Summary Chapters 1.2.3.4.

Summary

 P.1- 6

1        The chapter starts by announcing Tambu's brother death. She describes the way in which her brother used to come back from the mission in Babamukuru's car because he didn't like traveling by bus.

2        Tambu describes the landscape of the journey that Nhamo did in his way back home from the bus terminus. 

3        She talks about the opportunity of education that Babamukuru gave to Nhamo. She also tells that her brother went home only once a year because he didn't want to work in the homestead during his vacations.

P.7-13 

1        Babamukuru pursued higher education, which resulted in his financial success.

2        Nhamo goes to live with his uncle for a few years and he becomes embarrassed       by his own family's poverty, avoiding any labor whenever he returns to the homestead. 

3        Nhamo refuses to carry his own luggage, but expects the women in his family to carry it for him.  

4        Nhamo was able to start school at the age of seven. 

5        Babamukuru lived in England with his wife,  Maiguru, and their children,  Nyasha and Chido. 

P.14-20

1        Baba didn’t t wanted to leave his family again.

2        A scholarship was given to Baba and Maiguru.

3        Baba s mother wanted his children to stay in the homestead with all the family.

4        Baba didn’t t wanted his children to experience hardship as he had lived in the homestead. Also he preferred to be with them to supervise their education and their development.

5        Nhamo was impressed of Baba s opportunity.

6        He wanted to become the same as Babamukuru.

7        Nhamo made a big effort to be the best of his class.

8        He couldn’t t go to school anymore due to the shortages of money to pay the fees.

9        Tambu s mother started to sell boiled eggs in the bus terminus. She also took vegetables.

10    She started paying Nhamo s school again.

11    Not enough money for Tambu s fees. It affected her.

12    Tambu s father told her to stay at home: clean, cook, grow vegetables and to learn how to serve her future husband.

13    Her mother comforted her “carry your burdens with strength”.

14    Tambu told her parents that she would return to the school and that she would pay her own fees.

15    She worked in the homestead, family fields and on her own plot.

16    Tambu remembered her grandmother very proudly.

17    Tambu s grandmother related the story of their family.

18    Tambu related all the hard work she made since the age of eight.

P21-27

1        Tambu compared herself to his brother, explaining his point of view (she considered very injustice women’s life) “But you can’t study… Because you are a girl”

2        Tambu expressed a big desire to get an education, so she planned to grow crops and sold them in order to pay her schools fees. But suddenly one day her crops disappeared

3        She desesperately need laugh, so she decided to go to her old school, Rutivi School, where she discovered that Nhamo stole her crops. It caused a fight, which was stopped by Mr. Matimba.

4        Tambu explained her plan, and Mr. Matimba decided to help. She took her to a White people town

5        Tambu knew a new world, Umtaly.

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P.28-34

1        Tambu did not like the way they looked, with the skin hanging in papery folds from their bones, malignant-looking brown spots on their hands, a musty, dusty, sweetish odour clinging around the women like a haze.

2        She was worried that they could not sell any maize because that was the money which she would use for her school fees.

3        Mr. Matimba was dubious. She told her that money was a difficult thing to keep especially when it is scarce.

4        Babamukuru and his family returned from England when I was in Sub B, the year that her brother came fourth in Standard Three.

5        Jeremiah did not like to see his daughter over-absorbed in intellectual pursuits. He became very agitated after he had found her several times reading the shit of newspaper. He thought she was emulating his son, that the things she read would fill her mind with impractical ideas, making her quite useless for the real tasks of feminine living.

6        Ignoring Babamukuru’s imminent homecoming, he threatened to take Tambu out of school again. It was a thoughtless threat: how could he have done that? Not having the power, he left her alone. They co-existed in peaceful detachment.

P.35-41

The family was very happy about Babamukuru's return to the village
They were all grateful of being with Babamukuru again they thought that he was the man that can get out the squalor of the family
Her cousin was disapproving Tambu with the glance
Tambu felt that she hadn’t approved their cousins before they left. She didn't felt comfortable with them
she didn’t felt excluded any more when she started to do housework,
you can clearly appreciate the women's position in the family with this.

