Analysis Of The Return By Ngugi Wa Thhiong O

The author, Ngugi wa Thiong’o, wrote the short story titled “The Return,” about a protester returning from a detention camp rather than an individual who stayed at the village because it shows the true emotions that men face when they left their families behind. The readers know that Ngugi wa Thiong’o faced great hardships growing up as a member of the Kikuyu people because the “Before You Read” page talks about his life as a child. The short passage says that Thiong’o’s mother was tortured, and his brother was killed in the Mau Mau rebellion. The subject of Kikuyu people in torture camps hits hard for the author because his family was a victim of it. Thiong’o writes “The Return” from a returning prisoners point of view so that he can honor …show more content…
Analyze and Evaluate:
The narrator’s reaction to Rami’s story did surprise me because throughout the story the narrator does express his/her feelings, but after the story is told the narrator is silent. The story also has a strong religious sense and that plays into the narrator 's reaction of Rami’s story.
(a) The relationship between the children before Rami tells his story is fun, playful, and relaxing. They are just two kids hanging out having fun. Although they fight about the marbles, it is only childish fighting and they get over it. (b) One thing that causes conflict between Rami and the narrator is the lead-toned marble. They fight over it, and it is mentioned in Rami’s story.
(a) Rami’s house in Bethlehem fell apart and became a pile of rubble. It does not tell the readers exactly what happened, but using context clues, the house falling apart was traumatic. It also said that Rami’s dad was in the house holding his Mauser rifle, and that is where Rami gets the leads from. (b) Rami tells his story to the narrator because they always play together with the marbles, and every time the two kids fight over the lead-toned marble. The marble reminds Rami of his …show more content…
In the story “A House for Us,” by Etidal Osman, the author shifts from present tense to past tense midway through the story so that she explain ideas better and write about the narrator’s thougths and feelings. The shift in tenses contributes a thorough evaluation of characters’ thought processes because it demonstrates the actions in the story that happened in the past. When the narrator and Rami play together in a room one day the author states, “When the sun grows hot we play in the shade of my room. We divide up the colored crystal marbles” (Osman 151). The quote tells readers what the two children are doing in the present tense. It means that right now the kids are playing with marbles in the narrator 's room. Everyone is content and their are no conflicts. Near the middle of the story the author switches into the past tense when the text reads, “I remained silent, afraid, my face towards the wall, the cushion between us” (Osman 153). The quote follows the time in the story when Rami’s tells his story. At this point the author is already using the past tense because she wants to show that the narrator is reflecting back on Rami’s story. The narrator in the beginning is a young child playing with a friend, but midway through the story the narrator is speaking as a grown adult. The narrator is thinking back to the day when Rami’s tells his story, and that explains why the author switches tenses. It is a more effective way to show the readers what is going on in the