Tambu first imagines cosmetic and hygienic improvements by describing what she’ll be leaving behind, “corrugated black callouses... scales on my skin that were due to lack of oil, the short, dull tufts of malnourished hair.” She sees improvements in her daily routine leading to unprecedented amounts of leisure and an existence devoid of the small frustrations she was accustomed. Above all, the most crucial aspect of her self-improvement will simply come from her having made it out of poverty and being free from the toils of the village. Tambu realizes that her intellect will improve and she will learn interesting things, but that’s not what makes her breathe a sigh of relief as she enters Babamukuru’s house. She is grateful, no matter how it happened and for how long it lasts, to be out of the village and is willing to be shaped by her uncle who has attained a lifestyle she desires. Although Tambu is thrilled to share the same material comforts of her uncle at that time, she’ll be unhappy if her experience at the mission doesn’t lead to the prospect of attaining her own material comforts in the future. It was always Tambu’s plan to work hard and earn and an education which would consequently earn her material comfort and status, and she was willing to give every ounce of herself to this cause, it just so happened that when her brother died an opportunity landed in her lap. “What I experienced that day was a short cut, a rerouting of everything I had ever defined as me into fast lanes that would speedily take me to my destination.”
In Tambu’s description of her uncle’s house she gives the reader her perception as young girl that day and her perception as a more matured, experienced women; “It looked very sophisticated to me at the time. But looking back, I remember that the cooker had only three plates, none of which was a ring; that the kettle was not electric; that the refrigerator was a bulky paraffin- powered affair.” Her descriptions foreshadow the possibility that in Tambu’s future are trips to nicer, more advanced kitchens and that possibly her own clean kitchen is responsible for shrinking the stature that her uncle’s may have held in her mind at one time.
For Tambu, I believe material improvement is the primary attraction of education. All of her detail, all of her poetic language is used to describe her material surrounding. When on the subject of education her descriptions become flat and if it wasn’t for the habit of reminding herself that she is there to learn, she might forget it all together. “I could not wait to enjoy these comforts that Nhamo had described to me in patient, important detail. I could not wait to enjoy these consequences of having acquired an education on Babamukuru’s part, of being in the process of acquiring one in my case.”
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ReplyDeleteYou made some really great points here. I definitely agree that she imagines a lot of changes will be cosmetically and hygienically. Here's the metaphor of clealiness symbolizes comfort and luxury for Tambu. From Nhamo's boasful descriptions, Tambo is taught to think that dirt and blackness represents some form of disease. She describes the white house and the skin of the European people, which comes to represent to her as goodness, holiness and success while the dark houses and dark skin comes to stand for some form of deprivation. If you can recall, earlier in the novel, Tambu narrates that once her brother went away to the mission school he was several tones lighter in complexion.
ReplyDeleteI agree. At this point in the story, education is primarily a material concern. However, I think it is interesting that Babamakuru is venerated for his wisdom by the other family members. Tambu notes, somewhat ironically I believe, that Babamakuru was right all the time. He was the patriarch of the family not because he was the oldest, but because he was the wealthiest and most educated. I think Tambu believes that education will also allow her to gain prestige and wisdom within her own family, although her father and uncle believe otherwise (at one point i think her father objects because her education will only enrich some other family, implying that when she marries the family will no longer have a claim to her and her education).
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