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The Neighborhood Watch by Rem'y Ngamije | A Silent Song & Other Stories [TICK IT]

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  The Plot Summary The story, "The Neighbourhood Watch," follows a group of homeless individuals, Elias, Lazarus, Martin, Silas, and Omagano, who have formed a bond and a system for survival on the streets of Windhoek, Namibia. Watch here They call themselves the "Neighbourhood Watch" and have specific days dedicated to scavenging for food and other necessities in different neighborhoods. On Tuesdays and Thursdays, they avoid poor areas and instead focus on neighborhoods where they know they will find more valuable resources, such as white or wealthier black communities. On Fridays and Saturdays, they stay in a designated spot, called "Headquarters," to avoid potential trouble with the police. And on Sundays, they focus on the neighborhoods of Avis, Klein Windhoek, and Eros where they know they will find the most resources and the least interference. The group also receives assistance from an elderly woman, Mrs. Bezuidenhout, who regularly gives them food,...

God See's The Truth But Waits by Leo Tolstoy

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  "God Sees the Truth, but Waits" is a short story by Leo Tolstoy, that follows the story of a man named Ivan Aksionov, who is falsely accused of murder and robbery and is sentenced to 26 years of imprisonment in Siberia. Watch here Before he is framed and accused of the heinous crime Ivan is a young merchant from the town of Vladimir. He owns two shops and a house. As a young man, he was unruly and given to drinking a tad too much, but he stopped drinking when he got married. One day he bids his family goodbye as he is leaving for the Nizhy Fair. His wife dissuades him from going since she has had a bad dream about him. She dreams that he would return when his hair is quite grey. She beseeches him to put off the journey till a later date. Ivan Dmitritch Aksionov laughs it off and says that that is a lucky sign and carries through with his intended journey. Halfway through the journey he meets a merchant, who is an acquaintance of his. They spend the night at the same inn, ha...

Ghosts by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie summary overview - A SILENT SONG AND OTHER STORIES

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                        The Plot Summary Watch here Adichie’s short story ‘Ghost’ alludes to the 1967-1970 Biafra War in Nigeria which she deploys as a pivotal vantage point to scan the realities of postcolonial Nigerian state. The plot of the story unfolds through the narrative voice of Professor James Nwoye, a retired 71-year-old Mathematics professor who was at Nsukka University at the time it fell to the federal forces during the civil war. The protagonist in the story epitomizes the devastation of the war, having lost a child to it and suffered disruption and dislocation. 'Ghost’ focuses on the present but flashes back to the past to reveal the harsh realities of the fictional postcolonial spaces it recreates. The story, "Ghosts," is set on a university campus in Nigeria and follows the character of James Nwoye, a retired professor, as he reflects on his past, current life, and encounters with the ghost of his late wi...

Talking Money by Stanley Gazembaa silent song & other stories

             The Plot Summary Short summary - a man sells a piece of land to some shady characters against the advice of his family and friends only to find out that the money he is given as payment is cursed The story is set in the vast rural expanse of Kakamega, Kenya. It is about a man named Mukidanyi who lives in a rural area and sells land to a wealthy man named Galo. He is warned against this transaction by his wife Ronika, and also by his brothers, Ngoseywe and Agoya. Mukidanyi’s brothers Ngoseywe and Agoya give up on him and leave. Obsessed with money in his mind, he refuses to heed his wife’s counsel and instead flogs her. Despite their warnings, Mukidanyi goes ahead and signs papers, accepting a large sum of money from Galo. After the papers are signed and the money is received, strange occurrences start happening in Mukidanyi's house. Voices are heard coming from under the bed where the money was kept. Frightened by these events, Ronika forc...

The Truly Married Woman by Abioseh Nicol - A SILENT SONG AND OTHER STORIES

          The Plot Summary Abioseh Nical’s story, ‘The Truly Married Woman,’ follows Ajayi, a civil servant, and his relationship with Ayo, a woman he eventually marries. In the beginning, Ajayi and Ayo live together (Co-habitate) but aren't married despite the fact that Ayo had always wanted to be married properly. While Ayo tries to coarse Ajayi to marry her, Ajayi is hesitant as he feels that marriage involves some wild spending and the ceremony is unnecessarily costly. Ajayi's view on marriage frustrates Ayo until she accepts that it will never happen; thus, she stops trying to talk Ajati into marrying her. Basically, she gives up on the issue. despite not being officially married, the couples time together appears relatively amicable as Ayo performs her 'wifely' duties faithfully. They enjoy an everyday family life punctuated with minor conflicts such as the one that arises over Ajayi’s beating of their son Oju. This conflict surprises Ajayi as Ayo rarely ...

