Analytical essay – “Saving Mr Ugwu”
In historical context, Africa has always been a great market for slavery, and especially western countries like France and Great Britain have exploited that in the past through their colonization of the continent. Although it might be popular thinking that slavery organized by western countries has been abolished many decades ago, it is not necessarily true. Modern slavery in Africa has just had a slight change in character since then. This short story deals with the white man’s continuous oppression and exploitation of black people and their labour force. Furthermore the text thematizes deeply rooted historical conflicts between whites and different black ethnicities within Nigeria.
The short story”Saving Mr Ugwu” is written by the Scottish author Lin Anderson. The story takes place in Nigeria, a former British colony, and mostly focuses around Mr. Ugwu and his family who was forced to move from Lagos to the Nigerian Bush because of his job.
Mr. Ugwu is an Ibo and is born in the former capital of Nigeria, Lagos. Ugwu works for a big western sugarcane company, and manages the pay checks of the workers who harvest the sugarcanes. These workers mostly belong to another ethnic group, the Hausa. The text gives us the impression that some sort of hierarchy exist amongst the different Nigerian ethnicities and the few white men who live in the bush. “Mr Ugwu thinks once again, how lazy and dirty these Hausa people are”(S2, L59) This hierarchy determines the segregation between the different ethnic groups. Additionally the text describes Ibos as relatively wealthy and civilized in contrast to Hausas who are described as a lazy and dirty working-class. Although it at first glance would seem like Mr. Ugwu has a higher social status than the Hausa, it might not be the case. Even though Mr. Ugwu manages the workers pay check, they still have the authority to frighten and boss him around. Furthermore is Mr.Ugwu not only bossed around by the Hausa, but also his wife who tells him what to wear, and also by the White men who commands Mr. Ugwu to treat the Hausas unfairly. “Angry at the Hausa, angry at his wife, angry at his Baturi neighbour, all of whom treat him like a dog.”(P4, L132) However there are no doubts about who’s on top of the hierarchy: The white man. The company who employs both Mr. Ugwu and the Hausa is a western company, and this relationship between the company and the natives is impersonated through Mr. Ugwu’s white neighbour, Jack Jarvis. ”he will tell Mr Ugwu when he has drunk enough to talk socially to an Ibo.” Because of the negative wording in this phrase it gives us the impression that Jake Jarvis, the white man, thinks that it under sober or normal conditions would be degrading for a white man to talk to an Ibo, and thereby automatically placing himself and the white man on top of the hierarchy.
The garden in this story is a reflection of Mr.Ugwu’s deliberate and active attempt to appear as western as possible, which harmonizes with the Jungian psychology where a garden is a symbol of the Self. Mr. Ugwu’s garden is in many ways inspired by the modern English gardens 5th period and reflects the western and European inspired lifestyle of Mr. And Mrs Ugwu. This tiny patch of flowers and grass amidst the dry barren is also a symbol of how Mr. Ugwu has adopted a western identity (Self) and actively tries to dress and appear as western as possible, while he partly has abandoned his African roots. Furthermore the text expresses a general positivity towards western values and despise towards their current habitat.” His wife has always insisted he wear his western clothes, even though they are in this godforsaken place.”(P2, L51) although they still seem to struggle to adopt some western culture into their daily life.“His wife does not sleep in the same room as him. That is one western habit she does not approve of”(P2, L54).
In the end when the angry mob of Hausas comes to get Mr. Ugwu and punish him for his work with the pay checks, they trash their garden and stomp the flowers into the ground. ”they are over the ditch and trampling Mrs Ugwu’s plants into the red earth.”(P3L113) This could be interpreted as a clash between the native population and the foreign British colonization and influence, which the garden represents, and reflects the people of Nigeria’s fight for independence from modern western slavery.
Furthermore Jack Jarvis’ trapped monkey symbolizes Mr. Ugwu, and how he himself is trapped in slavery by white men. Moreover the monkey’s red collar symbolizes how the British during their colonization of Nigeria have ensnared and enslaved large parts of the Nigerian people through bloodshed, and how they at present day still are bound to slavery by the white man. “The monkey stops pacing and regards Mr Ugwu with its little black eyes and scratches at its red collar”. Additionally the killing of the monkey in the end of the text symbolizes Mr. Ugwu’s own liberation from the slavery that the white men have brought upon him. On top of that the title of the story, “Saving Mr. Ugwu”, also harmonizes well with the idea of Mr.Ugwu having saved himself from slavery, and the fact that he is now freed from his shackles and are able to go back to Lagos with his family. “One week later Mr Ugwu and his family leave for Lagos on the small company plane”(P4, L135)
It is clear from this short story that slavery still exists, although it is not in the traditional sense of slavery. Despite it being more than 50 years since Nigeria’s broke free from the British Empire and gained independence, the British and western world still has an immense influence on the Nigerian population, perhaps especially in the less developed bush. It can also be concluded from the text, that there exists deep social cracks and conflicts between the different native ethnicities, along with the tension towards white people which are rooted in Nigeria’s history as a former British colony.
