Wam Literature

  Understanding poetry  Performance poetry is easier to follow since you can hear and feel what the poet is trying to communicate. Most often, we follow the non-verbal cues and facial expressions to understand pretty much everything. This is the reason why we get to understand a foreign language without having no knowledge of it. Poetry is a performance craft. For this reason, in order to grasp it well, one must see its performance to grasp in detail what the performer is trying to pass across. Nevertheless, the exam situation eradicates the need to listen and delves into your own knowledge of poetry. In order to answer poetry questions well, you ought to do the following:  a) Have a little knowledge about the poet. b) Understand the styles the poet has used to create music in the poem c) Identify the styles the poet has used to bring out the meaning of the poem d) Try to interpret the poet’s choice of words .  Getting to know the poet Poetry is like music. In music ...

A literary look at the modern day woman as portrayed in H.R Kulet book. Blossoms of the Savannah is a book written by the late H.R Kulet in the early 2000s. The story in the book is set in the mid-90s- a period marked with inflation in Kenya which prompted massive layoffs of civil servants called retrenchment and privatization of key government institutions. This was also a period of political change in Kenya with the birth of multiparty politics and also the onset of gender equality debate in the country. With vocal female leaders like the Late Wangari Maathai, Charity Kaluki Ngilu among others joining politics, there was a lot of enthusiasm in Kenya about the impending change. Kulet chose to dwell on the social cultural change brought about with education of the girl child and how this was effecting change in communities that were consertive. Key among the issues he sought to address were the retrogressive cultural practices that targeted a specific gender and how greed and lust ...

  One cannot run away from their culture; what they can do is work towards changing it. Drawing from the book Blossoms of the Savannah, discuss. One cannot run away from their culture; what they can do is work towards changing it. This is evident in the novel Blossoms of the Savannah by H.R. Kulet. According to the novel, Parsimei Ole kaelo brought up his children in the confines of the city of Nakuru away from the culture of Nasila. In Nakuru, Kaelo was comfortable to be a monogamous with two daughters. Even though his brother had advised him to stick to Nasila culture and obey its tenets, Kaelo dismissed them. He was a happy successful man doing well as a career man. In Nakuru he could model his daughters to modern women with careers- probably the reason he moved to the town in the fast place.        By moving to Nakuru, Kaelo was in a way running away from the cruel Nasila culture. He was a man with an outside view of his culture. He wished th...

The book Blossoms of the Savannah presents Ole Kaelo as behaving in a cowardly manner. This essay observes Kaelo’s acts of cowardice and how they shape the trajectory of the story. Kaelo is one of the main characters in the book. He is the father of Taiyo and Resian. Kaelo’s decisions make the story’s conflict skyrocket into a struggle for the rights of the girl child. Generally, we pick up Kaelo from the moment he retired. However, it should be noted that Kaelo’s confidence begun the moment he moved to Nakuru. With a lucrative job and a lean family, Kaelo displayed a confidence never seen before. In the comfort of Nakuru, he defended his decision to remain monogamous and delineate himself from the barbaric female circumcision for his two daughters. The security of employment in the sprawling Nakuru city offered Kaelo enough confidence to denounce culture and call Nasila elders as ‘megalomaniacs who were stuck in the past. In Nakuru, Kaelo found a safe haven in which to abhor and...

  “ When one fails to heed advice, they suffer.” With illustrations from John Steibeck’s The Pearl, write an essay to validate the above statement. Sometimes it is important to heed advice from those around us. Even though we may think that we are right, the advice given may go a long way in helping us. According to the play, The Pearl, Kino did not heed to the advice of others and this led to disastrous outcome. Kino comes out as a proud masculine man. It is for this reason that Kino does not want to listen to his wife. When Juana proffers an advice, Kino does not give it so much thought. He assures her that he is a man and he knows what he is doing. For instance, Juana observes that the Pearl they had found from the sea will bring evil to their family. While Kino can see the evil lurking in the darkness, he does not want to let go of his treasure. Juan Thomas seems to know Kino well. As an elder brother, he keenly walks Kino into the history of their people and how they ha...

Sometimes it is hard to explain abstract ideas without having a vessel to carry them. In literature and any other work of art, artists tend to use symbols. A symbol is an object. This object can be used to convey an abstract idea like love or create an emotion within the work of art. Therefore, symbolism is a literary device in which a writer uses objects or symbols in order to convey ideas and at the same time create the desired mood or evoke a desired emotion. In the play Inheritance, David Mulwa has used various symbols. These symbols are in the form of characters, objects, and animals. These symbols play an important role in helping us understand the meaning of the play and at the same time add aesthetics to the play. To begin with, the two foreign characters Robert Rollerstone and Daniel Goldstein represent neocolonialism. It is important to point out the age difference between Rollerstone and Goldstein. Goldstein is advanced in age, while Rollerstone is young. This signifies ...

