LIFE IS SWEET AT KUMANSENU

Abiosh Nicol, Sierra Leone (1924 - 1994)

Characters

• Bola (A Widow)
• Asi (Bola's Granddaughter)
• Meji (Bola's 7th son who is Bola's 6th son's rebirth) - 30 Years Old. Works in the city 90 miles away from home. He has a BLACK MARK ON HIS LEFT BUTTOCK
• Musa (Magician) - Muslim
• Mrs Meji (She comes to Kumansenu to deliver the news of her husband's death)
• Mr Addai

• This story based on magic realism shows the power of love and the sweetness of life. It captures the gratitude of the children toward their parents. 
• Bola is a widow who lives with her granddaughter Asi. She gave birth to six sons, but unfortunately, all of them died. When the last son dies, the village magician Musa advises Bola to break the bones of the dead child and mangle (mutilate) it so that he could not come to torment her (Unbearable physical pain). However, her heart didn't allow her to do so and then makes a black mark on the buttock of her sixth son. 
• Her seventh son Meji has a black mark on his left buttock. 
• One-day Meji appear on Friday inside the house although the front door is closed.
• On Saturday night it rains heavily. Bola hears knocking at midnight. She goes to Meji's room but he was outside. She requests him to come in but he does not. Meji says that he could not leave without saying GOOD BYE to her.
• Bola thinks to call Mr Addai on Sunday but he himself comes and tells her that Meji died on Friday. But Bola and Asi insist that Meji has come there on Friday, so he could not have died on Friday. Villagers think that Bola is out of her mind because of the shock. Musa reminds Bola that she didn't follow his advice as soon as the sixth son died. Hence, he came to mock her. But Bola does not believe in it rather she feels proud of coming with her son and proud of herself to be with him at that moment 

SUMMARY:

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 (a house roof made with plant material) houses of the village. In one of those houses, there lived a widow. Her name was Bola with her seven years old granddaughter was named Asi. Bola had a story in her youth. She had given birth to six sons but none of them survived. Hence they consulted with the magician of the village who 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 (hip/Either of the two large fleshy masses of muscular tissue that form the human rump) of the baby so that she could recognise the baby when the same spirit would come next time when she would beget (make children) the next baby. 

As time passed, she gave birth to another son, Meji. She looked at the buttock. Indeed, there was a black spot in the exact place where she had marked her previous baby. Anyway, the child did not die young. He grew up, got married, and gave birth to a daughter. At present, Meji 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. Asi curiously 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 mountain, and 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 her to open a chain. They return home. The mother suggests him go to the graveyard and meet his father's tomb. Then they reach to the graveyard, and 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 to 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 Meji'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 as support her old age.

FURTHER READINGS:

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 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 uses 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 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 which serves to demonstrate the theme of this story.

The fourth aspect that illuminates the theme is irony. Irony is defined as the contrast between our expectations and reality. 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 situation 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, 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.

EXTENSIVE READING OF THE STORY

• 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, on page 143 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 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 uses of characterization throughout the story. In “Life is Sweet at Kumansenu,” the author shows characterization through speech and appearance. On page 151, 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 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, on page 145, 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 on page 148, 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 (150).” 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 which serves to demonstrate the theme of this story.
•  
• The fourth aspect that illuminates the theme is irony. Irony is defined as the contrast between our expectations and reality. 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 (148).” This is both verbal and situational irony, since at the time, Meji was actually dead, 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, irony is clearly one way in which the author presents the theme.
• Yet another way the author shows the theme through his use of imagery. He uses imagery to illustrate the fact that life is too short and must not be wasted. One example of this is on page 144 “...Some had swollen up and with weak, plaintive cries had faded away. Others had shuddered in sudden convulsions with burning skins and had rolled up their eyes and died.” This statement describes the theme by using imagery to show the sad death of her babies and to show the fact that life is short. This proves that the theme of “don’t take life for granted” is shown through imagery.
• 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.