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MABALA THE FARMER
By Richard Mabala
About the Author
Richard Mabala is originally from the United Kingdom and gave up his passport to become an official Tanzanian. He has been an educator, professor at a university, a poet, and a recognized writer of Secondary school English readers (Mabala the Farmer, Haza the Bus Driver, and others).
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| Richard Mabala |
TITLE: Mabala the Farmer
AUTHOR: Richard S. Mabala
SETTING: Tanzania
YEAR OF PUBLICATION: 1998/ No
Year of publication
PUBLISHER: Longman Group UK Ltd./
Ben and company limited.
THE PLOT OF
THE BOOK
Mabala the
farmer is one among the famous short stories ever written in Tanzania.This
short story has seven chapters.
The first
chapter introduces Mabala as the Main character.The second talks about Mabala’s
first day on the farm. The third chapter tells us that Mabala rests instead of
working.
The fourth
chapter is set at the Mtama Bar where during drinking the mtama, Mabala is
advised by the men that he was supposed to drink a little mtama early in the
morning and at the farm if his body could start aching. Also if his head could
ache he was advised to lay down for five minutes and soon all things could be
ok.
The fifth
chapter talks about the hoe and the gallon can. It explains that Mabala was now
in practices following what the men advised him. He drank the Mtama and could
not afford to lift the hoe.Therefore he slept under the nearby mango tree and
his wife informed him that he was a lazy man as he stayed a whole day without
working.
The sixth
chapter is about Mabala and the fertilizer. Here, Mabala goes on showing how
much he was stubborn because his wife Mama Martina advised him to carry the
fertilizer half a bucket but he rejected and carried the whole bag and he was
tired and some of the fertilizers had to fall down. At the end Mr. Sekulu (a
neighbor) tells Mabala that it was sugar and not fertilizer but Mabala refused
to agree until Mama Martina went back to the farm. Also Mabala seems not to
follow the instructions of putting fertilizers on the maize plant and two rows
dried because of poor way of putting fertilizers.
The last
chapter (chapter seven) is about Mabala’s winning respect. Within this chapter
Mabala become a village accountant and he works effectively. One of the shop
assistants had to run away because he realized that Mabala would catch him.
They harvested together and it was good harvest. Also Mabala agreed that he had
learn a lesson and asked his wife whether he could join the shamba work. Therefore,
going to the village was a fortune to Mabala and his family. Martina was now nine years old and they were
expecting to have another child. Lastly there is a glossary words which have been
used in the story.
WHAT IS THE BOOK ABOUT?
Generally
speaking, the story “Mabala the Farmer” is about a man called Mabala who
was born in Dares Salaam and spent all his life there. Mabala married to a
woman called Mauja. Mauja has a daughter called Martina. Because
of that, Mauja is now known as Mama Martina. Mabala has neither a house nor a
shamba in Dar es Salaam. Although Mabala was working as a chief clerk in one of
companies in Dar es Salaam, he could not save the money as he was extravagant.
When the ideas of saving money come into Mabala’s mind it was too late because
at that moment price went up and up. Mama Martina started to sell matis and
chapatis but still life was tough.
Mabala finally,
gets an idea of leaving the city in order to try the rural/ village life therefore,
he decide to go to the village to do the shamba work. At last, he leaves the
city and starts life afresh in the village. There, he faces a lot of
difficulties. This is mainly because Mabala does not know how to dig. He has
never worked on the farm. Strangely, Mabala does not like to admit his weaknesses
before other villagers. Thus why they called him Mr. Never told! Or Bwana haambiliki
or stuborn.
Mabala
pretends to know everything. His wife Mama Martina uses much of her energy to
make her husband cope with both village life and villagers. It takes time for
Mabalato adapt, but at last he succeeds in making his life happier in the
village. He engages himself in farming activities seriously after he became the
village accountant. He view gets enough food which makes other villagers admire
him. The villagers no longer laugh at him, mock or joke him as they used to do
previously. They now appreciate and trust him.
CHARACTERS AND CHARACTERIZATION
Definitions:
i) Characters- Refers to persons/ people or
things in a book, play or film doing something.
ii)
Characterization-This means how the writer of
the book, play or film describes/ makes a person or seemslike a real person.
The
following are the characters and characterization in Mabala the farmer:-
1. MAJOR/ MAIN
CHARACTERS.
-These are people or things that are very important if you
compare with other things or people of similar hind. Examples of main
characters in this book are:-
i)
MABALA
FEATURES/ CHARACTERISTICS
Ø He is a
main character in the story.
Ø He was born
in Dar e salaam and married a woman called Mauja.
Ø He is
extravagant and he wants to live very luxurious life while his salary is not
enough for that. The life in town becomes difficult and tough because he did
not prepare his future. When he was still working he never built a house or
made any other preparations that could help him in future.
Ø He had a
good heart because he was generous and helped others.
Ø Mabala also
never lived in a village. This means that he never cultivated a farm and he
could not know how hard the work was.
