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Jomo Kenyatta
The carpenter to whom Kamau is apprenticed. Nganga is a rich man who Kamau believes is taking advantage of his apprenticeship by forcing him to do grunt work that teaches him nothing. However, Kamau changes this opinion when Nganga allows his family to build huts on his land after Jacobo forces them out of their homes. Unfortunately, Nganga is later kidnapped and killed—along with the barber—in the middle of the night, and no one knows whether the white settlers or the Mau Mau are behind the act.
Nganga Quotes in Weep Not, Child
The Weep Not, Child quotes below are all either spoken by Nganga or refer to Nganga. 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:
).
Chapter 2 Quotes
“Blackness is not all that makes a man,” Kamau said bitterly. “There are some people, be they black or white, who don’t want others to rise above them. They want to be the source of all knowledge and share it piecemeal to others less endowed. That is what’s wrong with all these carpenters and men who have a certain knowledge. It is the same with rich people. A rich man does not want others to get rich because he wants to be the only man with wealth.”
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Explanation and Analysis:
Kamau speaks these words to Njoroge in a conversation about his apprenticeship with Nganga. He tells his younger brother that Nganga isn’t teaching him anything, but rather forcing him to do meaningless grunt work that will ultimately do nothing to help him develop his carpentry skills. In response, Njoroge asks why Nganga treats Kamau this way, pointing out that Nganga is black, thereby implying that all black people treat one another with respect. “Blackness is not all that makes a man,” Kamau replies, saying that some people “don’t want others to rise above them,” regardless of their race. Indeed, he Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus volup
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Nganga Character Timeline in Weep Not, Child
The timeline below shows where the character Nganga appears in Weep Not, Child. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 2
As Njoroge goes to find Kamau, he passes Nganga’s land. Nganga is the carpenter with whom Kamau is apprenticed, and Njoroge thinks about how...
(full context)
When Njoroge finally finds Kamau, his brother complains about Nganga, saying that the man isn’t even teaching him anything but instead forcing him to carry...
(full context)
Chapter 5
Shortly thereafter, Kamau leaves Nganga and begins working as a carpenter in the African shops. Njoroge is glad that his...
(full context)
Chapter 7
...kicked off Jacobo’s land, Ngotho and his family are “given a place to build by Nganga,” who takes pity on the family despite the fact that Kamau never liked him. Still,...
(full context)
Chapter 11
...middle of the night and shot in the forest. One of them, he says, was Nganga. When Njoroge asks if the white settlers are responsible for this, Kamau replies, “Who can...
(full context)
