### **Comprehensive Analysis of *Coming of the Dry Season* by Charles Mungoshi**
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#### **1. Shadows on the Wall**
**Plot**: A child observes his father’s strained relationship with his stepmother.
The child retreats into silence, finding solace in shadows after his biological
mother leaves.
**Themes**:
- **Family Dysfunction**: The father’s authoritarianism and the child’s emotional
alienation.
- **Loss and Memory**: Shadows symbolize unresolved grief and fractured
relationships.
- **Isolation**: The child’s silence reflects a loss of communication and emotional
connection.
**Symbols**:
- *Shadows*: Represent repressed emotions and the haunting absence of the mother.
- *Dove Nestlings*: Symbolize vulnerability and the child’s longing for maternal
care.
**Key Quote**: *“He has denied me the gift of language.”*
---
#### **2. The Crow**
**Plot**: Two boys hunt a crow, escalating into violence and guilt.
**Themes**:
- **Violence and Futility**: The senseless killing mirrors colonial oppression and
cyclical violence.
- **Loss of Innocence**: The boys’ descent into brutality reflects societal
desensitization.
**Symbols**:
- *Crow*: Represents superstition, death, and the consequences of unchecked
aggression.
- *Catapults*: Tools of destruction symbolizing misplaced power.
**Key Quote**: *“We had started something that was beyond us.”*
---
#### **3. The Mountain**
**Plot**: Two boys traverse a mountain haunted by ancestral spirits, confronting
fear and tradition.
**Themes**:
- **Tradition vs. Modernity**: The mountain symbolizes ancestral heritage resisting
colonial exploitation.
- **Fear of the Unknown**: The goat embodies lingering superstitions.
**Symbols**:
- *Mountain*: A spiritual guardian of cultural identity.
- *Black Goat*: A metaphor for unresolved cultural anxieties.
**Key Quote**: *“She had refused to accompany us when we moved further west to be
near water.”*
---
#### **4. The Hero**
**Plot**: Julius, expelled from school, grapples with disillusionment after seeking
admiration.
**Themes**:
- **Identity Crisis**: Julius’ bravado masks insecurity and a craving for
validation.
- **Consequences of Rebellion**: His expulsion highlights the clash between
individuality and authority.
**Symbols**:
- *Whistling*: A facade of indifference masking vulnerability.
- *Dora’s Tears*: Symbolize the fleeting nature of heroism.
**Key Quote**: *“He felt very small, very insignificant, and nobody cared.”*
---
#### **5. The Setting Sun and the Rolling World**
**Plot**: Nhamo defies his father to seek opportunities in the city, rejecting
agrarian life.
**Themes**:
- **Generational Conflict**: Old Musoni (tradition) vs. Nhamo (modernity).
- **Colonial Displacement**: The aeroplane symbolizes Western aspirations
destabilizing rural life.
**Symbols**:
- *Aeroplane*: Represents colonial influence and fractured dreams.
- *Dry Season*: Metaphor for societal decay and lost heritage.
**Key Quote**: *“The sun was sinking slowly, bloody red, blunting and blurring all
the objects.”*
---
#### **6. The Lift**
**Plot**: Unemployed boys seek solace in elevator rides, facing class-based
exclusion.
**Themes**:
- **Urban Poverty**: The boys’ desperation highlights post-colonial economic
inequality.
- **Social Alienation**: The lift symbolizes unattainable upward mobility.
**Symbols**:
- *Lift*: A fleeting illusion of escape from poverty.
- *Park Bench*: Represents stagnation and hopelessness.
**Key Quote**: *“They were not friends. Not quite friends.”*
---
#### **7. The Ten Shillings**
**Plot**: Paul’s humiliation by a racist employer culminates in a token payment,
exposing systemic oppression.
**Themes**:
- **Dehumanization**: Paul’s loss of dignity mirrors colonial exploitation.
- **Cyclical Poverty**: The ten shillings underscore the futility of charity.
