Weep Not Child Njoroge

In todays American culture, one can view going to school as a basic right that children have, not a privilege. Due to government leaders enforcing the importance of schooling in children such as No Child Left Behind, children can attend school regardless of their socio-economic status as a citizen of the United States. This however, has not always been the case all around the world. In Weep Not Child, the protagonist of the novel is sent to mission school. He comes from a low class family. While at mission school he faces many cultural conflicts created by receiving a mission education. Weep Not Child is set in Eastern Africa immediately following World War II. The novel follows a boy, Njoroge, whose family decides to send him to mission school. …show more content…
Not all of his teachers speak his language, so Njoroge must learn how to speak English. This does not deter Njoroge, however, from earning his education. He is very enthusiastic about achieving an education and bringing honor to his family. Njoroge feels that if he continues school it will help get his family get their land back, of which will put his family in better financial standing. Njoroge is the first child his family has sent to mission school, and they worked extremely hard to save money to get him to be able to attend. The clothing worn in mission school is another cultural conflict created by attending. In mission school, Njoroge is required to wear a school uniform. This uniform is much more modest and westernized compared to his usual clothing he wears in and around his home. Njoroge does not feel that this is a conflict, however, and begins to view the westernized clothing as more civil and respectable. Njoroge becomes ashamed of his African clothing, this shows him slowly abandoning his Kikuyu …show more content…
Njoroge was not raised as a Christian, and there are multiple indicators that show his family’s non-western civilization ways. For example, Njorgoe’s father has two wives. Polygamy is seen as an extremely negative practice in Christianity and is not allowed. Njorgoe’s father having two wives also enforces how low their economic status is. The wealthier one was in East Africa at this time, the more western practices they used in their daily lives. For example, Njorgoe’s neighbor Jacobo’s family was much more financially stable than Njorgoe’s. They have a house and farm of their own, and are allowed to farm pyretheum, a cash crop. All of Jacobo’s children went to mission school and Jacobo only has one wife. Even one of Jacobo’s daughters had a birthday party with cake and other western-civilization traditions. Class room etiquette and rules in the mission schools were much stricter than they are in a typical American classroom. Though Njoroge got in some trouble in the beginning of his schooling, he became accustom to this new change just like all the others. Njorgoe’s enthusiasm for receiving an education kept him motivated through his studies. Njoroge succeed so greatly that he got the privilege to move on to secondary schooling at

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