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Short Stories:Leaving by M.G Vassanji

The story follows Aloo, the youngest son of a widow raising her children alone in Tanzania. Aloo dreams of studying medicine abroad after being inspired by a former teacher. He works diligently to apply for scholarships. Aloo is accepted to study in California but his mother refuses due to finances and fear of losing him. With encouragement, she relents and Aloo leaves for new opportunities, filling his family with pride but also uncertainty about his return.

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Mia Eryna
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758 views

Short Stories:Leaving by M.G Vassanji

The story follows Aloo, the youngest son of a widow raising her children alone in Tanzania. Aloo dreams of studying medicine abroad after being inspired by a former teacher. He works diligently to apply for scholarships. Aloo is accepted to study in California but his mother refuses due to finances and fear of losing him. With encouragement, she relents and Aloo leaves for new opportunities, filling his family with pride but also uncertainty about his return.

Uploaded by

Mia Eryna
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Short stories:Leaving by M G Vassanji

SHORT STORIES:LEAVING BY M.G VASSANJI


Ramai yg nak note untuk poem,short stories and drama nih..so
wani buat la blog ni...nah bacelah tapi jngan lupa follow blog eh
>_<...

Synopsis
The story,Leaving is set in Tanzania.A woman raises her five
children alone after the early death of her husband.After the two
elder girls get married and the eldest son acquires a job,the
mother focuses on the two younger ones,Aloo and the youngest
daughter(the narrator).Aloo is in his final year in school and the
girl is in university.She pins all her hopes on them that they will
have a better education.She winds up their store and moves
them to a quieter part of town,Upanga.The place is quieter and
provides a better environment for them to study.The return of
Mr Datoo,a former teacher inspires Aloo to think of furthering
his education overseas in medicine in America.He starts writing
to American universities to get the necessary information.He is
not keen on studying agriculture in a local university.He is
offered a place with a scholarship in the California Institute of
Technology.However,his mother would not allow him to accept
the offer,citing finances and fear of losing him as the
reasons.Finally,on the advice of a school officer,the mother
relents and accepts the idea of allowing Aloo to leave home for a
different sky.The narrator,for the first time,sees her mother as a
person and not just as her mother-someone who has always
thought only of the children's welfare.Aloo's first letter was a
graphic enthusiastic account of London but to the mother,she is
uncertain of his return.
Character and character traits
Aloo
youngest child in the family-doing his final year in school.
a good student who does well in school
examinations,straight As.
is inspired by a former teacher who returns from America
for a visit to think o furthering his education overseas in
America.
not keen on studying agriculture at a local university
diligent-writes to universities to get necessary
information for further studies
ambitious-wants to study medicine
extremely happy when offered a scholarship to study in
California Institute of Technology
spirited and courageous-willing to do part-time work while
studying
tries to convince other that he will definitely return to his
homeland after his studies
obedient-willing to accept mother's decision-does not
speak about overseas education and prepares to study
agriculture locally
could not suppress his excitement when mother finally
allows him to go overseas
writes from London to mother-letter so full
of excitement creates doubts in mother's mind about the
future.
Mother

mother of the five children and runs a store in Uhuru


Street-single-handedly raises five children after early death of
husband
Aloo's mother became a widow at thirty-three and had
refused ever since to marry for fear that the next husband would
ask her to take her children to the 'boarding'
thinks of the children's future-willing to sacrifice for them
-closes down the store and moves family to a quieter part of
town-better environment for studying-a big change for her
ambitious about her children's education-wants them to
do well
afraid to let youngest son go for overseas education-afraid
he might not return home,take a European wife or forget his
roots
at the same time wise or understanding about situation-
children have to grow up and leave home one day-but hopes to
hold on to them as long as possible
loving and caring-take steps to ensure youngest son leave
for further studies with a happy frame of mind
after receiving letter from Aloo who writes letter from
London-feels unsure that Aloo will return to hometown in
Tanzania
Minor characters
Aloo's sibling (narrator)

second youngest in family and studying in a local


university
supportive of and understands Aloo's needs to study
overseas and not in local university
loving and caring of mother and understands mother's
refusal to allow Aloo to study overseas
observant-observes mother's face and sees her as a person
and not just as their mother-recalls mother's worried unsmiling
face looking after them in her own
Mr Datoo

a former teacher in Aloo's school-came back from America


for a visit
it was his visit that inspired Aloo to think about his future-
of studying overseas in America
Mr Velji

a school officer who gives an objective comment about


Aloo's studies overseas
knows that Aloo will get a good education but fears mother
may lose a son
has an understanding look when he reads the content of
Aloo's letter from London
Themes/Moral values
family support and one's ambition
-we must give support to family members and help them
achieve their ambition
initiative
-when we need information for whatever we are interested
in,we must take the initiative to do something about it
ambition
-it is good to be ambitious
courage and strength to stand up to one's principles
-one must be courageous and have the strength to stand up to
what one believes in
determination brings success
-if one is determined and not waver from one's goal,one will be
succesful
letting go of family members to let them become independent
-it is good to want to keep family members around forever,but
sometimes we need to let go for them to live their own life
willingness to gain new experience and exposure
-new experiences and exposure to different cultures and ways of
life would enrich our lives
not afraid to face the unknown
-we must not be afraid to get out of the known to learn about
the unknown
parental sacrifice for family members
-parents are always willing to sacrifice for the good and
happiness of their children

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