Summary
This chapter follows one of the first significant moments in the life of William Kamkwamba - the death of his Uncle John. He suddenly died after being diagnosed with tuberculosis, and his loss sent ripples of grief throughout the family. William grieved deeply, but did not cry and wail in the same way that many other members of his family did. His cousin Geoffrey was irreparably changed, and the rest of the family also suffered from the same grief. William's other uncles, Socrates and Musaiwale, came into town for the funeral, and William wanted desperately to go back to playing, to try not to think about the abrupt and sudden loss.
Economically, following Uncle John's death, Trywell now had to take care of the business all on his own. The money that had been earned from the farm, however, did not go to him. To prevent family struggles following an inheritance, Trywell peacefully handed over the money to Jeremiah, John's eldest son. However, Jeremiah was an unreliable and superficial man, spending his time in town getting drunk instead of working diligently on the farm. Within two years, most of the money earned by Uncle John had been squandered, and the family was left to survive with very little. Without money, they could not buy enough crops or fertilizer to sustain any sort of well-off lifestyle, and had to find their own way to make money, quickly.
In addition to these developments, all across Malawi farmers faced tough decisions. The new president, Bakili Muluzi, created policies that reduced government subsidies for farmers, so the prices of fertilizer and seed shot way up. As a businessman, President Muluzi's policies differed widely from the previous President Banda's sympathies with the common farmer. The lack of government subsidies for small farmers meant that the competition with larger companies was made exponentially more difficult, and the Kamkwamba family had to let go of a lot of seasonal workers because they could no longer afford to pay them.
Shortly following Uncle John's death, William's uncle Socrates lost his job as a welder and came to the rural area to live with his family. With him, he brought his entire family, consisting of seven daughters and a large dog named Khamba. This dog immediately became affectionate towards William, which he resisted at first. However, he eventually grew fond of Khamba and allowed him to follow wherever he went, even though sometimes, his presence was not welcome by others.
One of the main activities Khamba and William did together was hunting. They made traps to catch birds with mechanisms held together by tension and which William could release and smash the birds against a wall, incapacitating them until William, Geoffrey, or Charity, their older cousin, cut off their head. Although these birds were small, they were one of the family's only sources of meat, so William took special care when making them. The traps seemed to be made of local materials, the branches of the blue gum tree, or a bicycle tube. Whenever birds were caught, William and Khamba were always very excited and happy.
During one hunt, William took the birds that he captured to the mphala, a home for unmarried boys. This is where his cousin, Charity, lived, along with Mizeck, his friend. William was usually not allowed inside, because the boys who lived there were much older than he was, but whenever he was useful or earned his right to be there, such as with these captured birds, the residents let him in. However, they were less receptive to Khamba, who they kicked away without remorse. They enjoyed the birds together, and had a good meal.
Analysis
This chapter primarily focuses on William's childhood, and the adult situations that he encounters even as a child. The extent to which he understands the situations is unclear, but William does seem to understand the emotional weight of the events in this chapter on the people around him. Firstly, when Uncle John dies, it is one of the first major deaths that William experiences in his life. Uncle John had done so much to help their family, as evidenced by the fact that they refer to him almost exclusively as Uncle John, whereas William refers to the other uncles by their names without the "uncle" title, such as Socrates or Musaiwale (50). Because of this closeness, William's reaction to his uncle's death seems to be more shock than any other emotion, and he has to force himself to cry. Following his uncle's death, much of the events that transpire are from a future, more mature perspective. Although William plays a part in the narrative, he is not the main protagonist, and so describes how events happened through the perspective of his father or cousin.
Another aspect of growing up in Malawi on a farm is Khamba, the dog that William's uncle Socrates brings with him as he moves in to the farm. At first, William has to balance his irritation and desire to yell at the dog with his social reputation, as others would laugh at him for speaking to an animal. His first description of Khamba is littered with alien adjectives—from looking like its fur was paint-splattered to calling it "exotic," William's distaste for the dog is clear (56). However, as William grows to accept the dog in his life, he focuses more on his actions, where without being told, he became an unofficial watchdog over the livestock, slept outside William's door each night, and also assumed a playful energy, purposefully torturing the chickens for fun. The emphasis on Khamba's actions, and lack of speech, is what William likes so much about the dog, as he "didn't talk or tell me what to do" (57). This is his reasoning for eventually becoming fond of the dog.
When the two hunt together, the reader gets a glimpse of William's inventive and mechanically oriented nature. The simple sentence structure of these trap set-up passages gives the impression of an instruction manual with his clear and precise movements. And if the sentences aren't clear enough, William also includes a simple diagram of the trap, which captures the visual equivalent of his simple and clear words. All of these mechanical elements to language serve not only to create a clear picture of the trap in the reader's mind, but also to emphasize William's way of thinking, which will become important when he later builds a windmill. It is his experimental and scientific way of thinking that gets him to the knowledge he needs to innovate.
The mphala is the final element of adult life that William experiences in this chapter. When the unmarried boys constantly belittle and infantalize him, he feels an acute sense of embarrassment. His membership among this group of bachelors is always conditional, as he has to run errands for them to be allowed inside, as if "paying dues" (64). His desperation to be a part of this group of boys is clear, however, as he returns to them over and over to try and join in their ranks. This demonstrates William's desire to grow up quicker, especially since his childhood is mostly spent in a "houseful of girls" (65).