**Symbols**:
- *JC Certificate*: Symbolizes false promises of colonial education.
- *Ten Shillings*: A metaphor for hollow reconciliation.
**Key Quote**: *“He forgave everybody for the misery in the world.”*
---
#### **8. Coming of the Dry Season**
**Plot**: Moab neglects his dying mother, spiraling into guilt after her death.
**Themes**:
- **Filial Neglect**: Urbanization’s erosion of familial duty.
- **Guilt and Redemption**: Chipo’s money symbolizes moral decay and unresolved
grief.
**Symbols**:
- *Dry Season*: Represents emotional barrenness and societal decay.
- *Three Shillings*: A token of shame and lost humanity.
**Key Quote**: *“He cried for something that was not the death of his mother.”*
---
#### **9. S.O.S. from the Past**
**Plot**: Mari reluctantly shelters Kasamba, symbolizing the burden of communal
ties.
**Themes**:
- **Cultural Obligation**: The tension between individualism and collective
responsibility.
- **Urban Alienation**: Kasamba’s desperation critiques post-colonial dislocation.
**Symbols**:
- *Lodging House*: Represents fractured identity in urban spaces.
- *Bus Stop*: A crossroads between past and present.
**Key Quote**: *“The ghost of my guilt stalked the night of my soul.”*
---
#### **10. The Accident**
**Plot**: A hit-and-run exposes colonial indifference and collective helplessness.
**Themes**:
- **Racial Injustice**: The European driver’s apathy mirrors systemic oppression.
- **Collective Apathy**: The crowd’s resignation critiques post-colonial
disillusionment.
**Symbols**:
- *Broken Windscreen*: Symbolizes colonial violence and impunity.
- *Ambulance*: Represents futile attempts at justice.
**Key Quote**: *“Once again, nothing has happened.”*
---
### **Exam Notes: Key Themes & Motifs**
1. **Colonialism & Post-Colonial Struggle**:
- Stories like *The Ten Shillings* and *The Accident* critique systemic racism
and economic exploitation.
- Use symbols like the aeroplane (*The Setting Sun...*) and JC certificate (*The
Ten Shillings*) to discuss cultural erosion.
2. **Family & Tradition**:
- Compare *Shadows on the Wall* (broken family) and *Coming of the Dry Season*
(filial neglect).
- Analyze generational conflict in *The Setting Sun...* and *The Hero*.
3. **Urban vs. Rural**:
- Contrast rural superstition (*The Mountain*) with urban alienation (*The
Lift*, *S.O.S.*).
- Use motifs like shadows and goats to discuss cultural dislocation.
4. **Symbolism & Style**:
- Mungoshi uses animals (crow, goat) to explore human fragility.
- Natural imagery (dry season, shadows) reflects emotional and societal decay.
5. **Guilt & Alienation**:
- Moab’s guilt (*Coming of the Dry Season*) and Julius’ isolation (*The Hero*)
illustrate psychological turmoil.
- Discuss how silence (e.g., the child in *Shadows*) symbolizes unspoken trauma.
---
### **Potential Exam Questions**
1. *How does Mungoshi portray the effects of colonialism on Zimbabwean society?*
- Use *The Accident* (racial injustice) and *The Ten Shillings* (economic
exploitation).
2. *Discuss the role of tradition in the characters’ lives.*
- Analyze *The Mountain* (ancestral beliefs) vs. *The Setting Sun...* (rejection
of agrarian life).
3. *How does Mungoshi use symbolism to explore themes of alienation?*
- Shadows (*Shadows on the Wall*), lifts (*The Lift*), and crows (*The Crow*).
4. *“The dry season represents both personal and societal decay.” To what extent do
you agree?*
- Link *Coming of the Dry Season* (Moab’s guilt) to Zimbabwe’s post-colonial
struggles.
---
**Final Tip**: Use direct quotes and cross-reference stories to show thematic
cohesion. Focus on Mungoshi’s critique of colonialism, family dynamics, and the
human cost of modernization.
