WANTOK by WPB BOTHA
SUMMARY
A man who is born in England moves to Africa at the age of 21 as a missionary. He has a daughter in Africa who is named Rachel. For the girl's birthday, her father buys her a horse named Prince Harry who she renames Ngai. Soon, Ngai becomes sickly and is old and too expensive for the family to take care of, so the family kills Ngai without Rachel's permission. Another man from England, also working as a missionary in Africa, has a son named Richard. Richard and Rachel meet, marry, and travel to Polynesia together to work as English teachers.
Richard teaches a boy named Nixon who is a member of the Bolgi tribe. Nixon is expelled from school. After hearing that Richard is angry about the expulsion, Richard travels to meet with Nixon's brother, Nathaniel. Nathaniel has made peace with the expulsion but the Bolgi tribe is still upset and because the educational board members are worried that the Bolgi tribe may attack the colonial establishments and citizens, Richard is sent to Nixon's home village of Gelmbolg. The Land Rover Richard is using belongs to the colonial government and the Land Rover breaks down. Richard is told that he will have to drive the Land Rover to the coast of the island where the island's only mechanic lives and pay for the vehicle repairs himself. Nathaniel and Richard make the trip to the mechanic together.
After visiting the mechanic and getting the Land Rover fixed, Richard meets with the Minister of Education, who is concerned about the stability of the colony on the Polynesian island as a government vehicle was recently stolen by members of the Bolgi tribe. Nathaniel then takes Richard to Gelmbolg, where Richard meets Nathaniel's and Nixon's mother. Nixon's mother is furious with Richard because she spent all of her savings to send Nixon to school against the wishes of the Bolgi elders because Nixon is intelligent and she believed he could look after her and other members of the Bolgi tribe in the future if he received a good education which would enable him to have a high income. Nixon's mother demands that Richard repay her the money she spent on Nixon's education. While Richard is in Gelmbolg, he hears that the nearby Endai tribe are feuding with the Bolgis.
The next day, as Richard looks for Nixon's mother in order to repay her because the sum of money Nixon's mother seeks is trivial to Richard, Richard sees a group of Endai warriors rush the Gelmbolg village. None of the Bolgi are present in the village. The Bolgi elders meet and decide to join forces with the Endai to resist the Colonizers.
Richard meets with a member of the Educational Ministry in town, where some Endai come and smash bottles angrily as a rite of initiation for their youthful members. A nearby village is burned to the ground and Richard drives to the nearest airport with Nathaniel and Rachel.
Nathaniel asks Richard to loan him the money for a plane ticket to England while at the airport. Richard is initially reluctant but Rachel convinces Richard to purchase the ticket. As the fire begun by angry native citizens of the Polynesian island spreads, Richard, Nathaniel, and Rachel, board a flight headed to England.
ANALYSIS
This book stresses the ideal that colonial cultures should not seek to change the lifestyles of the native citizens of an area. A major theme in the book is the burden that Western influence places on the preexisting culture of Africa and Polynesia. Nathaniel realizes that his family and friends will criticize him for pursuing Western education, and accuse him of following the ways of the white man, but he believes that obtaining a Western education will enable him to make transactions with foreigners directly, and eliminate the colonizers as middle men in the export trade of Polynesia. Nothing in the book suggests that either culture is superior to the other, but a counter argument to the idea that Western education signals financial freedom for Polynesians is not expressed.
Much of the story is told in flashbacks and there are many metaphorical descriptions of the landscape and animals of the territory. The novel has an unreal tinge and the generic characters give way to the metaphorical implications of the story relating to colonialism and financial independence. Botha constructs vivid images of the scenery and incorporates psychological descriptions which convey an emotional state of each scene to the reader rather than a photorealistic image.
SUMMARY
A man who is born in England moves to Africa at the age of 21 as a missionary. He has a daughter in Africa who is named Rachel. For the girl's birthday, her father buys her a horse named Prince Harry who she renames Ngai. Soon, Ngai becomes sickly and is old and too expensive for the family to take care of, so the family kills Ngai without Rachel's permission. Another man from England, also working as a missionary in Africa, has a son named Richard. Richard and Rachel meet, marry, and travel to Polynesia together to work as English teachers.
Richard teaches a boy named Nixon who is a member of the Bolgi tribe. Nixon is expelled from school. After hearing that Richard is angry about the expulsion, Richard travels to meet with Nixon's brother, Nathaniel. Nathaniel has made peace with the expulsion but the Bolgi tribe is still upset and because the educational board members are worried that the Bolgi tribe may attack the colonial establishments and citizens, Richard is sent to Nixon's home village of Gelmbolg. The Land Rover Richard is using belongs to the colonial government and the Land Rover breaks down. Richard is told that he will have to drive the Land Rover to the coast of the island where the island's only mechanic lives and pay for the vehicle repairs himself. Nathaniel and Richard make the trip to the mechanic together.
After visiting the mechanic and getting the Land Rover fixed, Richard meets with the Minister of Education, who is concerned about the stability of the colony on the Polynesian island as a government vehicle was recently stolen by members of the Bolgi tribe. Nathaniel then takes Richard to Gelmbolg, where Richard meets Nathaniel's and Nixon's mother. Nixon's mother is furious with Richard because she spent all of her savings to send Nixon to school against the wishes of the Bolgi elders because Nixon is intelligent and she believed he could look after her and other members of the Bolgi tribe in the future if he received a good education which would enable him to have a high income. Nixon's mother demands that Richard repay her the money she spent on Nixon's education. While Richard is in Gelmbolg, he hears that the nearby Endai tribe are feuding with the Bolgis.
The next day, as Richard looks for Nixon's mother in order to repay her because the sum of money Nixon's mother seeks is trivial to Richard, Richard sees a group of Endai warriors rush the Gelmbolg village. None of the Bolgi are present in the village. The Bolgi elders meet and decide to join forces with the Endai to resist the Colonizers.
Richard meets with a member of the Educational Ministry in town, where some Endai come and smash bottles angrily as a rite of initiation for their youthful members. A nearby village is burned to the ground and Richard drives to the nearest airport with Nathaniel and Rachel.
Nathaniel asks Richard to loan him the money for a plane ticket to England while at the airport. Richard is initially reluctant but Rachel convinces Richard to purchase the ticket. As the fire begun by angry native citizens of the Polynesian island spreads, Richard, Nathaniel, and Rachel, board a flight headed to England.
ANALYSIS
This book stresses the ideal that colonial cultures should not seek to change the lifestyles of the native citizens of an area. A major theme in the book is the burden that Western influence places on the preexisting culture of Africa and Polynesia. Nathaniel realizes that his family and friends will criticize him for pursuing Western education, and accuse him of following the ways of the white man, but he believes that obtaining a Western education will enable him to make transactions with foreigners directly, and eliminate the colonizers as middle men in the export trade of Polynesia. Nothing in the book suggests that either culture is superior to the other, but a counter argument to the idea that Western education signals financial freedom for Polynesians is not expressed.
Much of the story is told in flashbacks and there are many metaphorical descriptions of the landscape and animals of the territory. The novel has an unreal tinge and the generic characters give way to the metaphorical implications of the story relating to colonialism and financial independence. Botha constructs vivid images of the scenery and incorporates psychological descriptions which convey an emotional state of each scene to the reader rather than a photorealistic image.
- A Polynesian boy is expelled from an English school
- The boy's tribe becomes angry with the English settlers and revolts
- The boy's English teacher leaves Polynesia for England with the boy's brother
SOURCE
Botha, W. P. B. Wantok: (one Talk). Oxford: Heinemann, 1995. Print. Book about the development of a revolt on a Polynesian island.
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