The She in Her: An Analysis of Ogot's The Rain Came

A smart lady wishes to be no a single's enemy; a sensible lady refuses to be any person's victim. -Maya Angelou

For all the years that I have created a consciousness which includes mine, I was frequently slapped in the face by the incandescent requirements of the universe and its littlest aspect on how girls ought to be. A lady is usually portrayed as a present from the skies, fairly and sophisticated, or a royalty in distress saved by a hero who tends to make her swoon, or an evil witch behind each and every man's failure. Yet a lady is not a present, she is not a possession, she is not an asset. A lady is not a person to be saved, if she is to be protected, then from what? And yes, this paragraph is often gift on my feminist articles. The most tiring point about becoming a lady is the truth that we really should nevertheless must battle for our image as folks, which is an inflection of how I came into the notion that the goal of human sort is to breakout from the chains of the stereotypical. Humans attempt to debunk and destroy what exists, from beliefs to lifestyles and even to the suitable colour of pants to match your socks. This urge to be no cost is the explanation why Jose was shot in a park, why Romeo and Juliet died, and why all the revolutions and wars occurred.

Grace Ogot or Grace Emily Akinyi, the Kenyan writer who takes place to be the author of the story 'The Rain Came' and lots of other stories, offered the "Breaking-out" moment by way of the characters' struggle against the binding chains of traditions and culture. Several of her stories are set against the scenic background of Lake Victoria and the traditions of the Luo folks. Luo folks are exciting, in reality also exciting, especially their traditions. They never practice the popular ritual of circumcision for Men; alternatively they pull out six frontal teeth as a sign of initiation towards manhood. And those traditions are the prevalent theme of Ogot's stories, like folklore, mythologies and in some cases, oral traditions.

This theme is basically the center of "The Rain Came", a story about a chief's daughter who was selected by the gods to be sacrificed in order for the rain to come. The story was initially entitled "A Year of Sacrifice" however changed into how it's these days for the reason that of causes I did not essentially get into. Ogot's inspirations on writing have been largely kind her grandmother's stories to her when she was nevertheless young and her perception of conflicts of tradition in the society was additional fed when she worked as a nurse and midwife in each Uganda and England. She as well represented her men and women in the UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization).

In the story "The Rain Came" a myriad of regular beliefs and societal guidelines had been supplied. The aspect of sacrifice, suppression of ladies's rights, gender inequality, and the energy of traditions was established. That statement will be explicated via the after analyses.

Labong'o

The story depicts Labong'o as a chief who, for the complete course of his life, attempted to accept the order of the Luo ancestors. He married 5 girls so he can get a daughter, and there came Oganda, however the confusion kicked in as the ancestors came into the medicine man, Ndithi's dreams, that Oganda was selected to be the sacrificial piece to the lake monster in order to end the drought and lure the rain in.

There are two implications of sacrifice in Labong'o's character. Initially was when he did not have the decision however marry and marry again till he lastly has a daughter, which was, as stated, ironically taken away from him, creating his efforts irrelevant, if I may say.

The second sacrifice is his daughter. As the individuals's chief, he is obliged to often select the betterment of the town more than something or everyone, even if it really is his family members, or himself. That is when the conflict of his function as a chief and as a father began.

'Never in his life had he been faced with such an not possible selection. Refusing to yield to the rainmaker's request would imply sacrificing the complete tribe, placing the interests of the individual above these of the society. Over that. It would imply disobeying the ancestors, and most possibly wiping the Luo folks from the surface of the earth. On the other hand, to let Oganda die as a ransom for the folks would permanently cripple Labong'o spiritually. He knew he would never be the very same chief again.'

He was torn amongst tradition and loved ones, yet as how all contradictions in the planet end, 1 of the opposing elements prevails, and it's his function as a wonderful chief. He chose to let Oganda go to the lake and die for the rain to come, for the men and women to reside,to stay as the fantastic chief who usually puts the town Initial.