The play Inheritance has involved various aspects of English literature styles in order to create a very compelling work of art. Normally, plays are divided into Acts; however, the playwright chose to use movement instead of acts. Movement shows motion, a change in position from one point to another, a transition. In this regard, David Mulwa tries to weave a transitional play; a play that doesn’t occur in acts but moves from one place to another or time to another. The play starts off (in the prologue) in colonial Kutula led by colonial Governor Thorne Macay with the advisory board made up of Bishop Menninger. During this period, there is a lot of opposition fronted by the people who are led by the wise and beloved King Kutula XV. King Kutula seems adamant to reach an understanding in which his people will continue being slaves to their colonial masters even though they are politically independent. He refuses any form of independence fronted by Thorne in which the colonial master s...

Allegory is a style in which the writer or author mirrors what is happening in society with what happens in his work of art. Most often, allegory has been used to espouse the truth ignorant to the masses. In Inheritance, David Mulwa attempts to warn us about the dangers of voting in Uhuru Kenyatta. Nevertheless, a decade later, we voted in Uhuru Kenyatta and now we are reaping what we sowed.  The play Inheritance is the modern-day Allegory of the Cave. Written by Plato centuries ago, Allegory of the Cave explains why the opinion of the few with knowledge is unacknowledged especially at the time when there is a general consensus on what truth is. In this respect, the majority will acknowledge the general truth as opposed to the new truth espoused by the few. This is one of the reasons we make the wrong decisions.    The play Inheritance was first published in 2004- two years after Uhuru Kenyatta had lost two Mwai Kibaki in the 2002 elections. At the time, no one knew tha...

A PLAY BY DAVID MULWA Introduction Characters are the voice of the author in any works of art. In plays, they come alive and may take different forms depending on the director of the play. In the play Inheritance, David Mulwa creates vivid characters some of whom we may have encountered in real life. For instance, Lacuna Kasoo is a clear mirror of our current Kenyan politicians. He is as greedy as he is detached from the problems facing his people. As we explore characters we need to look at them as people who may have or do exist in real life. A character like Judah Zen Meloh represents a confusion of sorts. The Judah we know in the Bible betrayed Jesus while our Judah in the play does not want to betray his blood brother. Although, we need to tell the difference between Judah and Judas. Talking about Judah, he was the son of Jacob in the Old Testament of the Bible. He is the man who came up with the brilliant idea of selling Joseph Ishmaelites. Our Judah, on the other hand is neither...

Inheritance is a play by Kenyan playwright David Mulwa. Set in the former kingdom of Kutula-now a republic, the play looks at post-independence trials wrought by greedy leaders and cunning foreign investors.  This play, derides countries like Kenya which are besieged by greedy leaders and unwitting citizens.   Since independence, Kenya and many African countries found themselves beleaguered by a lot of demands. As Kenyan first president said, Kenya was facing three major setbacks: ignorance, poverty and disease.  Being a pioneer leader in Kenya, Kenyatta was tasked to fight the three forces. In order to do this, he needed help. Help came easily in the form of foreign aid and expat community to train the young turks in the country on how to make the country socio-economically progressive.   Instead of the promised nirvana, African development turned into economic exploitation by the west and foreign aid was milked into foreign banks as corruption became the system of ...

Many times when we talk about religion, we look at Christianity and other major religion in the world. Although this religions play major roles in literature, there are still many other religions that writers and playwrights also discuss in their works. In this play, Christianity and Kutula traditional religion play a significant role. However, the role played by these two religions is negative. The play clearly brings out how religion can be applied subjectively to the people. During the colonial era, Bishop Menninger made sure to preach about obedience and humility in order to make the people of Kutula submissive. Besides, he used the sermons to get to know the people especially the young generation. It is within his teachings that he came to learn that Lacuna Kasoo would make a fine leader for Kutula(pg15). Menninger also observes that Princess Sangoi would be no bother since she was enamoured by the foreign religion. According to the Bishop, Sangoi would be lost in the corridors of...

