Because he calls himself a fool it makes me think that he regrets turning down Patricia’s offer to run away. One reason for that is that if he had gone with her she might still be able to speak. If chronologically his mother dying happened after Patricia ran away his mother might still be alive. Or maybe he thinks his life would have been better if he ran away and lived on the road. What happened to Patricia eventually however is the reason why such a decision would be pointless. In her strive to escape to freedom she only got hurt and eventually returned to where she started from which is just another evidence of how inescapable the situation is for the Rhodesian youth. Someone may say that Marechera was able to escape by going to the UK and getting a better education, but especially with the documentary we realise that the effect of colonialism is inescapable even when freedom is granted, it is ingrained in the way that the Rhodesian people think and act. “The hunger” for freedom could never be satisfied because the freedom both the protagonist and Marechera are looking for is not the actual freedom of a person in a society, but the spiritual freedom which is able to cast back the effects of historical oppression. I think even if he ran away with Patricia both of them would have returned eventually.

Nestar was probably the one who encouraged or even arranged this “pay back”. Showing weakness by getting beaten up is one thing, proving you are vulnerable by not having any reaction to the beating is what can cause big troubles in the long run. You could argue that it was already a “fair trade” (I know this sounds insensitive, but still) because both parties were able to inflict pain on the other. However, once word gets out on the street that the son of the most powerful matriarch got beaten up with his offenders walking away unbothered, that is when distrust and suspicion in the power of that matriarch would set in. In Rhodesian society where the rules are much more different the name and reputation of somebody could cost as much as anything else - that is a trait of societies where there is a lot of poverty and most people don’t have enough actual wealth. Nestar allowed her son to get beaten up because she is a victim of abuse herself and she believes that Leslie should be punished for what he has done, but at the same time she cannot let the protagonist and Philip get “the last word” or rather “the last beating”.

Racial segregation is the practice of the separation of the people based on their race in regard to the ways and locations of living, studying, eating etc. Integration is when people and/or things are brought together and it is naturally what causes desegregation to occur. So the slogan in itself makes no sense whatsoever. The honest integration of people would mean a justiful and equal treatment of all who are integrated, while segregation exists for the sole purpose of applying different rules to different groups of people. Now, one could argue that honest doesn’t mean equal, but fair and to that I say that equity is fairness. If segregation should be applied then it should be in favor of the black Rhodesian people with the regard of the disposition between the power dynamics of them and the white people, but we all know that the white protestors weren’t referring to that in their protest.

Ceremonial pipes originate from the Native Americans and are often called peace pipes by the Europeans. They are used to show commitment of the parties who partake in the smoking and the peace between them. I find it peculiar how the protagonist chooses to use the European term for the pipe (showing even further the influence of the English language on the Rhodesian people) as well as the irony behind the use of the pipe. Historically, European colonizers didn’t seek peace with neither Native Americans, nor Africans yet the term “peace-pipe” is what is used rather than ceremonial pipe, just pipe or even a bong. There are names for traditional african pipes as well such as the inqawe, the smoking of which was a way to show your connection to your ancestors. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inqawe . The people in the room make peace with each other with an object that represents the most unpeaceful aspect of their country’s history (referring to colonization) when what they really should be doing is making peace with the history itself by returning to their roots.

The depiction of the female manicure as claws shows the sexual preying of the women in Rhodesia and in African culture in general. It was (and still is) a very popular and somewhat seductive accessory for a woman. Previously, Julia used her “claws'' to grab the privates of the protagonist thus literally “grasping her prey”. However, Nestar can have any man she wants, she is not only a sex worker who gets plenty of sex, but is of enough social status and with enough money to afford whatever she wants. She now longer needs to “catch a man”.

