“But what was more violent than making people disbelieve in the worth of their own lives? What was more violent than making them believe they deserved less and less every day?”
The narrative takes place in the aftermath of the Sierra Leonean civil war as the native locals try to make a new life out of the remnants. While they harbor hope for a better tomorrow they, however, suffer through a new kind of cruelty, racism. The locals become the victims of the white settlers who are there to acquire the natural resources whilst disregarding the welfare of the natives. Thus, the statement is a reference to the manner in which the villagers are victimized to the point of losing their self-worth. The natives have gone through all sorts of traumas; colonialism, war, and genocide but the narrator assesses the most cruel thing that can be done to them is taking away a people’s dignity.
“We must live in the radiance of tomorrow, as our ancestors have suggested in their tales. For what is yet to come tomorrow has possibilities, and we must think of it, the simplest glimpse of that possibility of goodness. That will be our strength. That has always been our strength.”
The essence of the narrative is the glimpse of hope among the people in a land devastated by conflict where all seemed lost. The native villagers have suffered a great deal of loss and continue to suffer through the costs of war. However, the author attempts to demonstrate the strong will and optimism that is held by his people having undergone the same tribulations as the characters. The villagers begin by going through the trouble of cleaning the bodies and identifying destroyed homes that were once theirs. Akin to the quotation and the novel’s title, the narrative shows the strength of the human spirit in being hopeful and determined in the face of adversities.
“There’s a saying in the oral tradition of storytelling that when you tell a story when you give out a story, it is no longer yours; it belongs to everyone who encounters it and everyone who takes it in.”
In the same manner, the author conveys the story of his reality to the reader through the written word; he references the significance of oral tradition in African communities. A big part of African tribes is the traditions that they uphold in order to maintain their beliefs, virtues, and culture in general. Furthermore, he points out the importance of oral traditions in bringing folks together in times of hopelessness.