Ø In town he
always listened to radio and read books.
Ø He decides
to leave the town in order to start life a fresh in the village.
Ø He faces a
lot of obstacles but at the end he manages to cope with village life.
Ø His actions
in the village make people laugh at him but his wife tries hard to make her
husband cope with village life.
Ø He is
flexible. But he sometimes pretends to know more than he does.
Ø He is
selfish as he does not consider others. This seen when he eats all the food at
the farm without considering his wife.
Ø He is also
stubborn as he never listened to any one. Thus why they call him Mr. Never
told!
ii) MAUJA/ MAMA
MARTINA
FEATURES/ CHARACTERISTICTS
Ø She is
another main character of the story.
Ø She is
known as Mama Martina because her first born is called Martina.
Ø She is the
wife of Mabala and she has true love for her husband.
Ø She is one
among the few women who can tolerate life difficulties in their families.
Ø She uses
most of her time to make her husband Mabala cope with village life.
Ø She works
very hard to improve her family life. In town for instance she could sell matis
and chapatis, at the village she worked very hard to the farm despite the
laziness and ignorance of her husband. She seeks and follows good advice given
by the villagers and Bwana shamba and thus why she got 60 bags of maize.
2. MINOR /
MINIMAL CHARACTERS.
These are people or things that are
not very important if you compare with other people and things in the play,
film or book. In this book, such characters are:-
i)
MARTINA.
FEARURES /
CHARACTERISTICS
Ø She is the
daughter of Mabala and Mauja.
Ø She is the
only child in the family similar to her father Mabala.
Ø She was
born in Dar es Salaam.
Ø She was
educated in Morogoro village when her parents decided to live in the village.
Ø She refused
to go to school because her fellow pupils laughed at her as her father was
stubborn.
Ø She likes
school because later on she continue with it after Mabala wins respect and
become a village accountant.
ii)
MZEE KOMBO.
FEATURES / CHARACTERISTICS
Ø A village
who is not satisfied with what Mabala tries to explain about town life.
Ø He is an
old man who suggests that all the men in town want to drink beer and chase
girls.
Ø He is among
the men who saw Mabala fast asleep under the tree while Mama Martina was
working hard.
Ø MzeeKombo
and other men decide to teach Mabala a lesson after he insulted the men that
were only drinking mtama and not working, Working was for women. So they
advised Mabala to drink little mtama early in the morning, at the farm if the
body could ache and he did so.
iii)
SEKULU.
FEATURES /
CHARACTERISTICS
Ø This is
Mabala’s and Mauja’s neighbor.
Ø He sees
sugar on the ground and realizes that it is not fertilizer but sugar.
Ø He is a
good man because he decided to call Mabala and asked him why he was taking much
sugar to the farm. But Mabala says it is not sugar but fertilizer.
Ø He runs to
Mama Martina and gave her the story. Mama Martina decides to follow her husband
to prove that later on she assures Mabala that what he is carrying is not
fertilizer but the sugar bought while they were in Dar es Salaam.
Ø He said
truthful to the villagers about the arguments between Mabala and Mama Martina
on how to put fertilizer to the maize plants and soon the song of Mr. Never
told / Bwana haambiliki started to be sang in the village by the villagers.
THEMES FROM THE BOOK
§ A theme is
the main subject or idea in a piece of writing like books, play or film.
§ The main
theme in the book MABALA THE FARMER is about Life in town and in the
village.
·
LIFE IN TOWN:
ˉ
In this book, the author describes that life in town
is very tough because things are sold in high price. For example, Mabala could not
even save his salary because of life hardship. That’s why his wife Mama Martina
decides to sell matis and chapatis in order to improve life but still life was
becoming harder and harder.
·
LIFE IN THE VILLAGE.
ˉ
On the other hand, life in the village is very easy. Mabala
says, “Life on the farm is easier than life in town. You wake up when you want
to, you plant, you harvest, and you eat. No problem”. But Mama Martina said
that life will be good in the village if they could work hard. Failure to that
life also could be difficult. This is seen in chapter four when Mabala attend
to the farm and his body was aching and that’s why he said. “But my friend life
in the village is not easy either. Today I went to dig and my whole body
started to ache, head aches, back ache, leg ache.”
MINOR THEME:
These are ideas / subject which are
somehow important. In the book `Mabala the farmer`. Minor themes
includes:-
1. IGNORANCE
OF PEOPLE
v This means
lack of knowledge or information about something. In the book, “Mabala the
farmer” the author has used “Mabala” as a person who lacked knowledge on
various things especially in farming activities. For example, Mabala was
cheated by his friends at the Mtama bar that if he drinks Mtama early in the
morning and drank it at the farm, he could work hard.
v At chapter
six, Mabala and the fertilizer, Mabala seems to lack information or knowledge
because he put the fertilizer on the maize instead of putting it around the
maize plant.
