Patson’s Mother Character Analysis in Diamond Boy

Patson’s mother has been deceased for five years when the novel begins. She and Patson were very close, as they’d talk every afternoon after Patson got home from school. She and Patson’s father married for love, despite their families’ protestations: she came from a poor family, and one that Patson’s father’s royal and wealthy family is culturally forbidden from marrying. Patson remembers her often, and he finds his third girazi after she comes to him in a dream and shows him a Y-shaped stick and a skyscraper. Patson chooses to interpret the dream as his mother showing him that she wants the best for him—and specifically, that she wants him to find girazis that will secure his and Grace’s financial future, allowing them to live comfortably.

Patson’s Mother Quotes in Diamond Boy

The Diamond Boy quotes below are all either spoken by Patson’s Mother or refer to Patson’s Mother. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:

“One day you will tell this story to your own children, Patson. Think what a fine day that will be. And you must always remember, the story you tell makes you who you are.”

Related Characters: Patson’s Father (speaker), Patson Moyo, Patson’s Mother, Arves

Page Number and Citation: 347

Explanation and Analysis:

Patson’s Mother Character Timeline in Diamond Boy

The timeline below shows where the character Patson’s Mother appears in Diamond Boy. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.

Corruption and Violence in Zimbabwe Theme Icon

...help but wonder what his father saw in the Wife, whom he married after Patson’s mother died. (full context)

...royalty and would have to take on royal duties if he returned home, but Patson’s mother complicated things. The Wife has led Jamu to believe that Patson’s family is more important... (full context)

Back in the story, Patson grudgingly tells Jamu that his mother died in a car crash when he was 10, and he snaps that the Wife... (full context)

...the school, visiting the sex workers, before slipping into the administration office to find Arves’s grandmother in the photocopying room. He knocks on the door, says he’s here for Arves’s medication,... (full context)

Arves’s grandmother, however, tells Patson to sit down. She leans over him, rants about the soldiers and... (full context)

The third girazi comes to Patson thanks to a dream. In the dream, Patson’s mother is carving a Y-shaped stick and singing. She puts the stick in the ground and... (full context)

...stick from his dream. When he pulls it, a blue girazi appears. Mentally asking his mother why now, and what it means that he should “look to Grace,” Patson knows he... (full context)

...their hurry to leave the school, Arves gave Patson his lion’s tooth necklace, and his grandmother gave Patson salves. Arves looked old and unwell, and Patson begged Boubacar to bring Arves... (full context)

...him where Boubacar is, and Patson’s missing toes itch. He keeps thinking of his father, mother, and Grace. It’s now after midnight on April 9, and Patson writes about an argument... (full context)

...hospital. Patson says they need to take Arves, but Boubacar reveals that Arves and his grandmother are missing. (full context)

...father explains that Mai fled to complain to the Great Spirit. At this point, Patson’s mother takes him in her lap to finish the story. The tree pursued Mai for years,... (full context)

...Town, while he finds Grace himself. Patson falls back to sleep. In his dream, his mother and father embrace him and, flirting with each other, explain that the Mighty Spirit made... (full context)

...10. Patson only makes it to six. He wakes up to someone telling him his mother is here to see him. Patson would like to tell his mother so much—he used... (full context)

In a letter to his mother and father, dated December 5, Patson explains how he’s decided to interpret the dream he... (full context)

Patson’s Mother Character Analysis

Patson’s Mother Quotes in Diamond Boy

Chapter 31 Quotes

Patson’s Mother Character Timeline in Diamond Boy