Reading Quesitons

If Matigari is not simply a character in this story, who and/or what does he represent? Why do you think people who speak of him as a hero don’t recognize him? Thiong’o seems to believe that there are two kinds of ‘truth and justice’— what are these and how can they be distinguished?

                                                    SAMPLE SOLUTION

In the story, Matigari is evidently not just a character as he also represents the voice of the downtrodden and oppressed in the society. it can be said that Matigari represents those whom the voice is barely heard and this is evident in the passage. For instance, Matigari’s quest for truth and justice is met with seemingly insurmountable challenges. this includes countless dismissal from fellow citizens and one cannot help but feel that his lack of recognizable social status is playing against him. The narrative in the society has painted a picture of perhaps a big man and at one point when he stood on the veranda and asks “where can one find truth and justice in this society” he ends up be dismissed as “a drunkard” (p. 73-74). It becomes evident that Matigari represents those in the society whose quest for justice as well as truth barely makes it into the limelight. Just as Matigari’s quest is doomed, the downtrodden find themselves in a tight spot and whatever they wish is easily dismissed by the elite. More so, their fellow citizens do not recognize some of those who would function as the hero simply because they lack higher social status and perhaps do not have titles that they associate the powerful. There is unspoken expectations and rules in the society that those to liberate them or rescue them from their predicament ought to be strongly built and in all likelihood carry titles. As an example of such expectations, Matigari’s quest for truth and justice sees him repeatedly referred to the Ministry of Truth and Justice and the Voice of Truth (basically Matigari himself), which underlines the social mindset that the liberator must be the elected leader in the society (p. 73). For this reason, Matigari does not fit the bill and his quest for truth and justice is simply doomed.

The people in the society are busy engaged in the narrative about Matigari and the picture they have created about him means that they repeatedly fail to recognize him even when he is in their presence. This signifies that Matigari is amongst the downtrodden in the society and their voice is often extinguished whenever they attempt to liberate themselves. In particular, the fact that Matigari represents the voice of the oppressed is captured in Ngaruro wa Kiriro’s claim that the message he has brought from Matigari says “the products of toil should go to those who toil” (p. 75). Without a doubt, the insinuation is that Matigari always has a message that the downtrodden in the society continue being antagonized by those in power. Matigari himself included, the downtrodden have yet to know truth and justice even as they make countless attempts to realize such a dream. it can be said that the society as a whole is to blame for the very lack of truth and justice. This is because those who occupy the lower echelons of the social ladder continue being at the receiving end of continued criticism and end up being dismissed, which evidently does not help the overall course. Rather than recognizing and supporting the lone voice that is represented by Matigari, fellow citizens prove to be his first challenge and one cannot help but assume that he would face insurmountable challenges even if they recognized him. Matigari as a representative of the oppressed also becomes clear when he has questions about being arrested for seeking the truth. He even questions his quest by claiming, “looking for truth and justice is truly a hard job” (p. 88). The insinuation is that truth and justice have remained elusive as the powerful, including the government, continues to put down any effort or gain made by the disadvantaged in the society. the outcome is that the quest for a just society, by far and large, remains only a dream.