The ReturnAfrican Literature: In The Cutting of A Drink and The ReturnTrent Hughes Eng 109 Paper #2The two short stories “In the Cutting of a Drink” and “The Return” bringdifferent responses from me. “In the Cutting of a Drink” makes me think aboutwhat it would be like to go into a new culture. It also makes me think aboutthe decline in moral values now days. “The Return” reminds me to be morethankful for the many things I take for granted. It also makes me think abouthow hard it can be to cope with change. In the poem “Those Rainy Mornings” I amreminded of my grandma and what a kind, loving, wonderful person she is.
In Frank Chipasula’s poem “Those Rainy Mornings” the speaker is talkingabout his aunt Gwalanthi. The speaker tells us what a wonderful loving personhis aunt is. In the first section the speaker tells us how his aunt would wakeup at the crack of dawn and build a fire. Then she would begin cooking porridge.
In the second section of the poem the speaker talks about waking up “out of thenagging nightmare. ” Then the speaker describes his aunt a little bit more, “hersoft but husky call. ” In the last section the speaker talks about how kind hisaunt is to take care of his brothers and sisters while his parents “strayed tothe copper mines. “This poem makes me think about my grandma and all the wonderful things shehas done for me. The speakers aunt is an old fragile woman, “hoe-broken palms”and “scrawny ribs. ” But she is also a very hard worker and loving person.
Boththese things remind me of my grandma. My grandma may be old and fragile but sheis still a very hard working and loving person. My grandma is always up atfirst light doing household chores or working in her garden. Many times we haveto force her to go inside, so she won’t be exposed to the hot sun for to long. I can’t count the number of times my grandma has made my bed, folded our clothes,washed our dishes, or done various other household chores for me and my family.
I could never fully repay my grandma for all the wonderful things she has done. My grandma, like aunt Gwalanthi, is a very kind, hard working person. Ama Ata Aidoo’s “In the Cutting of a Drink” is about a person relating hisstory of looking for his lost sister in a big city called Mamprobi. Thenarrator, Mansa’s brother, is talking to his uncles in the story.
He is tellingthem about the things he experienced in the city while looking for Mansa. Thenarrator is from the country, so a lot of the city life is new or shocking tohim. The narrator and Duayaw, the person helping him find his sister, go to anightclub while looking for Mansa. This is a very new experience for thenarrator.
Some new things he experiences are dancing and watching women buybeer. But the most shocking thing is when he finds out his sister Mansa worksthere. “Young woman, is this the work you do?” he asked her. In the endMansa’s reply was, “any kind of work is work. “This story made me think of a couple of things, differences in cultures orplaces and a decline in moral values.
When the narrator goes to the city he isin a totally new culture. Many of the things he sees done are shocking to him. “I sat with my mouth open and watched the daughter of a woman cut beer like aman. ” “I cannot describe how they danced.
” Going into a new culture would haveto be a shocking experience for anyone. The comment “any for of work is work”made by Mansa makes me think about the decline in moral values. Now days manypeople seem to go by this saying. People seem to not care about what form ofwork they are doing as long as they make money. Some factors to consider whendoing a job are, is what you are doing morally right or ethical, and is what youare doing legal or illegal. Would you want your husband or wife to go to workas a prostitute? Or would you want them to go to work as a female or malestripper? I would hope not in both cases, the first simply because it isillegal.
The second because it is pornography and I think you should haveenough respect for your spouse to not want them to do that kind of work. So thecomment “any form of work is work” is not a way to go about finding a job. “The Return” by Ngugi wa Thiong’o is about a man named Kamau who returnshome after being in a detention camp for five years. He hopes to see his oldvillage exactly the same. Instead he finds it now ruled by the British. TheBritish have changed the village and its culture.
Worst of all, Kamau’s wifeMuthoni left with another man named Karanja. Muthoni did this because Karanjalied and told the village that Kamau had died. At the end of the story Kamaulets a small bundle, filled with things that reminded him of Muthoni, roll downa bank and float down the river. Then he talks about the relief he felt afterthis happened. “Why should she have waited for me? Why should all the changeshave waited for my return?”These comments make me think about change and how hard it can be to copewith change.
It also made me be more thankful for some of the things I take forgranted. When Kamau returned home he basically returned home to a completelynew village. His family had aged, many people didn’t recognize him, and hiswife was gone. This was very hard for Kamau to cope with, “the old village hadnot even waited for him.
” Kamau felt resentful and angry. I know I would havethe same resentful feelings as Kamau if I were put in the same situation. Iwould feel cheated if I came home one day only to find it completely changed. Many time I find myself taking my friends, family, home, or security for granted. Sometimes I don’t realize how important these things are in my life.
I know ifthey were taken away or completely changed, I would be devastated. I would notbe able to get over it as fast as Kamau. After reading this story I am morethankful for the many things I take for granted. All three of these readings bring out different responses from me.
Mygrandma is the person I think about in the poem “Those Rainy Mornings. ” I amreminded of all the wonderful things she does for me and my family. In thestory “In the Cutting of a Drink” I think about the decline in moral valuesthese days. I also think about the what it would be like to go into a whole newculture. After reading the story “The Return” I am more thankful for the thingsthat I take for granted. The story also makes me think about change and howhard it can be to cope with change.
