Previous Next

Symbols are objects, characters, figures, or colors used to represent abstract ideas or concepts.

The Garden

The garden planted by Obi and Nancy on the grounds of the Ndume school is the most important symbol in the story. Not only does it symbolize their attitude toward the running of the school, it also symbolizes the alienation that Obi’s educational enthusiasm creates between the school and the village. Obi comes to the school desperate to show and prove his ideas. He believes that he can fix the school that has been underwhelming in the eyes of the missionaries who run it. In Obi’s view, the implementation of his new, modern ideas will not only improve the education, but he will also be recognized by his superiors. The garden is the symbolic seed he and his wife plant. The garden is new and different, and by their logic, better. It also symbolizes the break between the school and village it purports to be serving. It blocks the path that the village has used since time immemorial. By insisting that the path be abandoned because it conflicts with the flower beds, Obi’s idea of modernity is set in opposition to that of tradition. In the end, tradition wins out because the standard bearer of modernity is flawed and arrogant, unwilling to listen when confronted with the reasonable concerns of those invested in upholding tradition.

Previous section Themes Next section Foreshadowing

Take a Study Break