Summary
In this chapter, William discovers the dynamo, a motor-powered light that many use to light up the way in front of their bicycles. The mechanism fascinated him, and he tried to understand its inner workings by connecting it to a radio and powering it that way. This delighted William and Geoffrey for some time, but they were unable to afford their own device.
Electricity is still a widespread problem in Malawi. Most people live by the light of the sun, unable to afford the light to do anything productive after the sun sets. Malawi's electricity is controlled by ESCOM, which stands for Electricity Supply Corporation of Malawi, a government-run organization that supplies electricity to the rich. The process is long and involved, and as a result, most people don't have electricity in their homes, and for the people that do, the constant power outages prevent them from fully enjoying that privilege. Additionally, deforestation in Malawi is a vicious cycle that keeps people in poverty without electricity. Without electricity, people need to chop down trees to cook and live, but when the trees are no longer there, the topsoil is quickly washed away by rain and clogs up the river, preventing the power companies from operating properly and driving prices up. This cycle is one of the main reasons that Malawians still live without electricity.
For William, however, a matter of greater concern was the final exam that he had to take as he finished his education at Wimbe Primary. The test spanned three days, and covered subjects from English to mathematics, but after a period of hard work and studying, William felt confident that he would do well and be placed in a prestigious secondary school when the results were posted in December.
Since classes were no longer of major concern for William, he began helping his father on the field once again. While he and Gilbert did this, they noticed people looking for ganyu, or day labor, in exchange for food. This was the first sign of the impact of the food shortage on large swaths of people, and Gilbert's father, Chief Wimbe, had to take care of these vagrants as they came to him seeking help. Trywell was not worried, however—the government usually kept an extra store of food, just in case of an emergency like this. ADMARC, which stands for Agriculture Development Marketing Corporation, is a government-run company that sells maize at a cheap price, and Trywell thought that they would provide them with the extra food that they need. However, they received news from the president's opposition party that President Muluzi had sold the surplus grain for profit abroad. This spelled disaster for the common people.
With the price of maize rising, people began eating gaga, the husks outside of the maize kernel. In normal times, these parts are thrown away or given to animals. However, in these dire times, even gaga ran out, and that showed the true extent of the food shortage. William's family, like many others, had to cut back on phala, or maize porridge. With these harsh times, William found that the people around him were changing—Geoffrey, since his father's death, had been less receptive to William's jokes, and Khamba had not jumped as eagerly when given a little food to eat.
During this time, President Muluzi made many empty promises to his people, promising them better desks for their schools, shoes for every citizen, etc. None of these promises came into fruition, and he only seemed interested in keeping these promises until election day, after which he would then refuse any further aid. So when it was announced that President Muluzi would stop by William's town to make a speech, everyone asked Chief Wimbe to tell the president of their famine. When the day came, the atmosphere was bright and vibrant, and while Chief Wimbe's speech was met with audience support, the members of the president's retinue beat him up for speaking ill of the president. This decreased morale among the people, as it seemed the government was willing to do little to help in their struggles.
Analysis
The bicycle dynamo is one of the most curious contraptions that William has thus encountered, and will continue to color the way in which he innovates in the future. It will eventually play a pivotal role in the creation of William's windmill, so its curious nature here acts as foreshadowing for future events. For example, this period of time also teaches William the difference between direct current and alternating current, but he doesn't learn what this means until much later. Its mention in the story this early on demonstrates concretely how the process of creating a windmill is a result of years of curiosity and not simply the result of a few months of labor.
As Malawi descends into famine during this chapter, there are several instances of dark foreshadowing for the coming months of suffering. Many markers of last resorts were becoming unfeasible, such as the estates that typically need ganyu or the stores of grain in other parts of the country. The delivery of all this bad news comes in quick succession, where conditions seem to worsen in each paragraph, with seemingly no hope in sight. The line "We were headed for a disaster, but even [Trywell] didn't know how bad it would get," foreshadows the desperation and hunger of the coming famine, when only glimpses of its severity can be seen (88).
Furthermore, this foreshadowing is coupled by the sense that the government of Malawi will not aid the people when they suffer. The chapter transcribes some of the words of Chief Wimbe's speech towards the president, but not all of it. Instead, much of the speech is paraphrased, and the quote "how can you use the toilet if you never eat?" demonstrates the public opinion on this topic (96). The rhetorical question is a mixture of dark humor and logic, and shows how deeply President Muluzi misunderstands the problem at hand. However, this question is answered by a battering of both Chief Wimbe's body and the people's morale, emphasizing the hopelessness that the people are now faced with.
