The River Between Essay Questions

Who is the real savior of the people in this story—if anyone is—and why? Is it Waiyaki? Is it Kabonyi? Is it someone else entirely?

There is certainly some ambiguity regarding the prophecy. Chege decides it is his son, but the veracity of the prophecy and origin story should be questioned. Chege himself is ambivalent about whether or not Waiyaki is the one, and Waiyaki also vacillates on the subject. He does not even work towards unity, which is what the prophecy entails, until it is too late. As for Kabonyi, he is certainly an unlikable character in that he is jealous, cruel, and self-interested, but he does seem to have a better idea of what is important to the tribe. Nevertheless, he does not seem to be a savior because he is on the extreme side of the question about what to do about Christianity and the white man. There may, in fact, be no savior at all—or, at least, no human savior.

How does Ngugi depict women in the novel? How does this representation influence the structure of the novel more broadly?

Ngugi actually depicts the two main female characters, Nyambura and Muthoni, in a mostly favorable light. They are not only background, wives, sisters, or sex objects. They, as critic Elias Bongmba writes, "have opinions; they are active and articulate, and they understand the issues of their time." Muthoni, in particular, can see the complexity of the issue of circumcision and the need to negotiate one's personal identity within the conflicting framework of Gikuyu identity and the Christian church. Nyambura is her "own agent and...is very aware of the risks she is taking." Miriamu, the girls' mother, is not a female character with the same autonomy but it is interesting that Ngugi suggests that the strictures placed upon her stem primarily from a cruel patriarch and his Western religion; she is made weak and impotent because of men, not because of inherent inferiority.

What is the narrative significance of rainfall in the text?

Rain plays a vital part in the story. Joshua lives in a house that stands defiantly, while "the tin roof was already decaying and let in rain freely" (28). This may be an allusion to the biblical parable of the man building his house on sand, which means Joshua has established Christianity on a weak foundation. Similarly, Waiyaki's school building is being eroded by the rain. While only a few isolated drops fall at first, soon they are described as participating in a race, and eventually replaced by jets of water. The onomatopoeia "drip" illustrates the sounds of the rain, while the simile "like soldiers marking time" connotes military discipline. While the rain is portrayed as a kind of savior reviving nature, as "the grass outside, which for a long time had been scorched and sickly, was now beginning to wake up refreshed" (61), it also erodes the land, making it poor as it destroys crops: "Carrying away the soil. Corroding, eating away the earth. Stealing the land." Therefore, the rainfall may represent the degree of colonization and foreign influence: while a moderate amount may lead to a flourishing economy, too much of it leads to the county's downfall due to exploitation.

How does the structure of the novel reflect and diverge from the various standards of the English literary canon?

Ngugi was a student of English and an ardent reader of it, and his early works, to some extent, look as if they owe English literature a debt (the turn to "inwardness," Conradian heroes, allegory, tragedy, etc.). However, as critic Apollo O. Amoko notes, The River Between is rife with "ambivalence, ambiguity, and slippage." There is resemblance, yes, but there is also menace: it is colonial mimicry and is not quite the same. Waiyaki's character is somewhat underdeveloped, and he can be deemed "an unpersuasive hero." On the surface it may seem like we want to, and have to, root for him, but there is something that's not quite right. Ngugi also mimics the aesthetics of tragedy, but we aren't sure just how tragic Waiyaki and Muthoni are supposed to be: the former is unpersuasive and the latter has shallow views.

Is reconciliation an objective of Ngugi's in this work? Point to specific elements of the text that support your view.

It is clear that the end of the novel is not an optimistic one, and that, as Elias Bongmba writes, "Ngugi's dependence on allegory, and a nationalist script of liberation through a messiah figure, does not give reconciliation any chance in the struggle to overcome the polarities between the people of Kameno and Makuyu; between Christianity and local religious values; between activism and education." However, the idea is there, and it is embodied in the love between Waiyaki and Nyambura. Waiyaki's final vision for his world is one in which education, love, political activism, and unity all work together, and his love for Nyambura is part of that. She also wants Christianity to let her love the man she's chosen. It is important to be open-minded, to understand the deep needs of the people, and to strive for mutuality. Their love is sacrificial, and as stated, reconciliation does not come about by the end of the novel, but there is hope for it.