Something I think we forget is the particularity of Immaculate’s situation. She got kicked out of her father’s house (a pastor who does not accept her), she has a kid which she has to take care of, she has no special education or well-paid occupation (or at least they are not mentioned) and she is basically stuck with her baby daddy Peter who is sexually, verbally, and physically abusive. Her need for intimacy and gentleness may have been why she got on with the protagonist in the first place, but they can sleep only outside in “some bed” because there isn’t any other option. Immaculate is as close as being homeless at that point, all lies on Peter’s rage and decision whether he is satisfied with his abuse and wishes to kick her out or if he would like to keep her and his child, “she was just a red stain…” (p.14) .

The obvious thing is the fact that bruises and colors such as black and blue cannot show as easily on the skin of black people because of the complexion. It is a bit far fetched, but one could interpret that as people not being able to see the abuse that is inflicted on black people because of their skin - not referring to visual bruising this time, but abuse in general. The saying was more commonly used in England, I suppose, as Julia was confused by the protagonists’ choice to use it. When someone with white complexion gets beaten up they turn “black and blue” from the bruises and guess what complexion that associates them with - the black one. No bruise has ever been actually the color black - they are always red, blue, purple, yellowish even. So fighting, abuse, bruising are kind of associated with being black even though they remain unnoticed on the black complexion.

Even though the mother of the protagonist is a protector of traditions and goes against his English education, she has also given her other son Peter an English name. I believe deep down as a mother she might understand the advantages which may come with that name (Peter will be perceived better when applying with his documents because of the already ingrained belief that white is better and more sophisticated than black therefore there will be a natural and subconscious preference to a white name). She may have also named him like that just because many colonists have white-washed the names of the Rhodesian people in a way to take away their identity. This very much reminds me of mass name changing and 1989 ethnic cleansing of ethic Turks and Roma people from Bulgaria during the communist regime. The Islamic faith as well as names typical to the ethnicity were forcibly changed to Bulgarian to ensure the thorough mixing of all people in one - after all the leading ideal was that everyone should be the same.

“There was however an excitement of the spirit…” (p.13) An intertextual connection with many Bulgarian texts from the period of the nation’s “Renaissance” or rather “Revival”can be made here (late 18th to 19th century). For example, in the Bulgarian novel “Under the Yoke'' there is a chapter called “The Drunkenness of a Nation”. In that chapter generally what happens is a small Bulgarian community in the Ottoman empire gathers for a celebration and a lot of drinking and dancing happens. Because of the spirit of events ideas of change and freedom start to get spoken of, which has not happened so freely before. The Hall in this text and the liberating feeling a joyful gathering gives to a person allows for otherwise dangerous ideas to be discussed.

The use of traditional language and the absolute refusal of the oppressor's language (in this case - English) is a way for the community to survive. Nevertheless, the need for education and a better future of the young individual sometimes should exceed the hardships of the past and therefore knowing the English language would be a great asset to the protagonist and must not be discouraged. Because of the many years of colonization and oppression the people have become the oppressors themselves, restraining the individual and keeping it in the borders of the freedoms that were once given to them. At that point we can talk about "slavish thinking", a term often used for Bulgarians as well regarding the effect of the Ottoman rule on the nation’s social psychology.

The use of traditional language and the absolute refusal of the oppressor's language (in this case - English) is a way for the community to survive. Nevertheless, the need for education and a better future of the young individual sometimes should exceed the hardships of the past and therefore knowing the English language would be a great asset to the protagonist and must not be discouraged. Because of the many years of colonization and oppression the people have become the oppressors themselves, restraining the individual and keeping it in the borders of the freedoms that were once given to them. At that point we can talk about "slavish thinking", a term often used for Bulgarians as well regarding the effect of the Ottoman rule on the nation’s social psychology.

From the number of instances when drinking and violence are mentioned we can deduce that the community has an existing issue with alcoholism and abuse. Evidence: "drinking led to arrests..."(p.12), "excessive drinking"(p.29), "...he said drinking"(p.35), "Drink up"(p.36). Those two are often traits of poor societies as miserable people tend to spend their money on short-term solutions to their problems, alcohol being one of them. In order to escape reality they are willing to pay the little that they have for unnecessary and harmful drinking. That in itself increases the penury in the society and does not allow for change or better future for the coming generations.