Palmer represented a mixture of his positive and negative sentiments in the paper to demo his apprehension and position about human behaviours and life. His believe that no individual person in life is perfect seemed accurate and it was supported by the groundss of those things that happened at that clip every bit good as subsequent actions of human existences. My greatest find in this book has formed the footing of my position of life and the lesson learnt here is that worlds are non the same and we have different position and position of life. This position is further strengthened by the fact that homo are non basically the same and this histories for the different societal categories and cultural backgrounds human existences found themselves. I found it really convenient to hold with Palmer and excessively back up the position that human existences are endowed with both positive and negative qualities, and in some instances, the positive traits overshadows the negative traits making an semblance that humans or the universe is perfect ; Neither of these is so.
But one of import thing that is besides cardinal to human being is the fact that we make advancement. Worlds are bound to travel on with life admist hard state of affairss and utmost fortunes. In life, we fall and rise, win and lose, failed and win ; this are the manner life turns around-sometimes, it turns one to poverty, anguish and uncertainnesss, and at subsequently times it comes with good virtuousnesss of life and a renewed hope. This is what the popular stating “ what goes about comes around ” implies and we see this go oning even in our mundane life. Consequently, this are the sorts of things we saw in the life of the characters that Palmer ‘s described as we will analyze each of the cardinal characters below:
Gikonyo: Gikonyo was described to be a great and successful adult male in this book who found wealths and fulfilment in his woodworking occupation. His co-workers started envying him when he married the supposed most beautiful lady in the town. Gikonyo was one of the influential people that took brave stairss towards the great Kenyan motion in an attempt towards stoping racism in the land. He was the individual that pushed Mugo to establish an independent address during the battle of independency. His major challenger was Karanga who besides showed fondness for Mumbi.
It was revealed that Gikonyo and Karanga were in serious competition in the quest to get married Mumbi and they had to even wager to race in a train station but Mumbi was more antiphonal to Gikonyo and the consequence was the rekindling of love between Mumbi and Gikonyo. A batch more happened in the surface of this and many of the occurrences so were intriguing-Gikonyo interrupting his arm during the race against Karanga, Gikonyo ‘s apprehension during the Mau-Mau motion. Gikonyo found himself in a really terrific state of affairs when he came of the prison and realized that the adult female he so much love had a babe for his figure one challenger. Gikonyo fell ill afterwards and was admitted under medical intervention and it was in this portion of the narrative we learnt that he softened his bosom on Mumbi and that led to him accepting the babe along with Mumbi.
Palmer attributed a batch of positiveness to Gikonyo and he called him a good adult male because he fought for freedom with great synergism and bravery. Although it was said that he compromised at some point when he found himself in an utmost hard state of affairs, he strived to stand for what he believed and he showed his passion for resiliency all his life as described in the book.
Mumbi: Mumbi was a sister to Kihika and she subsequently got married to Gikonyo. Just like the other characters described in the book, she has her good and bad side. She showed great bravery every bit good and she took schemes and will to last and was likened to Wambu who kept a gun in her thighs to last. Ngugi described her as the ideal African adult female who is strong, domestic and beautiful. Sleeping with Karanja was her weakest action as Karanja was a strong challenger to her hubby Gikonyo. This brought a batch of unfavorable judgment and hatred to her non merely in the head of the other characters in the narrative but besides the readers. It was easy to state she is a weak and useless adult female even though a tight state of affairs compelled her to make that and the same can be said of any individual. She did it to salvage herself and her immediate people from famishment which was prevalent at that period of time-It became her sole responsible to take attention of herself and her mother-in-law when Gikonyo went to prison and it was in the face of a awful and hopeless state of affairs.
Geting confidant with Karanja was a survival enterprise for her and it was Karanja who took advantage of her to make what is evil. The consequence of this is Mumbi ‘s gestation and finally a boy. Gikonyo came out of the prison to larn this and took offense to choler and retaliation. Her mother-in-law reasoned with Gikonyo and found justification in her actions in the believe that it was her motivation that should be examined and non her actions.
Mugo: This is the first character introduced in the narrative. He was a husbandman who spent a batch of his life confronting ill-treatment from his aunt that subsequently died of aging. Following the decease of his aunt, Mugo practically had no 1 else to unto as household and that to a great extent informs the ground for his selfish actions in the narrative. He had no 1 and no class to contend for and he became covetous of Kihika who was a brave freedom combatant and a hero to think with. Mugo became a hero every bit good along with the narrative but he was described by the author as a “ wicked and treachery of trust. ” He did a batch to take the topographic point of a hero in the land nevertheless. He sheltered Kihika, led hungriness work stoppage, saved a pregnant adult female from ill-treatment and during Kihika ‘s day of remembrance ; he had the award to give a address holding recognized him as a great hero.
