to move in with her as a "chaperon". I felt that this was a bit patronizing! Then it is discovered that the niece is having an affair with a different married man! I became a little confused when the story started to split up and I believe it began to tell other tale's of women who had caught their husbands cheating. I particularly enjoyed the story about the wife who destroyed the husbands apartment while he was out at work (after watching he and his mistress leave the apartment).

The Girl Who Can

The story, "The Girl Who Can", was one of my favorite to read so far! The story is told from a seven year old point of view of a little girl. Not only could I relate to the story on a personal level, I have watched friends raise their children thru this age and have had plenty of good laughs over the things that have randomly come out of their mouths. The authors portrayal of the interaction between three generations of women (daughter, mother, and grandmother) was very representative of the average family I thought. The grandmother, "Nana" was quick to criticize her daughter and granddaughter, but in a loving way, the granddaughter seems respectiful of her elders but at the same time a little distainful of the way they treat her, and the mother seems to be your typical maternal role. Nana is very proud when her granddaughter is selected as one of the school's top runners and just like a grandmother always does, dotes on her granddaughter. Nana's quips about her granddaughters thin legs are silenced once the granddaughter starts winning trophies for the village school.

Snapshots of a Wedding

This story about a man named Kegoletile, who has impregnated two women, Neo and Mathalta, is a tale about a mans choice between the woman he loves and the woman he marries for financial gain. Neo, who has been educated and holds an office job, is a very rude young woman who looks down her nose at other people in her village who are not educated. She is spoiled and mean, and extremely lazy. Mathalta, on the other hand, is a kind woman who is uneducated, but has a good heart. Kegoletile is clearly in love with and dedicated to Mathalta, but makes the economic decision to marry Neo. This story, while steeped in traditions regarding the marriage ceremony in Africa, is completely applicable in today's society. In fact, Kegoletile is even ordered to pay child support, a trend which has not always been around in the United States. The main theme of this story was that money cannot buy happiness.

Protista

This is the story of a man who has been exiled to a barren wasteland for his "political crimes". The severity of his situation is apparent as the author describes the winds "which were dry and dusty and would sting into the very coolness of our minds." The land that the man lives on is described as "red and clayey and scarred with drought fissures from the burning sun and the long cold nights..." The author paints a picture of total desperation, one in which no human being might actually be able to survive. The total amount of time the man has been exiled for is fifteen years, and it is apparent that he is very strong willed for having already survived twelve of them. The mans wife, Maria, has long deserted him after living with him in exile for an amount of time. As this man passes in and out of consciousness from starvation and dehydration, he remembers his father and also imagines monsters which he refers to as "manfish". These manfish, which dwell in rivers, are symbolic of this mans impending death. As the author states, "And they all wanted company; they were all hungry for me, thirsty for me."

The Betrayal

In this story, a man named Dr. Kamal finds himself faced with a serious choice. Dr. Kamal has become submerged into a world of politics and is considering the endorsement of a violent protest against a rising political faction. He is the poster child for an educated man who has become too wrapped up in his belief system and now thinks that murder is acceptable, as long as his beliefs and values are supported. The title of the story, "The Betrayal", is quite ironic in itself because as the story unfolds, it becomes apparent that the actual betrayal that takes place does not occur as the result of some well-hidden secret within another person, but instead the doctor actually betrays himself. During a meeting between the two rival parties, the doctor jumps up in defense of his faction, putting himself on display as a person who has strong hatred for the opposing group. I also found it interesting that here is a doctor, a person in power, who is described as "religious", and we can assume educated, using his power to incite a large group of people to do his murderous bidding. This type of person is very symbolic of every dangerous leader and ruler that has ever run a country. Dr. Kamal knowingly made the decision to sacrifice the lives and health of his supporters, without any thought as to their sufferings.

The Bridegroom

The Bridegroom is the story of a white man who is the supervisor of a "road gang" and he is spending the evening observing his workers and their interactions and also day dreaming about his pending marriage to a young girl. I found it interesting that this man seemed to have, quite literally, fallen in love with a picture of this girl. The photograph of the seventeen year old fiance was referred to numerous times within the story and this reference made it clear to me that while these two people were engaged, they seem to barely know each other. This man also clearly looks down upon his workers, although he seems quite interested in their musical revelry, who are all black. He is also, clearly a man with strong prejudices towards his workers as the author states in the story, "He thought for a moment that he would give them the rest of the bottle of brandy. Hell, no, man, it was mad. If they got the taste for the stuff, they'd be pinching it all the time." Furthermore, this story also did a pretty good job of painting a picture of what life was like at this time for workers in Africa. The white man was given a job as a supervisor, while all of the African Americans were workers for him. The "boss" even had a servant who cooked and cleaned for him, and he seemed to treat this man with heavy condescension.