Oganda

"The ancestors have selected her as a sacrifice to the lake monster in order that we may have rain."

That is the line Labong'o mentioned in front of the individuals as a declaration of Oganda's fate. Oganda is the chief of the Luo individuals's daughter, and however, her status did not aid to change her fate. She was selected by the ancestors and there was nothing at all neither she nor her father can do against it.

Oganda is a name which actually implies 'beans' mainly because of her white skin, which is a rarity in Luo individuals which are a native of ebony individuals.

When her household sat inside the area with her outdoors, she notion that possibly they had been just organizing her wedding, and that alone indicates the inability of girls in their society to make a stand on her own marriage. However the truth is, Oganda, and all the other ladies in their society just accept that as role of their life, and no trace of resistance from any female species was provided. They just accept points the society has to give, it does not matter if they deserve it, what ever they dictate, and that alone is sacrifice.

She was afraid at 1st, which is a all-natural reaction if you knew your life has to end for the safety of the majority, however she nevertheless bravely walked alone to the lake and succumbs into her own death. Her courage was currently established, placing honor to the ladies's group, yet Ogot produced a twist. The man Oganda loves, and clearly loves her back, came behind her in the middle of her journey to the lake, and saves her.

"We should escape rapidly to the unknown land," Osinda mentioned urgently. "We really should run away from the wrath of the ancestors and the retaliation of the monster."

Just when the going gets difficult, when she's all dried up without having any water to drink, a man comes and saves her. Osinda, the fantastic and the great, comes to her aide. It really is so cliché in so a lot of levels such as how Superman usually saves Lois Lane, which includes Spiderman to Mary Jane. Men behind the hero masks, which reminds me of how female superhero characters are provided with minimal costume and best hair amidst all the battles and stunts. The way media portray beauty tends to make me want to vomit.

What does it basically imply to be a lady? In this story there are numerous mirrors that reflects ladies. Oganda is the lady who tends to make sacrifices. Even in Greek mythology, girls tends to make sacrifices, even Gods. Hestia sacrificed her throne for Dionysus. Oganda's mother is as well 1 reflection. Her mother was sad, in truth mortified, that her only daughter has to die to make other folks reside, yet the only point she may do is cry. Girls are from time to time powerless. They are often beneath husbands and below societal guidelines, and I never imply it actually.

In the end, Oganda ran away with Osinda from the town and its complete men and women. She gave in to Osinda's present to run away and reside happily ever following, away from the lake monster, away from the eyes of the ancestors, and away from her household. And just when they turned their backs, the sky turned dark and bore droplets of water. It rained. Everyone got their happiness.

Rain

Rain is a single of the most emotional symbols employed in literature, and in this story, all the characters' actions is connected to this rain. The townspeople had been starting to panic for it is been so lengthy for the reason that it last rained and their sources are operating out, and the worry of death among them began to rise as the coming of the drought. And as they say, desperate instances call for desperate measures, so the individuals came into the choice of sacrificing a lady who has not but met a man, which implies a 'virgin', to yield rain, which is a very barbaric issue to do. All this sacrifice issue taking place in the story tends to make me assume that in all the stories I have study, it's a 'really should' that the individual to be sacrificed is often a virgin lady, even in the bible (Jephtha's daughter). Why not a virgin man?

Anyway, at the end of the story, even if Oganda wasn't essentially provided to and devoured by the lake monster, the skies nonetheless shed rain. It can imply that, Oganda's acceptance of her fate as a sacrificial lamb is sufficient to please the ancestors and supply them the rain they want.

This story is a proof on how traditions influence a human's choices and acts. What we are right now as folks and as the human race in common, is a outcome of centuries and centuries of conditioning. Who's to say that 1's tradition and beliefs is incorrect? Who's to say that we belong to a generation of idiots getting our brains replaced by a virtual globe we created and coexist with, referred to as the net? What does it essentially imply to be a lady? Who sets the norms? I never know the answers to my own inquiries, all I know is we all have our own mind and it's a duty to essentially use it.