‘Memories’ is a good read but ‘The Pearl’ will triumph

The Pearl (left) has replaced The Whale Rider as one of the optional text in KCSE. ANTHONY OMUYA | NATION

‘Memories’ is a good read but ‘The Pearl’ will triumph

by Oliver Oloo

 

Two new optional texts — The Pearl and Memories we Lost and other Stories have been brought in to replace The Whale Rider and When the Sun Goes Downand Other Stories, respectively.

Many teachers of English are now on the look-out for write-ups on the new set texts before they take them to class. This is the time to cash in on a quick fix guide book. Some teachers are yet to see the texts, let alone read them. And when finally they will lay their hands on them, they may be taken to class as ‘raw’ as they are and read aloud in turn to the bewilderment of their learners.

I have read these two texts keenly and I feel many schools will take to the novel as opposed to the short-stories. This is because The Pearl, unlike The Whale Rider, offers a simple, linear plot that is easy to relate with. The episodes are easier to narrate and identify with than the stories in the anthology. The story of Kino can be sub-divided into eight main episodes, namely the night of the scorpio, Kino at the doctor’s gate, the search for the pearl, Kino’s dream encapsulated in the pearl, the new Kino in the eyes of his society, the violent Kino, the banishment of Kino, the death of Coyotito, the return of Kino and the disposal of the pearl.

However, these episodes would best be appreciated in terms of the new realisations and growth that they bring into the life of the main character, Kino. He grows from an insignificant brush house resident to an adored owner of the much-sought-after pearl. The pearl catapults him to fame yet bringing with it the social structures and the avarice that bedecks the caste system in his society.

Many students would sympathise with Kino and Juana’s predicament while appreciating how the unexpected windfall and its inherent status would alienate an individual. This reminds me of how sometimes when we stumble on a huge amount of cash, we are often dogged by it. We become suspicious of all around us and hardly listen to any advice, even from the closest of friends — our spouses. In Kino’s example it becomes the tragic-flaw, the thread that makes his pearl a zero-sum-effort.

On the other hand, the theme story in the anthology Mqombothi’s Memories We Lost would be appreciated not only in terms of superstitions that hinder development but in terms of education as a tool of empowerment. By passing the narrator through school, she learns that her sister’s schizophrenic condition is treatable and she does just that — seeks treatment for her sister.

The other stories in the anthology are also interesting and engaging, but many learners would grapple with the moral or take home of each so as to enjoy and respond to the concerns each of these stories embellish. Take for example Garcia Marquez’s Handsomest Drowned Man in the World. One would be fascinated by the level of admiration a corpse creates, especially among women to the extent of glorifying it, judging their own men using the strange body in their midst and domesticating before tearfully granting it a befitting send-off. That such a rare spectacle unites the small coastal village to the extent of awakening their environmental consciousness, likening with him before putting him back into the sea with a nostalgic desire of his return is intriguing.

There are also other stories in the anthology that would elicit interest in the ‘elitist readers’ in our schools because of the linguistic level it espouses. The story Light by Nneka Arimah would be enjoyed because of the relevant challenges of absentee parenting that it explores. Okwiri’s My Father’s Head would explore vain attempts to understand predicaments a parent faces. Barry McKinley’s Almost Home brings to the fore the futility associated with illegal immigrants — that the grass is not always greener on the other side. On the whole the anthology is in a sense a traverse through the realities of human existence resonated in societies across the globe.

My take however is that the anthology will take a keen reader, a dedicated teacher, an in-depth glance into the episodes in each story in order to make them to not only appeal to but also stay relevant to many of our secondary school learners. For once, the anthology will discriminate against rote classroom approaches and the enjoyment of literature as a mirror of existence. It is only those teachers and students with the literary spine and mettle that will take this bundle upon themselves. Otherwise, as it is now, John Steinbeck’s The Pearl will be popular among those with a limited reading culture and exposure to literature.