A Conversation from the Third Floor

This story is about a woman who's husband is imprisoned and being transferred to another prison facility. She has brought one of their young children with her despite the hotness of the day and has also brought cigarettes to her husband. What struck me about this story was the desperation that this woman must have been feeling despite her "cool" attitude. Her husband is imprisoned, she is left to care for any children they have, and also she is responsible for bringing her husband any items that he may require while he is locked up. I felt her isolation as the writer described the "hot sun" and how the woman sat up against the prison wall and fed her child in a small patch of shade. She was completely ignored by the prison guards for the duration of her visit with her husband (which consisted of her standing outside the prison walls and yelling back and forth) as if she did not exist. Furthermore, towards the end of the story, the shadow of one of the prison guards reaches the woman's foot and she quickly withdraws it from reach. This action was very indicative, I thought, of the way that this women must have felt her place in society was. Almost as if she had been beaten down to the point of withdrawing from any type of interaction with these men, from even allowing their shadows to touch.

Minutes of Glory

This is the story of a young African woman named Wanjiru who has been transplanted from her home in her native village in Africa to a bar in the city. Wanjiru, who quickly changes her name to Beatrice, spends much of her time pining away for acceptance from the new African "elitist" crowd. These wealthy businessmen who have profited in this impoverished country, frequent the bars that Beatrice works at as a barmaid and often pay for prostitutes that work in the bars. Furthermore, Beatrice feels insignificant and unattractive next to her peers and assumes it is due to her looks when really it may be her poor attitude. Ironically, it is the fact that Beatrice does not herself become a prostitute that makes her co-workers jealous of her. Beatrice feels that if she can just attract wealthy men who will buy her clothes and other worldly gifts, that she will find happiness. Eventually, Beatrice ends up robbing a man who has found himself stuck in the same level of social status as she. With the money she has stolen, Beatrice purchases various items which she thinks make her more attractive to the men that frequent her bar. Sadly, Beatrice does not know that her attractiveness comes from a level of confidence that these items give her and not from the items themselves. I found multiple themes within this story such as "Money can't buy happiness", "The grass is always greener on the other side", and "Don't judge a book by its cover".

A Handful of Dates

This story is a tale of disillusionment between a boy and his grandfather. As the story of "A Handful of Dates" unfolds, the reader is first shown the awe and untarnished love that a young boy feels for his grandfather. Initially, the boy is shown to be very young and this is evident as the author writes, "I must have been very young at the time. While I don't remember exactly how old I was, I do remember that when people saw me with my grandfather they would pat me on the head and give my cheek a pinch." As the story continues, the boy tells about his time which is spent in his grandfathers presence, and of his stark adoration for his grandfather. One day the boy asks his grandfather about his apparent dislike with a neighbor named Masood. The boy has shown that he identifies with Masood on some level and does like him as a person. The boy almost seems to find Masood as an honest and relatable person. When the boys grandfather tells him how he has slowly purchased all of Masood's land on account of Masood's womanizing, the boy seems to draw back from his grandfather a bit. Finally, upon being present for the harvesting of date's on Masood's remaining property, the boy witnesses his grandfather taking possession of the majority of the harvest and remarking to Masood, "You're still fifty pounds in debt to me." Once the boy witnesses his grandfathers lack of concern or forgiveness of this debt of Masood's, the boy runs off and becomes ill, throwing up the dates he has eaten as if they are poison in his stomach. In this way the story ends, and the reader becomes aware that the boy no longer thinks of his grandfather as the center of his world. The story marks a right of passage wherein the boy becomes a man and for the first time sees his grandfather clearly.

An Incident in the Ghobashi Household

This story is about a young girl who lives with her mother and siblings and is pregnant with an illegitimate child. The mother, Zeinat, is caring for her brood while her husband is away earning wages to provide for the family. Zeinat spends much of her time contemplating what they will do when her husband returns to find his eldest daughter is pregnant. If I understood the story correctly, it seems that a hired man named Hamdan is responsible for the unplanned pregnancy. Finally, Zeinat decides to send off her pregnant daughter, Ni'ma, to Cairo before it becomes apparent to the others in their village that Ni'ma is pregnant. Zeinat gives Ni'ma her life savings and tells her not to return home until after she delivers the baby. At which point Zeinat tells Ni'ma to return home at night, when no one can see that she carries a child with her, and that they will pass off the child as Zeinat's. This story was an excellent example of the types of family bonds present in North African culture, as well as the expectations and judgements that many women faced at this time. It was also representative of what the reputation of a family meant within a village and just how far a mother would go to protect that reputation.

