Life Is Sweet at Kumansenu
- Abioseh Nicol
Literal Comprehension
There was a beautiful village in South Africa named Kumansenu. It was situated in a beautiful landscape. The beauty of the village had been further increased by the lines of thatched roofed houses of the village. In one of those houses, there lived a widow. Her name was Bola with her seven years old granddaughter named Asi. Bola had a story in her youth. She had given birth to five sons but none of them had survived. Hence they had consulted with the magician of the village who had suggested them to break the bones of the dead child's legs so that his evil spirit would not be able to take another birth and trouble them. But, Bola did not allow the people to do so.
Instead, she put a black spot on the buttock of the baby so that she could recognize the baby when the same spirit would come next time when she would beget the next baby. Time passed, she gave birth to another son, Musa. She looked at the buttock. Indeed, there was a black spot in the exact place where she had spotted in her previous baby. Anyway, the child did not die young. He grew up, got married, and gave birth to a daughter. At present, Musa was working as a clerk in the city. He was staying there with his wife.
One day, all of a sudden the son appears in the room in one of the evenings. The old widow asked why he had been there without information. She wanted to call all the villagers to welcome him. But the son stopped her saying that he wanted to share his happiness with his family members only. His daughter went to meet him and saw that her father had covered his neck. The curious girl asked him why he had covered his neck. He replied that there was a wound in his neck and hoped that she would not touch it.
The next day, both of them went to visit, the father takes her far and wide. The girl was surprised because she could not see her father's shadow, he was very transparent and his watch had stopped at twelve o'clock. The father replied that it was twelve o'clock and there would not be any shadow at the time. He also teaches there to open a chain. They return home. The mother suggests he go to the graveyard and meet his father's tomb. Then they reach the graveyard, the mother takes some of the almonds and throws up the graveyard. Three of them turn upwards and three of them turn downwards which means the living and dying souls was communicating with each other.
The mother tells her son that his father was happy with him. The son replies that he had felt very close with his father on that day. Both of them returned home. The mother prepares food but the son would not take it. It was raining outside. The son was standing in the rain. The mother calls him inside but the son replies that he had come there just to thank her because she did not cut his legs in the previous life. Then he disappears.
The next day Musa's wife who had been staying in the city comes. She delivers a message that her husband had died exactly at 12 o'clock when the glass of the window broke down and his head had been severed as he had tried to peep out through it. The daughter could not believe it and begins to cry and the mother lulls her by offering the chain which was her father's last gift. Bola was happy because she had selected not to break the legs of the dead child. And, it was because of her great decision there was her daughter in law and granddaughter supported her old age.
Life is Sweet at Kumansenu (Extensive Reading)
First of all, the theme of “Life is Sweet at Kumansenu” is portrayed through the ways that the author describes the setting of the story. The setting describes the surroundings around the character and the area in which the character lives or spends a lot of time. For instance, the setting is described as, “The sea and the wet sand to one side of it; green tropical forest on the other; above it, the slow, tumbling clouds.
The clean, round, blinding disk of the sun and the blue sky covered and surrounded the small African village, Kumansenu.” These statements fit with the theme, “Don’t take life for granted,” because they speak of the beautiful area that is all around and how sometimes you need to just stop and take a look at the beauty of life. Therefore, the author used a unique setting to describe the theme of the story.
Secondly, the theme can be seen in the use of characterization throughout the story. In “Life is Sweet at Kumansenu,” the author shows characterization through speech and appearance. This statement is made: “She clutched Asi to her. ‘I am glad I gave him the opportunity to come back, for life is sweet.’” This form of characterization used was the speech in which Bola clutched her granddaughter to herself she spoke of how happy she was that she let Meji come see her because he would be able to enjoy life.
This is a form of characterization in that it shows how much Bola cared about her son and wanted him to enjoy the essence of life. Also, another form of characterization used is, “He turned around from the window and looked at her with a twisted half-smile of love and sadness.” This form was that of appearance and it demonstrates the theme in that, without the audience knowing it, Meji is dead and he is looking at his living mother. He sees in her a love for life and wishes that he himself could be experiencing that sort of love. So it can be concluded that Abioseh, the author of this story, used characterization through speech and through appearance to interpret the theme that life should not be taken for granted.
Thirdly the theme of “Life is Sweet at Kumansenu” is demonstrated through symbolism. In this story, symbolism provides foreshadowing and represents the emotions of the characters. An example of symbolism is when “She threw the four kola nuts up into the air and they fell on the grave.” In this case, the kola nuts represent death, which adds to the theme because it’s showing that death can come suddenly.
Another instance of symbolism is when Asi’s mother tells her, “Your papa had this made last week for your Christmas present. You may as well have it now” She is referring to a gold locket, which symbolizes Meji’s love for his daughter. This contributes to the theme because it shows how love is important and you should appreciate those in your life. Therefore, symbolism is one element that serves to demonstrate the theme of this story.
The fourth aspect that illuminates the theme is irony. The irony is defined as the contrast between our expectations and reality. The irony is used a lot in “Life is Sweet at Kumansenu,” because of the fact that the main plot has a highly ironic twist (that a man who appears normal is really dead). One instance of this is when Bola and Meji are standing by the grave of Meji’s father and Meji “...said that he felt nearer his father at that moment than he had ever done before in his life.” This is both verbal and situational irony since, at the time, Meji was actually dead, and so he really would be closer than ever to his dead father.
This proves the theme because it shows how unexpected things, death not least of all, can happen and that you shouldn’t take things for granted. Because of this, the irony is clearly one way in which the author presents the theme.
In conclusion; the message of “Don’t take life for granted” is clearly presented as the theme of “Life is Sweet at Kumansenu.” It is shown through Abioseh’s use of setting to describe the beauty in nature that we shouldn’t forget to notice. It is also made apparent because of the characterization that shows how sweet life is. Another element that shows the theme is the symbols of the story and how they represent death and the love a father has for his daughter.
Irony also contributes by showing how things are not always what we expect them to be, and that death may be closer than we realize. Last but not least, the theme is demonstrated by the author’s imagery, which paints a vivid picture of how fleeting life is. This all goes to show that it’s important to not let life pass you by and to enjoy what you have while it lasts.