P.42-47

The family was dancing and celebrating the return of Babamukuru with his family. Suddenly Tambu released that her cousin weren't dancing so she invited them to dance. When she invited Nyasha she didn't answered and Nyasha's mother replayed that they didn't knew shona any more. When Tambu herd that she was very angry because not knowing the language from the city you had come means that they forget almost everything. She was disappointed. Anyway Maiguru didn't want her children to dance and they started arguing. Finally Tete Gladys told Maiguru to let her children dance and have fun with everyone but they refuse causing an awkward moment. Tambu tried to make her cousin return and dance so everyone could enjoy the night but it was with no sense. They didn't return disappointing Tambu. Babamukuru only stayed one night because he had to return to his duties. But before returning to his work he talked to his brother about one thing that got him very worried. It was his family's education. He said that there was any problem with Gladys family and Thomas family the problem was with Jeremiah's family. Nhamo was having an education and he was happy with his result at the school but at the time he also was worried because Nhamo couldn’t study while doing his homestead duties. That’s why Babamukuru proposed to Jeremiah to take Nhamo to his house provide him with food and take him to de missionary school. Jeremiah agreed with that. All the family was very great full with Babamukuru and all the things he made for them.

Pag 49-55

·                     Tambu and Nhamo were arguing. He told her she was jealous because he was going to live with Babamukuru and receive a great education.

·                     Tambu considered men grotesque except for Babamukuru. He defied poverty through hard work and determination. He did all he could for everybody.

·                     As Tambu's mother was stressed because Nhamo and Tambu did not talk to each other, she decided to call a truce with her brother.

·                     Babamukuru took Nhamo home to his home.

·                     Nyasha was a spoiled girl, as her family went to Tambu's homestead, she said she could eat and have all she wanted.

·                     When Nhamo came back, he had forgot his language, he only talked English.

·                     Babamukuru went to Jeremiah's house and told them Nhamo had died of a strange illness.

P.56-62

1        Nhamo had died, Tambu wasn’t sad for losing her brother it make her sad seeing her family suffering.

2        Quote: “seeing my father cry, my mother moan […] I was sad for them rather than anguished over any loss of mine.”(Page 56).

3        Babamukuru still wanted to help his brother’s family to improve so he decided to give take Tambu to the mission and occupy Nhamo’s place. Jeremiah agreed but Tambu’s mother wasn’t happy with the idea (pages 56-57).

4        Tambu talks about how she used to be, how she looked and started to imagine herself as a new person, she would be “genteel”, “clean”, “well-groomed” (p58-59)

5        Quote: “there was no room for what I left behind” (page 58)

6        Tambu wonders where she would sleep, she imagines she would cover herself with fleecy blankets, she remembers what she used to do every day in the homestead and how different her life would be at Babamukuru’s.

7        Quote: “I could not wait to enjoy this comforts that Nhamo had described to me […]” (page 61).

8        Tambu describes the homestead, every room it had, where every member of the family slept and she starts to describe Babamukuru’s house by saying it had a shed, a servant’s quarter, a garage and that it was painted white.

Genteel: delicate, well educated, and refined.

 Breed: to bring up a child, give a good education at home.

 Leisure: free time for pleasure.

 Sustenance: maintenance, everything you need to survive.

 Eyes smarting: itching irritated.

 Drew out: to extract.

 Coax: try to convince.

 See fit: when you consider something to be a good something.

 Regress: to go back to what you were, the opposite of progress.

 Comforting: something that makes you feels well.

 Disturbing: scares you, something that makes you feel bad.

 Strenuous: something stressing involving a lot of effort.

 Morose and taciturn: someone with no ambitions in life, with no initiative or drive.

 Fleecy: with a lot of wool.

 Entail: includes.

 Gurgled: a noise typical of water quickly coming down a pipe.

 Acquire: to get something, buy something, obtain something.

 Shed: a little construction in the garden.

 Quarters: bed-rooms.

 Reed: a plant that grows in water used to make furniture.

 To rouse: to get up, wake up.

 Grasp: to catch, to hold something firmly or to understand.

P.63-69

-Nyasha explained why the houses are painted in “pale” colors to Tambu.

- Description of Tambu’s feelings towards Babamukuru’s kindness and life style.

- Tambu was almost attack by some dogs, but Anna saved her and welcomes her to her new house.

- Description of the kitchen.

- Comparison of the new house and homestead.

Important Quotations:

* (…) it was liberation, the first of many that follow my transition to the mission. (Page 64)

* I would own a home like this one day; I would need to know how to furnish it (page 68)

P.70-77

- Tambu plans how not to lose focus on her studies with all the luxuries of Babamukuru´s house.

- She discovers the advantages of living in Babamukuru´s house (Cleaner than her house).

- Maiguru gives Tambu a warm welcome, and then they both have tea and biscuits.

- Maiguru shows Tambu the room where she and Nyasha will sleep.

- In the room Maiguru gets angry with Nyasha for reading a book that was not for her age.

- Tambu is given suitcase with new clothes.