The Rain Came: Choices for the Greater Good Anonymous College

People must make sacrifices every single day. Whether such sacrifice serves to benefit them, those around them, or society in general, people find that decisions to give up aspects of their lives are prevalent in human nature. Both spectrums of this theme are thoroughly explored in Grace Ogot’s The Rain Came. Often, in tribal cultures such as the one illustrated in this story, the tribespeople are asked to make sacrifices to appease some sort of ancestor or overlord. However, this was not the only example of how individuals in the story had to decide on what sacrifices to make to ensure they achieve what they wanted. While nearly all characters mentioned in the story at some point must give at least one thing up, it is the chief's daughter, Oganda, who is faced with two instances of personal sacrifice.

The first of many difficult decisions falls upon the shoulders of the great chief Labong’o; no father in his right mind would allow his daughter to be sent to death. Labong’o, as strong as he is, struggles with making this decision as he must listen to the rainmaker and sacrifice his only daughter to allow rain to return to his villagers. “The chief must not weep. Society had declared him the bravest of men. But Labong’o did not...