River of the Gods Literary Elements

Nonfiction

Set mainly in Africa in the 19th century

Third-person narration

Neutral

Protagonist: John Hanning Speke and Richard Burton; Antagonist: The treacherous expedition and their rivalry.

The expedition consisting of Richard Burton and John Hanning Speke to find the source of the River Nile is met with challenges. Apart from the rivalry between the two explorers they encounter some geographical challenges, hostilities, and illnesses while completing their mission.

The climax occurs when the explorers send the news to the Royal Geographical Society that the source of the river could be Lake Victoria.

“Speke was not only six years Burton’s junior, he was his opposite in almost every way.”

This foreshadows the rivalry between the two explorers that would continue long after their expedition.

“Speke was there not to try to unravel East Africa’s geographical mysteries but to kill and carry home to his family estate as many of its rarest animals as he could find.”

It is understated considering the attachment Speke had to find the truth about the source of the Nile.

“Burton had assumed control of both Speke’s journal and the natural history specimens he had collected during his aborted journey to the Wady Nogal. Burton had sent the entire collection to a British zoologist working in Calcutta named Edward Blyth, who had identified all of the species, including thirty-six birds, twenty mammals, three reptiles, a fish, and a scorpion. Publishing his findings in the Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Bengal”

“Three thousand merchants from all over East Africa had descended on the coast to attend the famed fair, along with thousands of cattle and five hundred people in chains, destined for the slave markets. The dirt streets were lined with temporary framed huts covered in mats. Merchants shouted from their stalls, selling everything from coffee to frankincense and myrrh, ghee, gold, saffron, feathers, and livestock. The harbor was swarming with ships, and as many as six thousand camels might arrive in a single day, carrying goods from the interior.”

Though the Nile River had been the foundation of the ancient civilizations its origin remains a mystery until the two explorers find it.

The author parallels the personalities and egos of Burton and Speke as their rivalry escalates through the expedition of finding the river of the gods.

N/A

“My anger knew no bounds”