After independence, many countries that were granted independence found themselves drawn towards their former colonial masters. Such countries were drawn by incentives such as the Commonwealth, foreign aid and the promise of assistance in economic development. Those countries or leaders who refused such arrangements were either assassinated or removed from power. In this respect, the colonialists found themselves coming back as expatriates and financiers for development. In Kutula, the king who had vision for his people is assassinated. In his place, the colonial players put his greedy son as the new leader democratically elected. In this way, the former powers made leadership decisions for the people of Kutula even though the people's favourite was princess Sangoi. Although the power arrangement has changed from kingdom to a democracy. Lacuna Kasoo seem to retain the pre-colonial title of king. Lacuna Kasoo is controlled by two international financiers: Robert Rollerstone and Da...

Inheritance refers to what is left by the deceased to the family in material wealth or sometimes power. However, the word could have diverse meanings when applied to works of literature. In this respect, David Mulwa looks at inheritance in various ways. The play revolves around a three decades old Kutula under its new leadership. Having achieved independence from colonial masters, Kutula is now governed by Lacuna Kasoo-the son of pre-independence King Kutula XV. Lacuna ascended to power after the death of his father. Although the King has adopted Princess Sangoi as his successor, he dies mysteriously thus handing the power to the greedy, self-centred Lacuna. As it were, Lacuna conspired with the colonial masters to assassinate his father King Kutula XV. Having assumed power with the help of colonial masters, Lacuna runs the government under the influence of Kutula's former imperialists. He receives hefty loans aimed at 'developing' the country. However, the loans are mean...

Inheritance refers to what is left by the deceased to the family in material wealth or sometimes power. However, the word could have diverse meanings when applied to works of literature. In this respect, David Mulwa looks at inheritance in various ways. The play revolves around a three decades old Kutula under its new leadership. Having achieved independence from colonial masters, Kutula is now governed by Lacuna Kasoo-the son of pre-independence King Kutula XV. Lacuna ascended to power after the death of his father. Although the King has adopted Princess Sangoi as his successor, he dies mysteriously thus handing the power to the greedy, self-centred Lacuna. As it were, Lacuna conspired with the colonial masters to assassinate his father King Kutula XV. Having assumed power with the help of colonial masters, Lacuna runs the government under the influence of Kutula’s former imperialists. He receives hefty loans aimed at ‘developing’ the country. However, the loans are meant to make Kutu...

Many strive to keep up with what is perceived to be outstanding image of the society. Most often, we are rewarded for this. However, sometimes we try to hard to the detriment of our family  and friends as can be seen in the play A Doll's House.  Helmer is one of the key characters in the play being the husband to our protagonist Norah. In order to keep up with society, Helmer steers clear from whatever can destroy his reputation.  Norah knows well Helmer's stand on how one is to conduct themselves in the society. However, she goes ahead and borrows a hefty sum of money from Krogstad. To add insult to injury, she forged her late father's signature to the bond she used to secure the loan.  Krogstad would never have revealed Norah's oversight but things within the play thickens when Helmer is promoted to a bank manager position. Having gained superior status, Helmer seeks to rid the bank of workers with bad reputation.  As it were, Krogstad is the most vile person ...

A Doll’s House looks at various aspects of inheritance. Most often, inheritance is looked under the concept of coming into material wealth left behind by a dead relative. Banking on material inheritance, Nora lies to Torvald that the money she had used for their trip down south was part of her inheritance from her dead father. By the end of the 19 th century, there was a growing interest in genetic science. However, society’s understanding of this science was not as conclusive as it is today. Therefore, there were a lot of misconceptions on what could be passed on from one generation to another. Among the misconceived notions was that moral decadence could be inherited. Dr Rank suffers from a strange illness which he believes he inherited from his father who led a promiscuous life. When Nora learns about her own immoral conduct, she begins to distance herself from her children. She believes that she will poison her children with whatever disease she currently has. To reinforce ...

Morality can be many things. However, it basically guides what is regarded as right or wrong. Right or wrong is subjective to the individual, community or societal beliefs at a particular time, within particular constructs. For instance, gayism /homosexuality was considered a moral wrong within so many societies and nowadays, it is slowly becoming a recognized social norm. Similarly, some communities in Africa and Asia practised and some still practise Female Genital Mutilation. Girls who did not undergo such rites were chastised and to some extent could not get a husband. However, such considerations are slowly losing ground as new philosophies around morality are formulated. The community within A Doll’s House has its own moral rules which are to be followed by every individual. It is within this moral confine that Nora is caught. The society is such rigid that it considers Nora’s sole act of heroism as untoward. Nora’s act of forgery was mainly because she had nowhere to turn at ...