Student Question

In the book "Maru," what is Margaret Cadmore's experiment and is it successful?

Quick answer:

Margaret Cadmore's experiment in Maru is to become a fully trained primary school teacher despite being an orphaned Masarwa girl. Initially taunted by the children, she perseveres and earns their respect, making her experiment successful. Additionally, she experiments with changing people's attitudes by confronting their behavior with calm and understanding.

Expert Answers

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In the book "Maru," Margaret Cadmore is an orphaned Masarwa girl who goes to the village of Dilepe to teach. That was her "experiment"--to become a fully trained primary school teacher. When she first arrived at the school, the children would make fun of her and taunt her because her people were bushmen, the primitive, "low, filthy people." Her belief was that anybody could learn, given the right environment and resources. By the end of the book, she is respected by the people as a teacher, so you could say that her experiment has been successful.

Margaret also likes to "experiment" with people's attitudes and behavior. For instance, instead of quitting when the children make fun of her, she tells them, "I can't understand beastliness because it would never occur to me to be beastly."

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