The Spider's Web

In "The Spider's Web" the author, Leonard Kibera, tells a story about a man named Ngotho who is a servant for two white people. The man and woman are married and Ngotho seems to see all of their interactions and dissects them in his mind. Ngotho cannot stand being the servant to these two people as is evident in the opening of the story where he is imagining being dead and buried inside a wooden coffin. I interpreted Ngotho's thoughts to mean that he was suicidal over his job. There are multiple references in the story to "The Queen", which I assumed was a reference to the wife in the story, Mrs. Njogu. I was, however, very confused when the thoughts about "The Queen" also seemed to include bees in a hive. Although Ngotho spent much time thinking that Mr. Njogu should be more of a man and stand up to his wife, I had a very difficult time finding where the bee metaphor fit in exactly. Perhaps the reader is supposed to draw on the similarity between how a bee hive is run and how this particular household seemed to be run. That is to say that "The Queen" of the bee hive is the boss in the bee community as was Mrs. Njogu within her own home. The very end of the story ended quite dramatically I thought, when Mrs. Njogu slaps Ngotho across the face and he retaliates by stabbing Mr. Njogu in the thigh. Then as a consequence of his violent act, Ngotho heads off to hang himself with a rope. In essence, the story comes full circle because Ngotho was originally thinking about suicide when the story began.

The Green Leaves

"The Green Leaves" is a story about a clan defending their property and their way of life from Europeans. The main character, Nyagar, is the symbol of turmoil within this group. First Nyagar awakens without his wife, Nyamundhe, beside him. Nyagar becomes increasingly aggitated when he realizes that his door is unlocked, a thought which makes the reader aware of a certain vulnerability that Nyagar must be feeling. As Nyagar leaves his home with his clan, in pursuit of thieves who have robbed the villagers of a number of oxen, he once again reflects upon whether or not he has locked his gate. After the thieves are caught and left for dead, Nyagar finds himself drawn by greed and returns alone to rob the thief of any money he has hidden in his pockets. As Nyagar leans over the body of the thief he thinks "You only need to put your hand in his pockets, and all the money will be yours. Don't deceive yourself that you have enough wealth. Nobody in the world has enough wealth." Nyagar is not only putting himself in jeopardy, but also risking the safety of his wives and their well being. Upon robbing the thief he assumes is dead, Nyagar is himself killed and discovered the next morning by his clan. Thus the lesson of greed is taught, as well as the suggestion that the values of clan life have been sacrificed and impacted by the European officers who show up on the scene.

The Gentleman of the Jungle

This tale about a man living in the jungle with all of the animals is a cautionary tale about particular groups taking over land and property under the guise of care and concern. In this story, the man is removed from his home first by an elephant who testifies that this decision is essentially "for the mans own good and for his protection". A jury made up of strictly "animal peers" decides in favor of the elephant and subsequently one after the other they take over each hut that the man builds. Eventually the man has built a hut for each animal, though not by choice, and he then decides that if he builds one final, grandiose hut, that the animals will fight over it. This plot comes to pass and while the animals are inside the hut fighting over its ownership, the man lights the hut on fire, killing all of the animals. He then goes on to live a peaceful life, without the constant threat of takeover. The man is quoted as saying "Peace is costly, but its worth the expense," at the end of the tale. The author does a good job of representing themes such as injustice, greed, and hostile takeover, in this simple story.

Civil Peace

In the story "Civil Peace", a tale of a warring nation's aftermath is told. Jonathan Iwegbu's family has survived a civil war with only the loss of one son, an ocurrance which in comparison to what other families have experienced, seems to be nothing less than a miracle. The phrase used between neighbors, "Happy survival!" sums up the ravages of this war torn area. Iwegbu's luck seems to run deep as he has also survived this war with a means to provide for his family by offering transportation, for a fee, with his bicycle. The tale continues on to paint a picture of what i imagine Haiti must look like in the aftermath of the earthquakes that struck them several weeks ago. Many of Iwegbu's neighbors are living on the streets, with nothing but the clothes on their backs and no food. Buildings have crumbled and are simply piles of rubble and the basic economic system which may have been present before the war has been completely wiped out. The severe poverty is apparent when a gang of people come to Iwegbu's house one night and rob him. Currently in Haiti there are reports of gangs and looting as people become so desperate to live that they will do anything to survive. However, this story also illustrates how communities can come together and rebuild as Iwegbu's "wife started making breakfast akara balls for neighbours in a hurry to start life again." Indeed, even after being robbed, Iwegbu's family rises the next morning and continues on in their daily routines. There is no doubt that war has taught them that this is the only way to survive and the resiliency of the people in this nation shine's thru this part of the story.