The Sins Of The Father's by Charles Mungoshi - A SILENT SONG AND OTHER STORIES

 The plot summary In The Sins of the Fathers, we revisit scars of the past and appreciate how past hurts can cause present and future pain if the victims do not heal and forgive their supposed enemies. Forgiveness can help avert calamitous travails. Mr. Rwafa, an ex-minister and liberation war veteran, clings onto hatred, and this obstinate refusal to forgive and forget causes the tragic death of his grandchildren and his son’s father-in-law, when they perish in a car crash he engineered. Long take - The Sins of the Fathers, by Charles Mungoshi, is a post-colonial story set in rural Zimbabwe. It takes place between Borrowdale and Bulawayo.  Rondo is the antagonistic character whose revenge world opens at the story’s very beginning. Rondo’s father, Rwafa, is an ex- minister but still influential in the political world of Zimbabwe. This is evident from how a fraction of mourners just come to take pictures with him, for such photos would soon ‘open doors for them. Rondo has a wi...

Ivory Bangles by Eric Ng'maryo - A SILENT SONG AND OTHER STORIES

          The Plot Summary The old man goes to a tribal seer for a consultation after noticing something strange about a goat he had slaughtered (he notices blood specks on the liver of a goat he had slaughtered). The seer after listening to the old man tells him that his wife, is going to die (based off that sign from the slaughtered goat), and the only way to prevent this is to give the wife a thorough beating and send her to her parents.The seer’s pebbles say the man’s wife is going to die because the spirits were jealous of a happy wife. The old man is hesitant to follow this advice and suggests offering goats as a sacrifice instead. However, the seer is adamant that to avert the wife's death, the pebbles say he has to give her a thorough beating. The old man is a chief's councillor and is regarded as a small chief. As much as he is respected, many are surprised that he has only one wife. When the chief suggested that he marries another wife, the man replies...

A Silent Song by Leonard Kibera

              Plot summary  A Silent Song is a story about Mbane, a young paralyzed, blind city street beggar who has spent much of his life living on the streets of a city, begging for money and seeking shelter in a back lane at night. He lives in destitution, begging from the passers-by while seething with pain and discomfort. However, despite being surrounded by people and activity, Mbane is isolated and unable to fully participate in the rhythms and pleasures of urban life. He is unable to share in the small talk of the pedestrians, and even when they sing or whistle to the morning sky, Mbane can only observe from a distance. In the story, the city is depicted as a place of noise and activity, with people singing and dancing and engaging in various forms of work and leisure. However, Mbane is only able to experience this activity from a limited perspective, and is unable to fully understand or participate in it. This is due to Mbane's blindnes...

Ninema by Vrenika pather

  THE PLOT SUMMARY The passage is about a market gardener named Ninema who grows and sells herbs at the Indian market. Ninema is described as a hardworking and respected woman who is admired by those around her for her skill and determination. Despite facing challenges, including an attack by an unknown assailant, Ninema is described as facing them head-on and winning. She is practical and focused on earning a living, and is well-regarded by her customers. Ninema is also described as a beautiful woman who is admired by those around her, although she does not seem to be aware of this. She is described as having long, toned arms, a cinched waist, and high, firm breasts, and is known for her piercing black eyes and high cheekbones. Despite the attention she receives from others, Ninema is primarily focused on her work and does not let the attention distract her. Throughout the passage, Ninema's interactions with customers and colleagues are described in detail. The passage mentions a ...

Incident In The Park by Meja Mwangi - A SILENT SONG AND OTHER STORIES

  THE PLOT SUMMARY  The short story opens with a gloomy description of the park. We meet some park loungers who waste hours on end sleeping in the park. Most of the idlers do not pay heed to the parliament and city hall clocks, and would rather loll all day doing nothing. At 1:00 , office workers come out of their offices in swarms. They are then swallowed by the sad city as they disperse in search of lunch. The idlers in the park nonchalantly watch the workers emerge from their offices, disappear into the city and even anticipate the wave of workers to return from various eateries and flood past the park back to their various offices. “The patched park was almost dead, alive only with a few idlers.” Among the idle men sitting or lying under trees and shrubs is a fruit-seller. He sits under a shrub taking stock of his sales. He mumbles and curses and lays on his back, covering his face with his bony hands. He lounges during lunch break. Maybe he is too poor to afford a meal. M...