'The River Between'

Paper Summary:

This paper takes a look at Ngugi wa Thiong's book, 'The River Between'.
According to the paper, the book tells the tale of two rival communities, Kameno and Makuyu, which face each other and are separated only by the Honia River. The paper further discusses how these two villages are in a constant battle over conflicting myths of leadership, which have been the basis of their arguments for many generations.

From the Paper:

"But the missionaries had not as yet penetrated into the hills, though they sent a number of disciples to work there," (p. 28) writes Ngugi, when explaining the newcomers. Leader of this "Livingstone" missionary is a local Gikuyu evangelist named Joshua, whose background is questionable. According to the story, he arrived in Siriana and accepted his new religion after hearing a hellfire and brimstone sermon based on the readings of Isaiah, "the white man's seer', but which is apparently spurious and embodies an anachronistic concept of the realm of the dead." (p. 13)"
"Ngugi concentrates on this indigenous minister's emotional acceptance of Christianity and how this new religion can be distorted and authoritarian. "These strong words frightened Joshua and shook his whole body; shook him to the very roots of his being. He became baptized and it was only then that he felt at peace and stopped trembling" (p 29). When released from fear, Joshua spreads the religion."

More papers on 'The River Between':

• Book Review # 132675 : "The River Between" - A Book Review"
• Book Review # 106546 : "The River Between" and "Nectar in a Sieve"
• Analytical Essay # 25853 : "The River Between"

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