But even as teachers and students prepare to take on The Pearl in their numbers, they should be prepared for the depth that the text offers in its simplicity. They must be able to elevate the episodes to the realms of analysis, synthesis and evaluation even as they bring to literature what they already know about the world around them. This is the hallmark of integration as envisaged in the English syllabus currently. It would be interesting to see how the students perform in these texts.

 

The writer teachers literature at Booker Academy in Kakamega County. [email protected]

 

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Prefects election not the cause of poor discipline

by Peter Muthuuri

 

Abraham Lincoln defined democracy as a government ‘of the people, by the people, for the people.’ It is one of the key principles that should be inculcated to learners at all levels of schooling to avoid future coup d’etats in Kenya. It is owing to this that I write to disagree with Franklin Mukembu’s article titled ‘Streamline selection of prefects to curb indiscipline in schools’ (Saturday Nation, March 18, 2017).Firstly, his argument is a pure contradiction of himself. To elude on this, he says that the culture of bullying is creeping back to schools, which means it had been there before. To add on to this contradiction, he further says that at that time, teachers used to strictly control the selection of prefects. My question is, why was there bullying at that time?It is unwise to restrict the selection of prefects to teachers since this highly promotes segregation in terms of academic performance, denomination and body size. In my view, indiscipline by prefects is propagated by the inability of teachers to clarify the roles that the prefects should perform as well as assigning them duties that are supposed to be teachers’.

 

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Older leaders set bad example to young people

by Griffin Luke Awino

 

Over the years youths have lived to contend with the cliche that they are the future leaders. However, youths have found it difficult to take over leadership roles thanks to selfish politicians who are reluctant to relinquish these positions. Politicians have employed all sorts of means to lock out young people from leadership positions. However, there is hope in the Constitution.

Despite the law providing space for the youth, however, leadership should not come easy. Leadership comes with very many strings attached, including demands from the society.

It is disappointing that most of the  young people going for leadership positions just want to accumulate wealth. Only a few of them can comprehensively define their reason for eyeing these posts.

The veterans have offered enough lessons. We have interacted with them. They have used the youths to extend their selfish political interests, and many of the young people are readying themselves to join the looting fraternity.

As a young man, I cannot support such leaders.

 

The writer lives in Mombasa

 

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Simple story or big ideas, just write a good book

by Peel Maina Macharia

 

One can learn from ancient storytellers that the ability to captivate and entertain an audience was key to one’s success as a storyteller. This is true even for today’s writers. Kenya’s most successful writers like John Kiriamiti spun memorable stories.

However, succeeding as a writer in the modern age is no easy task. The modern literature writer faces different pressures from different directions and sometimes has to choose between being completely honest and remaining poor or saying what will please the public and gain financially.

The popularity of mass and social media causes fewer people to depend on the written word for entertainment and education. Writers have to resort to certain techniques to get recognition.

One of them is to write books that advance political ideas of certain countries. Although the writer may not wholly agree with these ideas, the country whose ideas he advances may reward him with a profitable literary award.

Some writers write specifically to win awards. Not in itself a bad thing, but it is not amusing to encounter lack-luster storylines and indifferent characters. Once you end the book, you realise that the writer’s purpose was not to entertain you but to push a political idea or theory.

I read an interesting article a few years ago. The writer, a literary critic, posited that few writers today can risk writing intellectually honest but socially unpopular books. Writer Voltaire, in his Candide, rejected the belief that we were in the best possible of worlds and that everything happened for good, even tragedy. Ayn Rand championed capitalism and self-interest in her book Atlas Shrugged and Katama Mkangi championed socialism in Walenisi.

A writer does not have to inject ‘heavy themes’ in their works. Just be original. Many people appreciate a light read. However, if you can blend a complex philosophy with a delightful story, the better. While Kiswahili writers are doing a good job, efforts to address social ills result in two or three-page speeches by a character. It should be the events showing the social ills, not a speech. Ken Walibora was able to successfully do this in Kidagaa Kimemwozea.

 

The writer is a teacher of English at Mununga High School in Kigumo, Murang’a County