Matigari Essay Questions

What is Gũthera's "eleventh commandment," and why did she create it? When and why does she break this commandment?

Gũthera's eleventh commandment is that she will never have sex with a police officer even if she desperately needs money. Gũthera grew up in a loving and religious household, and during the war, her beloved father was arrested for being a patriot and independence fighter, carrying bullets in his Bible. A police officer promises to release Gũthera's father if she has sex with the policeman; if she refuses, her father will be executed. Unwilling to be pushed around or compromise her religious beliefs, Gũthera refuses the policeman, and her father is promptly killed. Gũthera subsequently turns to sex work to support her family, but refuses to take her father's murderers as clients.

However, Gũthera breaks her "eleventh commandment" to help Matigari and support the revolution. To free Matigari from prison, Gũthera has sex with the police officer guarding the cell and steals his keys while he sleeps. Though Gũthera violated her convictions, she recognizes that her choice was essential for liberating her friends, her country, and herself.

How does colonialism continue after Settler William's death?

After Matigari triumphs over Settler Williams and John Boy, he expects his countrymen and women to enjoy the wealth they created under colonial rule, as the nation supposedly gained political independence. Returning to the city, Matigari is initially happy to see his fellow Africans driving expensive cars and owning property, privileges which previously were reserved for European colonists. However, Matigari realizes that those in power still oppress the poor to enrich the few, exactly as Settler Williams did. The national government, though independent in name, still serves Western countries economically and politically. For example, the primary leaders, His Excellency Ole Excellence and the Minister for Truth and Justice, are the children of loyalists, were educated in apartheid South African and British schools, and maintain close economic relationships with British and American businesses. The government claims to be pro-worker, but violently suppresses strikes to maintain profits and appease foreign business owners. These exploitative economic systems are propped up by oppressive and racist institutions, like a cruel police force and a legalistic church.

Why does Matigari bury his weapons, and why does he inevitably try to dig them up?

Matigari mistakenly believed that colonial oppression died with Settler Williams. An advocate for truth and justice, Matgari only uses force when absolutely essential and buries his weapons to help create a peaceful, prosperous society without force or the threat of violence. However, as Matigari quickly learns, those in power are unwilling to listen to reason or impassioned pleas for humane treatment. His quiet revolution against the government fails because most people are afraid of the government or comply with oppression for personal gain.

Demanding equality and the fruits of his labor, Matigari is attacked and arrested; his friends are brutalized and killed. Thus, Matigari concludes that a combination of force and reason is necessary to overthrow oppressors. He goes to retrieve his weapons.

What symbolic role does John Boy Junior's house serve in the narrative?

Matigari toiled to build Settler Williams's house and demands to live in it, as Settler Williams did not contribute to the construction and forced Matigari to sleep outside. After Matigari kills Settler Williams and his servant, John Boy, he expects to claim the house as his own. This sentiment symbolizes how, after decolonization, formerly colonized people expected to enjoy the fruits of their labor.

However, their sons, John Boy Junior and Robert Williams, inherit the house and refuse to allow Matigari to live in it. This dilemma is an allegory for neo-colonialism. Just as the descendants of colonizers profit from the businesses and private property developed during the colonial period, John Boy Junior and Robert Williams hoard the resources their ancestors claimed by force. The house represents colonized countries and their wealth, access to which is denied to the descendants of colonized people.

Matigari repeats that he dreams of taking his entire family to live in the house, which he believes he is entitled to. When he is refused, Matigari plans to build a new house with solid foundations but also kick John Boy Junior out of the original home. This sentiment is symbolic. Seeing how the country retains oppressive colonialist structures, Matigari plans to start from scratch and rebuild society rather than perpetuate inherently unjust systems. By building the house anew, Matigari means that he plans to rebuild the country.

How does the author use repetition to reference African literary heritage?

In interviews and in the introduction to the text, author Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o explains that the novel Matigari ma Njiruungi contains elements of Gĩkũyũ oral literature and can be read as both an epic song and as a written text. The text includes repeated phrases like refrains in a song and even contains entire stanzas of poems and songs repeated throughout. These verses remind the reader that the text is born from a rich tradition of oral storytelling.