TITLE: MABALA THE FARMER.
AUTHOR: RICHARD S. MABALA.
SETTING: TANZANIA.
YEAR OF PUBLICATION: 1998/ No Year of publication
SUMMARY OF THE CHAPTERS.
CHAPTER 1
MABALA.
This chapter introduces us to Mabala, a Dar-es-salaam resident who has been working as a clerk for 25 years now. He is married to a girl called Mauja and they have a baby daughter called Martina. Mabala fails to catch up with life expenses in the town. He decides to migrate and live a village life in Morogoro with his family. In this chapter, we are also told that Mabala has a stubborn behavior and argues against things even though he knows nothing about them.
CHAPTER 2
MABALA’S FIRST DAY ON THE FARM.
The time for Mabala to go to the farm arrives. He is eager to go and work on the farm. He tells his wife to wake him up early in the morning. Early in the morning the next day, his wife tries much to wake him up without success. He wakes up at 08:30 to find his wife has already gone to the farm and cultivated a large portion of the farm. He works a little but proves failure. He then decides to go and have a rest under the nearby mango tree.
CHAPTER 3.
MABALA HAS A REST.
Under the mango tree, Mabala finds Mama Martina’s basket with some maize and beans (makande). He eats the food quarter by quarter until he finishes it. Then he felt everything aching. He sleeps under the mango tree. After a lot of work, Mama Martina comes under the mango tree for some food only to find out that Mabala has eaten all the food. She gets angry and cries out. Mabala apologizes and then takes her to the mtama bar for a roast meat and bananas.
CHAPTER 4.
MTAMA BAR.
At the mtama bar, Mama Martina was given meat, bananas and a plastic mug of mtama while waiting for food. When it was ready, she ate and then quickly went home. Mabala was left drinking and chatting with the villagers. He narrated to them what happened when he was at the farm. The villagers advised him to work hard but he argued against them claiming that they are too lazy only to drink and it is their wives who work for them. The villagers were hurt by Mabala’s words and therefore they decided to teach him a lesson. They told him that a good way of farming is to make sure that he has mtama with him. Early in the morning before work, he has to drink it a little, he has to go with it to the farm. Whenever he felt anything aching, he had to consume it a little and things would be all right. He buys a gallon can of mtama to use it
the next day
CHAPTER 5.
THE HOE AND THE GALLON CAN.
The next day in the morning, Mabala drinks a little mtama before going to work. His wife was very surprised but a neighbor secretly told her of their mission to teach him a lesson. He takes his mtama to the farm. He tries the means he was given. He proves failure even more than the day before. In the evening the villagers told him that they wanted to teach him a lesson that drink and work don’t go together. They then give him good advice that he should work hard until he gets used to work.
CHAPTER 6.
MABALA AND THE FERTILIZER.
Mabala takes to the farm a bag of sugar thinking that it is the fertilizer. The bag is too heavy. He tries all the means in carrying it. It falls many times. A neighbor called Sekulu meets him and tells him that it is a sugar and not a fertilizer but Mabala refuses to listen. Then Sekulu goes and tells Mama Martina. It is Mama Martina who comes to the farm and tells her husband that it was a sugar and not a fertilizer.The next day it was the day of putting the fertilizer at the farm. Surprisingly, Mabala was putting the fertilizer ON the maize plant instead of around it. His wife instructs him on the correct way but he refuses to listen due to his stubborn behavior. She gives him two rows to put the fertilizer the way he thinks that it is correct. Mabala’s two rows become yellow and then die. Mama Martina gets angry due to her husband’s stubborn behavior and then cries bitterly. She finally stops her husband from going to the farm and threatens that if he dares to go, she would leave him alone.
CHAPTER 7.
MABALA WINS RESPECT.
Since he has been stopped from going to the farm, Mabala offers to help the village as an accountant. The village chairman accepts the offer. Mabala writes the village accounts properly. The villagers totally accept and respect him. It is the harvest season and Mama Martina get a good harvest. Mabala stops his stubborn behavior and becomes wise. Finally, Mama Martina allows him to go back to the farm and tells him that they are expecting to have another child.
ANALYSIS
SETTING: TANZANIA.
The events take place in Tanzania both in urban and rural sub-settings.
