The Perfect Nine by Ngugi wa Thiong'o is both a myth and an epic, and it explores several themes, including individualism versus conformity, fate versus free will, courage, and self-sacrifice.
Gikuyu and Mumbi have ten daughters. The nine oldest form the Perfect Nine. They are almost carbon copies of each other, all beautiful, all desirable. Ninety-nine suitors flock to them, hoping to win their hands in marriage. But there is one other sister, too, Warigia, and she is not like her sisters. She has a disability in her legs, but also she is extremely skilled at archery, and she is very much her own person. She decides at once which of the suitors she wants to marry, and she doesn't hesitate to speak her mind. She will not conform to the Perfect Nine.
The story also deals with the theme of fate versus free will. The sisters seem like they...
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will have their choice of husbands from all those suitors, but in the end, after the quest with the ogres (which is freely undertaken), only ten suitors survive. The others have either gone home or been killed. The Perfect Nine end up with exactly the husbands intended for them, and Warigia gets the suitor she has selected for herself. We wonder if all has actually been planned ahead of time.
The suitors and the sisters must have plenty of courage when they go on their quest to get the ogre hair that will make Warigia whole. They encounter many trials and struggles and dangers. Yet they persevere and get the hair in the end. Indeed, the sisters are willing to sacrifice themselves for Warigia, and the suitors are willing to sacrifice themselves for the sisters. This is love in action.
What themes are presented in The Perfect Nine by Ngugi wa Thiong'o?
Ngugi Wa Thiong'o's novel explores several themes in The Perfect Nine, all of them having to do with family. His mythical tale recounts the lives of the founding members of a Kenyan community, Gikuyu, through an origin story.
The ten daughters in the story must have suitors to find ideal husbands to start the ten clans of Gikuyu. The story takes a feminist approach, making the women the heroines in their own story. The ninety-nine suitors who come forward to marry the women must face challenges.
The epic tale includes adventure, danger, and sacrifice. Several themes present themselves throughout the work, including perseverance. A quest that requires courage and determination is a central theme. Thiong'o also explores family unity, a sense of the divine, how that divine presence interacts in our lives, and the impact of nature versus nurture on the development of these women.
As an African writer, Thiong'o relates his work to the political and social factors present in modern African society. A final theme of his work is immigration and moving those you love to places where they can prosper. It also considers that there may be no proper place for that prosperity. The central theme refers to family, and all other themes revolve around that concept.
How is fate versus free will presented in The Perfect Nine by Ngugi wa Thiong'o?
Ngugi wa Thiong'o's The Perfect Nine explores the theme of fate versus free will in the situation of Warigia, the free decisions of the sisters, the survival of the suitors, and the destiny of the Kenyan clans.
The Perfect Nine are all sisters, and they are very much alike in many ways. Yet there is a tenth sister in this family, too, Warigia, who is not like the others. Her legs are crippled. Warigia, however, makes a choice about how she will deal with her disability. She freely uses it to make herself an individual and set herself apart from her sisters. She develops other skills, like archery, and a surprising confidence. Warigia freely decides how she will act and then does so.
The other sisters also make decisions for themselves. They have the right and responsibility to choose a husband from among the suitors. Their parents do not make the decision for them. Warigia, too, chooses the man she wants and does so almost at once. The Perfect Nine also make the free decision to go on the quest to get the ogre hair that will cure Warigia. They are not forced to go.
However, fate comes into play here as well. By the time the quest is finished, only ten suitors return with the Perfect Nine. The others have either abandoned the quest or been killed. These ten, including the man that Warigia has chosen for herself, are clearly the ones destined to become the sisters' husbands and the founding ancestors of the Kenyan clans. There is something greater at work here than the sisters and their choices. Free will and fate work together mysteriously indeed.
How is the theme of family presented in The Perfect Nine by Ngugi wa Thiong’o?
Ngugi wa Thiong'o presents the theme of family in The Perfect Nine by exploring the family dynamics of Gikuyu, Mumbi, and their ten daughters and also by showing how the people of Kenya are one big family.
Gikuyu and Mumbi are the founding couple of Kenya. They have ten daughters, the Perfect Nine and Warigia, who is not perfect physically but who embraces her individuality. As these daughters become young women, many suitors show up to court them. Their parents respect their freedom and do not tell their daughters whom to marry, but Gikuyu does present one expectation. His daughters and their husbands must settle near the family home. They are to become the ancestors of the clans of the Kenyan people, and therefore, they must remain close as a true family.
As the story progresses, the sisters learn that family members must sacrifice for each other. The Perfect Nine and their suitors go on a quest to kill a dangerous ogre and obtain the ogre hair that will heal Warigia. The sisters do this bravely, and some of the suitors do as well. Other suitors prove themselves unworthy and leave the quest. When the sisters return, all nine still survive, and ten suitors come back as well, one for each of the ten sisters.
The sisters marry, and it is from these couples that the Kenyan people descend, making them one family. The implication here is that they should be united as one people.