A Meeting in The Dark Final
A Meeting in The Dark Final
A Meeting in The Dark Final
A
MEETING
IN THE
By: Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o
DARK
Learning 01
The students should be able to
Susana (Mother)
• Thoughtful and caring
• She is tall and thinned, was once beautiful
CHARACTERS
Wamuhu's mother:
• Likes the idea of the relationship between her daughter and John.
Wamuhu's father:
• Is against the relationship. He doesn't like the white man because they broke
the tribe's code of behaviour. "They make unmarried girls their wives and
then leave them with fatherless children.’’
Reverend Carston
• have so much faith in John
setting
Place
• The story is set in Kenya, Limuru, Makeno Village
(Kikuyu Community)
Time
• Second half of the 20th Century
Atmosphere
• It is dark and there is little or no light
• A touch of mystery and danger
• Feeling of tension
• Authoritarian atmosphere
Summary of the literary
piece
Exposition
John is anxious about the idea that everyone in the village and his parents know his
transgressions and that the government might withdraw his bursary when learning
about his scandal with Wamuhu. John came to Wamuhu’s hut to meet and have a
word with her but it turned out John accused Wamuhu that everything was all her
fault. Wamuhu has been pregnant for three months and her mother is BEING
suspicious, so she plans to tell their secret.
Summary of the literary
piece
Rising Action
• after murdering Wamuhu and their child, the readers are left out
as to how the story will continue if being pursued so
conflict
Man vs. Society
Man vs. Himself
tone
Paranoid and Anxious
mood
Bleak or Fear
issues
• Opposing tribal customs/traditions
• Social Stigma and Judgement
• Religious Ambiguity/Crisis in faith
• Colonial Legacy
• Parent-Child Relationships
• Forbidden love
• Freedom and Autonomy
POV
Third-Person Limited
symbolism
Darkness
• Symbolises both secrecy and confusion.
Ghosts
• Towards the end of the story, John dreams about two ghosts fighting one another
Stanley’s Bible
• Stanley's Bible symbolizes piety.
Foreshadowing
‘’whiteman’’ (british colonizers/europeans who came to various African countr
and spread European culture and Christianity)
‘’soothing grass and a harsh sun’’ (describes the village as both welcoming
and repulsive. Also showcase John's ambivalence toward the two lives he
must choose between)
Literay devices
Paradox
The central paradox of the story is that John is considered someone with a bright
future and great potential, but he ultimately is incapable of making a decision and
sentences himself to a figurative death.
Parallelism
Stanley and Wamuhu's father can be considered parallel characters, as each man
represents the extreme side of one culture.
theme
‘’A person without conviction makes a decision leading
to unpleasant results.’’
References
:
https://www.britannica.com/topic/Northwestern-University-
Evanston-Illinois https://prezi.com/zs0-glnvduig/a-meeting-in-the-dark-ngugi-wa-
thiongo/ https://www.gradesaver.com/a-meeting-in-the-dark/study-guide/character-
list
https://www.gradesaver.com/a-meeting-in-the-dark/study-guide/literary-elements?
fbclid=IwAR3ig_SqiH7gCVOudC2MBDNe-
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Farce
Thank You for
Listening!