2. HARD
WORKING.
v This means,
working with a lot effort and determination. In this book, Mauja ( Mama Martina)
is a hard working woman because in town she sells matis and chapatis to sustain
life but in the village she worked on the farm alone in the beginning and got
60 bags of maize.
v When her
husband resigned the work in town and lived in the village, mama Martina worked
hard even without eating and that’s why at chapter seven ( Mabala wins respect
), the harvest were more good.
3. ROLES OF
WOMEN
ˉ
These are responsibilities of women especially to the
family or society they live. In the book ‘ MabalaThe Farmer` Mama Martina had
the following roles:-
i)
She prepares some food and water for her family.
Example of food prepared are maize and beans, and porridge.
ii)
She gives advice to her husband on how to cope with
life in the village and it was through her later on Mabala won respect.
iii)
She respected her husband and other neighbors in the
village. Example, she received bad news from Sekulu that her husband carried
sugar instead of fertilizers.
4. FORMAL
EDUCATION.
It is a process of teaching and learning usually at school.
In this book Mabala started primary school in Dar es Salaam and in 1961 the
year of Independence of Tanzania he completed standard eight and was employed
at UARAFIKI
TEXTTILE INDUSTRY. Also Martina, the Mabala`s and Mauja`s daughter also
was studying primary school to the village they shifted.
5. EXPLOITATION.
To exploit means to treaty someone unfairly by asking them to
do something for you, but giving them very little in return.
In the book ‘Mabala the farmer’ Mabala is complaining on the
salary he receives at his work place, he compared it like buying twenty bottles
of beer. This means that he was exploited a lot by the company he does the
work.
6. THE ISSUE
OF MTAMA ( DRUNKARDNESS )
Both in town and the village people drink Mtama. Mabala says
that when he was at town he used to drink mtama and the mtama at the town was
not sweet like that of the village. In this book Mabala and those men at mtama
bar are discussed as drunkard people because they spent their time drinking without
working. This hinder development in the society.
7. LAZYNESS.
v Refer to
not liking work and physical activity. In the book ‘Mabala the farmer, Mabala
has been used by the author as lazy person because he could drink mtama the
whole day and could no longer work again in the shamba and what he could do was
to eat all food and sleep at nearly mango tree.
8. HUMILIATION
v Is the
situation where somebody feels that he/ she is weak or shipped. In this book,
humiliation is shown by Mabala to his wife mama Martina because mabala insults
her by saying that women are always weak while men are strong and thus why they
can work while drunkard.
v Another
humiliation is given by the villagers to Mabala’s family where all villagers
were laughing at mabala, Mama martina and Martina. This was due to Mabala’s
laziness to farming activities.
9. EXTRAVAGANCE
v This is spending
a lot of money for luxuries. In the book, Mabala used his salary in bad way. He
could spend and spend without saving. This led him to run away from town to
village.
10. SELFISHNESS
Selfish
means caring about yourself and not about other people. In the book, Mabala is drawn as a selfish man because he was eating
too much food to the farm without considering his wife mama Martina who was
working the whole day without eating and Mabala finished all the food which
where maize and beans.
MESSAGES
The message we get from the book is
that; life whether in town or village is not easy either. We should work hard
in order to succeed. This is shown on chapter seven ( Mabala wins respect ) this
is when Mabala shift his family to the village and get a lot of successes.
Other messages are:-
i)
Lazy people like Mabala never succeed in life until
they work hard.
ii)
Drinking mtama doesn’t go together with working at the
farm.
iii)
Agriculture is the backbone of our national development.
iv)
Working hard with aims / intentions is a key point of
success. Eg mama Martina.
GUIDING QUESTIONS FROM THE BOOK.
Qn.1What is the physical and social
setting of the book?
The physical and social setting of the book is Tanzania
especially Dar esSalaam when its still a very small town in the year of
independence (1961).
Socially, life in town is so tough because the price went up
and up and there was no saving for future by Mabala because he used his salary (money)
in bad ways (luxuries).
Qn.2 How is the language used in the book?
·
In this book the language used is simple and direct.
That’s why the book is well understood.
Qn.3 Does the author deviate from the ordinary
language use?
·
Yes, the author has deviated from the ordinary
language use because of the following:-
i)
The use of Kiswahili language.
·
Here, Kiswahili words like Mzee, Bwana shamba, Mama
Martina, chapatis, Bwana haambiliki and others related words which are used in
the book. This is shown that the author has deviated from using English words
to Kiswahili words for clarity.
ii)
The use of Swahili sayings that are translated into
English language Example of these sayings are:-
a) “Once the
water has been spilt you can’t pick it up again”.
b) “if a child
cries for a razor blade give it to him. He will learn.
Qn.4 Which characters do you like most? Why?
GROUP DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
1. What
is the tittle of the book?
2. Who
is the writer of the book?
3. Can
you guess what the book is about?
4. When
was the book published?
5. What
do you see on the front cover?
6. What
can you find in the blurb? (short description giving information about a book,
new product etc).
I like the summary of story.
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