Urban sub-setting includes the Dar es salaam town where Mabala works for the company
Rural sub-settings, include Morogoro rural areas, in the village where Mabala migrates to, it also includes places like, Mabala’s home, the farm, the Village Office and the Mtama Bar.
WHAT IS THE STORY ABOUT?
The story is about a man called Mabala who lives in Da-es- salaam working as a clerk. He fails to catch up with life expenses in town and therefore decides to move and live a village life in Morogoro. He succeeds by harvesting a lot and lives a happy life with his family.
CHARACTERS:
1.MABALA.
➢ He is the main character
➢ He is married to Mauja and they had a daughter called Martina.
➢ He didn’t save money for the future life.
➢ He doesn’t take other people’s advice.
➢ He adopts drunkenness in the village.
➢ He is troublesome to others at the first days in the farm, but later on works hard and succeeds.
➢ He was lazy in the first days at the farm.
POSITIVE CHARACTERISTICS OF MABALA.
These are characteristics which make us like Mabala. They include;
➢ He is honest as he keeps well the village accounts.
➢ He is very sympathetic as he sympathizes with his wife when she cried for food. Mabala takes her to the Mtama Bar and buys for her some foodstuffs.
➢ He is not cruel to his family.
NEGATIVE CHARACTERISTICS OF MABALA.
These are characteristics which make us dislike Mabala. They include;
➢ He is troublesome to others.
➢ He doesn’t take other people’s advice.
➢ He is not careful with money.
➢ He argues against everything, even the things he doesn’t know.
2. MAUJA(MAMA MARTINA).
➢ She is Mabala’s wife and Martina’s mother.
➢ She is a hardworking woman.
➢ She is very careful with money.
➢ She gives her husband a good advice.
➢ She is generous.
➢ She is tolerant.
3.MARTINA
➢ She is Mabala’s daughter.
➢ She was born in Dar es salaam.
➢ She goes to primary school.
➢ She migrates with her parents to Morogoro.
➢ Pupils at school laugh at her because her father doesn’t take other people’s advice.
4. SEKULU.
➢ He is Mabala’s neighbor.
➢ He tells Mabala that he is taking sugar to the farm instead of fertilizer.
➢ He tested the sugar.
➢ He goes to tell Mama Martina about the issue of Mabala and his “fertilizer”
➢ He saw Mabala arguing with his wife on how to put the fertilizer to the maize plants.
5. MZEE KOMBO.
➢ He is one of the villagers.
➢ He drinks alcohol at the Mtama bar.
➢ He believes that life in town is easy.
➢ He thinks that people in town drink beer.
➢ He believes that men in town chase girls.
CONFLICTS.
1. Conflict between Mabala and Mama Martina.
This conflict happened in the farm on the question of how to put the fertilizer to the maize plant. Mabala argues that the right way is to put the fertilizer on the maize plant and not otherwise while Mama Martina insists that the fertilizer should be put around the maize plant and not on the plant as Mabala claims. The conflict becomes so intense, but it ends by Mama Martina agreeing to give her husband two rows of maize plants to put the fertilizer the way he thinks is right.
2. Conflict between Mabala and the villagers.
This conflict happened when Mabala told the villagers that they were only drunkards and their wives work for them. The villagers were a bit hurt and they gave him misleading advice.
3. Conflict between Martina and the school pupils.
The school pupils laugh at Martina because her father doesn’t take other people’s advice. She cries and refuses to go to school.
LESSONS/THEMES/THINGS THAT WE LEARN FROM THE STORY.
➢ We should be careful with money.
➢ We should save money for the future life.
➢ We should take other people’s advice.
➢ We should work hard in order to get success.
➢ We should not be troublesome to others.
RELEVANCE OF THE STORY TO OUR SOCIETY.
The story is relevant to our society because in our society there are people who;
➢ Don’t save money for the future life
➢ Don’t take other people’s advice
➢ Are troublesome to others
➢ Are not hard workers(lazy)
NB: That is to say that, People like Mabala are also found in our societies.
HOW DID THE STORY END?
The story ended happily because;
➢ Mabala stops his stubborn behavior and becomes wise
➢ He puts well the village accounts.
➢ He gets good harvests
➢ He is expecting to have another child.
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