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.