Akoko is the constant river that flows throughout the five generations of Ogola’s set book

The novel, The River and The Source, by Margaret Ogola covers five different generations. PHOTO| FILE| NATION MEDIA GROUP

What you need to know:

  • Akoko is the most outstanding character in the novel. She is the source of the river that flows throughout the five generations.
  • Her family survives due to her determination, wisdom, hard work and clarity of vision.
  • At birth, Akoko’s yell makes her father think with satisfaction, “another rock for my sling,” and later the chief says that a home without daughters is like a spring without a source.

The novel, The River and The Source, by Margaret Ogola covers five different generations. No single character lives through all of them apart from Akoko, a phenomenal woman who inspires and is inborn in the five generations.

A character analysis is done by what the characters do and say, what others say about them, what a character’s feelings and aspirations are and how the characters react towards situations and events. Character analysis also goes beyond what and who a character is to cover the role the character plays in the book.

A character’s role can be to influence events and other characters, or develop the plot by influencing themes. The River and The Source, being a feminist novel, elevates women while men are given positive characters but they only appear to help the women to become successful. There are numerous characters in the novel, but this article will focus on the three women whose role is predominant — Akoko, Nyabera and Awiti.

AKOKO

Akoko is the most outstanding character in the novel. She is the source of the river that flows throughout the five generations. Her family survives due to her determination, wisdom, hard work and clarity of vision. At birth, Akoko’s yell makes her father think with satisfaction, “another rock for my sling,” and later the chief says that a home without daughters is like a spring without a source. Chief Odero found the child irresistible and trying to cover up for it would have been unseemly. Akoko was such a sport that she won not only the affection of her strapping brothers but their respect as well and woe to any village girl or boy who dared cross her line.

Akoko is confident and assertive. At the age of ten months, she utters two words, dwaro mara (want mine). This she screamed at her older brother Oloo, who had taken away something she was playing with (page 15).

Years later, when called in during her marriage negotiations, traditionally the girl should have been a picture of demure shyness, her eyes fixed firmly on the floor, her hands held in front of her mouth. Not Akoko. She walked in, steps measured, head held high, hands at her sides.

As a wife, she is a hardworking woman and she learns that the way to make a husband happy is by the work of her hands. Her herds at Sakwa are so big that it is necessary to build a special dam for them, separate from everybody else’s. At Aluor, she makes a second fortune at the age of 54.

She is inspiring. Her boldness inspires her daughter and the subsequent generations. At Aluor, Nyabera derives inspiration from the fact that she is Akoko’s daughter and as such should tackle challenges fearlessly. Aoro also draws inspiration from Akoko. As the great grandson of Akoko, he does not know the meaning of the words ‘giving up’.

She is also pioneering and foresighted. She is the first woman to seek help from the white man when she suffers injustice at the hands of Otieno. She makes the long journey through dangerous bush and succeeds in her quest. Her liberal spirit is also seen when she accompanies her daughter, Nyabera, to the mission at Aluor. She encourages her daughter to join the new religion and urges her grandchildren to get an education.

NYABERA

Nyabera is Akoko’s daughter. She is named Odero after her recently dead grandfather and Nyabera, the good one, for her charming personality. As a child, she has a personality that could charm the birds off the trees. She is also very bright and in no time at all is giving the hitherto unchallenged Obura a run for his money in riddles and storytelling. Nyabera, like her mother, is a pioneer who introduces her family to Christianity, which is later adopted by the later generations.

Nyabera is hardworking, just like her mother. Growing under the tutelage of her mother, she learns that a young woman has to be intelligent, fast on her feet and hardworking. Akoko warns her, “If it ever be said that you are as lazy as your mother, I will turn in my grave” (page 66). At Aluor, the two become some sort of fixture on the green sloping countryside and the locals make endless jokes about their iron backs and caked feet.

Nyabera is courageous and determined. When it comes to making ruthless decisions, Nyabera equals her mother (page 100). After her husband’s death, she journeys to Aluor in search of a different way of life. At Aluor, the loneliness of the place does not deter her from getting what she seeks.

She is loving and protective. She loves her mother deeply and in Aluor they love each other as two souls caring for each other deeply. Nyabera loves her brother, Obura, so much that his death devastates her. She is protective of her only child, Awiti. She lives in fear that something might happen to her. When she gets an invitation to a teacher’s training college, Nyabera is frightened that her child could be in danger.

AWITI

Awiti is the only child of Nyabera who survives. A ceremony is held at her birth to confuse the evil spirits and to enhance the child’s chances of survival (page 97). The baby is forthwith named Awiti (feminine for Owiti — the one who had been thrown away). She is the bridge between the rich traditional life of her people and modernity. In her seven children, the river that was almost drying up gains momentum.

Awiti is intelligent. At school, she holds her position very well, even in a subject she dislikes like mathematics. Out of 11 who sit the examinations, only five pass and Awiti is the best of them. With the certificate comes the invitation to the newly-opened teacher training college.

She is hardworking and determined. She develops her grandmother’s steely determination, which is not surprising since her grandmother is her confidante and mentor. She works hard and emerges top of her class and goes to college. In college, she is taunted and called all sorts of names, but she works hard until she finishes the two-year course and becomes a teacher.

She is self-controlled and patient. In college, Awiti is unimpressed by the many overtures in her direction, from a man dropping out of a tree to lovelorn notes flying into her room at night.

When eventually all the other girls are secretly paired either on the outside or in the inside, she remains alone. When she meets mark Sigu, though courageous, he has to behave appropriately to win her over. Their courtship is not rushed as she buries her grandmother then waits for her cousin to be ordained a priest so that he can marry them.

She is loving and responsible. Together with Mark, they raise their children to become responsible adults. When Aoro is suspended, she is keen enough to realise there is a letter even before her son mentions it. When Tony falls sick at night, she gets out of bed even before Aoro reaches her bedroom to report the sickness because, like all mothers, she sleeps without sleeping. When marks becomes involved in an affair, she forgives him. When she eventually gets to hear the rumours, she chooses to say nothing about it.

She loves her mother, too, and visits her at least once every two months, but she still feels that she has not done enough. She sends her twin sons, Opiyo and Odongo, to keep her company. She also loves her children and grandchildren. She wakes up to check on her grandchildren during Wandia’s graduation get-together. The love she shares with all around her is seen through the pain they feel when she dies, not only from her family but also the children she had taught.

To sum up, this novel is rich in characters performing different roles. Of importance to note are characters who are inspired in their determination and hard work by Akoko in the later generations. This  include Vera, Aoro, Wandia  and even Alicia, who is keen on emulating  her aunt Vera without knowing she is emulating Akoko’ s ideals. Akoko is the central character and without her there would be no story.

Learners are encouraged to explore the other characters who are not tackled here due to the limitation of space.

Next week, the article will tackle character traits from The Caucasian Chalk Circle.

 

The writer is a teacher at Alliance Girls High School. [email protected]