Gatu is a Kenyan detainee imprisoned in the same camp as Gikonyo. Gatu keeps up the spirits of his fellow prisoners by telling fake stories about Abraham Lincoln fighting the British, which, though obviously false to the reader, provide hope to the prisoners that the British will someday be defeated.
Get the entire A Grain of Wheat LitChart as a printable PDF.
Gatu Character Timeline in A Grain of Wheat
The timeline below shows where the character Gatu appears in A Grain of Wheat. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 7
The other prisoners maintain their commitment to never confess the oath and a man named Gatu becomes their “good spirit.” Gatu tells his fellows inspirational stories about Abraham Lincoln “leading the...
(full context)
Gatu’s death breaks the collective spirit of the prisoners. In Gikonyo’s mind, the world begins to...
(full context)