The Will of Alah

In this story two law-breakers, Dogo and Sule, spend an inordinate amount of time discussing their criminal plans. We learn about their pasts as hardened criminals who have done jail time but refuse to be rehabilitated. Irony within this story is present immediately within the first paragraph. The name "Dogo", which in his language means tall, has been given to a "short and squat" man. In the next paragraph we learn that Dogo seems to be a strongly religious man, despite his wayward life of crime. This religious belief in a hardened criminal is not only ironic, but also hypocritical. How can a man who is so religious break laws and harm people? Further into the story, after reading how Dogo has been pressed by a judge to choose a better life, these two criminals come to a point in the road where "In front of them the broad path diverged into a series of tracks that twined away between the houses." I interpreted this part of the story to be representative of a choice wherein these two thieves had the option to turn back, choose a more honest path in life, and straighten out their lives of crime. Finally, after these two criminals steal a gourd which houses a cobra and are both fatally bitten, I got the total picture of the tale. "The Will of Alah", is a cautionary tale, one about the choices to live an unholy life of crime and how those choices will end up killing you in the end.

The Apprentice

In this story, "The Apprentice", we are told of a blacksmith apprentice with royal heritage. Ogunmola spends much of his time reflecting on his families past as rulers of a nation. The reader is told of how Oba, Ogunmola's great grandfather, sacrifices himself in an epidemic in an attempt to save his people. Ogunmola's grandfather then takes the thrown but is overthrown thus ending Ogunmola's family rule. As Ogunmola continues on in his apprenticeship he tells of being torn between two master's who are twins; Omataiye and Omotola. These masters criticise Ogunmola's work and force him to decide between them as they are bitter enemies. Ogunmola, however, simply wants to spend his time daydreaming of his families illustrious past. I felt that the hatred between the two masters was a good example of what it may have been like to be a ruler and have to settle differences amongst the common people. Perhaps Ogunmola's refusal to mediate the differences between these blacksmith brothers was a way to show the reader that he would have failed as a leader of his people. Furthermore, I also thought this story illustrated that despite your background, life is unpredictable. As the saying goes you may be a prince one day, and a pauper the next!

Certain Winds from the South

This story I found particularly interesting because it was told from a woman's point of view. The main characters, M'ma Asana, her daugher Hawa, and her son-in-law Issa, seem to be very poor people living together in a land that in not providing work or food for the family. M'ma Asana reflects on the birth of her first grandson by Hawa and Issa and draws a comparison between this new life coming into the world and the birth of her own child; Hawa. She seems overjoyed that her daughter has given birth to a son, a feat which she failed to do when she herself became a mother. M'ma also draws parallels throughout this tail between her life and her daughters when Issa tells M'ma that he will be going South to find work to feed his starving family. A few decades before the man that M'ma intended to marry had done the same thing and left her, pregnant, to travel south and join the army. M'ma struggles with telling Hawa that Issa has gone south as she recalls being left in a similar manner. The story itself is an example of the strength of women, the bonds that they maintain even when abandoned, and also the bonds of family.

The False Prophet

My initial reaction to Mahmoud Fall, the main character in "The False Prophet", is that he is a lazy man who refuses to earn a living by working. The comparison of Fall to cats in the story is an interesting analogy that had not ocurred to me. Cats (in my opinion) give back the least of various types of pets, and instead are simply another mouth to feed. Further into the story as Fall travels "towards the sunset and the country of the Bilals" it became apparent to me that not only is Fall lazy, but as he changes his name to "Aidra" in order to trick people into worshipping him, he is actually a con artist. As the tale continues my opinion of Fall decends even further, if that is possible, as it is revealed that "he profited from his knowledge of the Holy Book", by using a Holy name to trick locals into providing food and shelter for him. Mahmoud Fall is also a racist as shown by the multiple quotes such as "In his view these ebony-skinned men were his inferiors" and "These blacks definitely had a low regard for the value of prayer". Fall's soul and his personality are very similar to the descriptions written in the text about "carcasses of animals which had been picked clean at every stage of decomposition...". Along his journey, Fall has begun as a dishonest person, who is lazy at best, or a worthless carcass. As the story unfolds it is almost as if his soul begins to "decompose" as he spirals downward into complete disregard for his fellow man by deceiving them and robbing them of their hospitality. Finally in the closing of the story Fall begins to go a little mad and hear voices. Almost as if he has a split personality between being a thief and a religious man, Fall is torn between his greed and his false piousness. As the story ends Fall "realized that there is no need to believe in Allah in order to be a thief!" I found this ending to be almost humorous compared to the rest of the story.