It was subsequently learnt in the narrative that he betrayed Kihika to the British people and he wallowed in the guilt of betraying is countryman. It was showed that he was ashamed of his actions and it was described that he battled with his scruples over a long period. The major negative trait he exhibited was to bewray to the Whites, Kihika who had made the inkinesss proud. This was regarded as a great informer non simply to Kihika and his kinsmen but to the full black race.
Kihika: This is another male hero character that was described in the narrative. His greatest accomplishment and grade was to give his life for the independency of Kenya, and the fact that he fought the conflict of the black on a corporate class. He was responsible for the violent death of officer Robson who was one of the greatest differentiator at that clip. Kihika was a strong and great militant and a freedom combatant to the nucleus ; he sacrificed his perspiration and blood to the independency and peace of his people. He was betrayed to the Whites by Mugo who had no thought at first that his action would take him to life guilt.
Expectedly, Kahika was tortured and killed by the Whites following his informer and the underpinnings of his decease were revealed and it started to distribute. Kihika was a great hero and he looked in front for the future coevalss and that shows his ground for desiring to let go of his people from the surety of the Whites. This he was able to accomplish in his ain small effort and part at the hurt of his life. He lost his life but he remained a non-existing triumph individual in the history book of the black and basically the Kenyans.
Karanja: Karanja is the black adult male who would hold been guilty of racism as he associated himself with the Whites basically to do his fellow inkinesss covetous of him. Many assumed and believed that he betrayed Kihika because of his actions so ; he collaborated with the British colonial Masterss on several occasions to bust up the inkinesss. He overlooked the fact that he was degraded among the Whites and continued to back up them in all stages ; it was a vantage avenue to be placed in front of his fellow inkinesss. His association and support of the black helped him to procure an assignment as small town head and he oppressed a batch of people during this period. It is difficult to impute a individual positive trait to him following the functions he played in the narrative.
He exhibited a contrary behaviour towards his race and civilization and that is really unfortunate to him. His actions would hold been seen as an docket to acquire to the top but he was excessively rough and wicked to his really ain people ; this was what was learnt when Mumbi consulted him for aid. He pretended to be a go-between between the black and the Whites but was suppressing the black and portraying something else on the exterior. He was an self-seeker and he took advantage of his people in a really unfortunate manner.
JOHN THOMPSON: was one of the colonial Masterss that came to Kenya along with his married woman, Mrs. Magery to stand for the British authorities in Kenya. He was a dictator and an important leader that found pleasance in suppressing the inkinesss. He was besides infidel to his married woman and cheated about as he looked for sexual favours and took advantages of the females around. John had a batch of negative traits and he influenced the black community in a negative and unfortunate manner.
The significance of carving the stool
Stool carving and its significance was depicted in the relationship between Gikonyo and his married woman Mumbi. The two characters showed committednesss to one another before the invasion of Gikonyo ‘s challenger Karanja which was besides responsible for the late carving the stool. Gikonyo gave in to the desire to carve a stool for Mumbi before he went to prison. He was truly in love with Mumbi so as Mumbi was a beautiful miss admired by many in the Thabai. However, job arose when Gikonyo came out of the prison to happen out that Mumbi already had a babe for his greatest challenger. This took Gikonyo towards a really awful and morally disputing epoch but his love for Mumbi was resistless and that formed the footing of rapprochement. By this we could do a safe premise that Gikonyo forgave his married woman and even the challenger, Karanja.
Ngugi used a batch of techniques in driving us to the universe of the characters and explicating their positions. In many instances he showed justifications for their misbehaviors and besides shows their motivations within the context of human enterprises and behavioural Acts of the Apostless. One of import thing to cognize about Ngugi is that he tried so much non to be bias in the manner he presented the characters and that entirely means a batch of credibleness to the narrative. The life of the characters as explained in this narrative shows a typical life style and battles of adult male in the face of the Earth. The narrative can be likened to the basicss of human life and the behavioural outlooks that are responsible for out workss. It besides depicts the facts that human existences are non the same and we have different mission and purposes in life ; even when we have the same mission, we have different aims and motivations and when we have the same aims, we have different attacks and waies to follow. Ngugi portrayed a subject of treachery and forfeit.
