LEAVING BY M G VASSANJI

      M G Vassanji is the author of seven novels, two collections of short stories, a travel memoir about India, a memoir of East Africa, and a biography of Mordecai Richler. He is twice winner of the Giller Prize (1994, 2003) for best work of fiction in Canada; the Governor General's Prize (2009) for best work of nonfiction; the Harbourfront Festival Prize; the Commonwealth First Book Prize (Africa, 1990); and the Bressani Prize. The Assassin's Song was also shortlisted for the Giller Prize, the Governor General’s Prize, the Writers Trust Award, and India's Crossword Prize. His work has been translated into Dutch, French, German, Hindi, Italian, Japanese, Latvian, Portuguese, Spanish, Turkish, and Swahili. Vassanji has given lectures worldwide and written many essays, including introductions to the works of Robertson Davies, Anita Desai, and Mordecai Richler, and the autobiography of Mahatma Gandhi. In June 2015, MG Vassanji was awarded the Canada Council Molson Prize for the Arts. (Photo: Mark Reynolds)

      M G Vassanji was born in Nairobi, Kenya and raised in Tanzania. He received a BS from the Massachussetts Institute of Technology and a PhD from the University of Pennsylvania, before going to live in Canada. He is a member of the Order of Canada and has been awarded several honorary doctorates. He lives in Toronto, and visits East Africa and India often.

Upanga had the highest concentration of Asian communities within Dar es Salaam, with residents of Indian and Arabian descent. These areas are also famous for the colonial houses and mansions built in Indian, Arabic and European styles.

Synopsis

Leaving is set in Tanzania. It is a story of a woman  who raises her five children alone after the early death of her husband.After her  two elder daughters get married and the eldest son acquires a job,the mother focuses on the two younger ones, Aloo and the youngest (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 sells their store and moves them to 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 in America. He wants study medicine. 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.

Plot
1. Exposition: Mother and her two children move to Upanga
2. Rising action: Aloo writes to universities in America
3. Climax: Aloo is offered a scholarship to study in America and discusses the offer with his mother
4. Falling action: The family goes to see Me Velji and mother allows Aloo to go to America
5. Resolution: Aloo leaves for America 

Character and characteristics
Main characters:

 

1. 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.

2. 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
1. 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

2. 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

3. 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
1. Mother's love
2. Separation from loved ones
3. Seizing opprtunities
4. Sacrifice/Selflessness
5. The importance of education
6. Fear of the unfamiliar
7. courage and strength to stand up to one's principles
8. determination brings success
9. parental sacrifice for family members
10. .letting go of family members to let them become independent
11.  willingness to gain new experience and exposure

THEMES  AND EVIDENCES FROM THE STORY

1. Separation

 The story deals with the theme of separation between Mother and her children.

- “And why do you want to go away, so far from us? What kind of son are you? You want to leave me and go away to a foreign place? Won’t you miss us? Are we so unimportant to you? If something happens…” (page 34)

-“But if you send him, you will lose your son… It is a far place, America.” (page 37)

 Mother is sad having her children leave home.

-My two sisters got married, and Mother was sad to see them leave home. (page 31)

 Mother finally lets Aloo go to America with a heavy heart after a lot of thinking.

-“If you go away to the moon, my son, what will happen to me?” Mother asked, smiling. (page 38) -“Promise me… promise me that if I let you go, you will not marry a white woman.” (page 40)

-“And promise me that you will not smoke or drink.” (page 40)

2. Ambitiousness

 Aloo wants to study medicine instead of studying agriculture.

-He wanted to study medicine, but they gave him a place to study agriculture. Aloo was not interested in farming; he wanted to live and work in the city. (page 33)

-“Agriculture?” He laughed. “They can forget it!” (page 33)

-Mother was not made of stone. She knew how Aloo felt about studying agriculture. (page 36)

 Aloo considers studying abroad instead of just studying in a local university.

-All through the rest of that year he wrote to universities in America, finding their names in books. (page 32)

 Aloo still wants to further his education in America even though he has no money.

-Of course, it was expensive, but could he perhaps win a scholarship to pay for it? (page 32)

-Aloo’s hopes began to look unreal. She was right; he would need much more money than that.

(page 34)

-“Can’t we borrow some money?” he asked. “I’ll work in America. Yes, I’ll work in a restaurant or something – I know students can do that. I’ll send the money back!” (page 34)

3. The importance of education

 The story revolves around studying and continuing education.

-Firoz, my older brother, did not finish his last year at school, and no one was surprised at that. He was working in the office of a big shop. (page 31)

-By now I was at university, living there during the week and coming home at weekends. (page 32)

-All through the rest of that year he wrote to universities in America, finding their names in books. (page 32)

 Mother wants her youngest two children study hard instead working early.

-Mother’s hopes were now on the youngest two of us, Aloo and me. She wanted us to study hard and not spend time working in our store. (page 31)

 Aloo is excited at the prospect of continuing his studies in America.

-Could he perhaps get into an American university? (page 32)

-All through the rest of that year he wrote to universities in America, finding their names in books. (page 32)

-Could he get there? Was he good enough? (page 33)

-Aloo could not believe it at first. He read the letter again and again. Then he asked me to read it. When he was sure there was no mistake, he was so happy. (page 33)

-“It’s something, isn’t it?” whispered Aloo. He could not hide the excitement in his voice. “They teach everything there,” he said. “They send rockets to the moon…” (page 38)

4. Selflessness

 Mother rather works alone by herself at the store without the help of her two remaining children.

 -She wanted us to study hard and not to spend time working in our store. (page 31).

 Mother does not remarry so that her children can be under her care.

-In the years after his death several men asked her to marry them, but she always refused to marry again, because of us. Children of a first marriage cannot stay with their mother in a second marriage; they are sent to a children’s home. (page 38)

 Mother finally lets Aloo study abroad even though she wants him by her side.

-“Promise me… promise me that if I let you go, you will not marry a white woman.” (page 40)

5. Fear of the unknown

 Mother and Mr. Velji fears that Aloo will not return once he goes to study in America.

-“If you go away to the moon, my son, what will happen to me?” Mother asked, smiling. (page 38) -“Promise me… promise me that if I let you go, you will not marry a white woman.” (page 40)

-“But if you send him, you will lose your son… It is a far place, America.” (page 37)

  Mother worries that Aloo will pick up bad habits while being in America.

-“And promise me that you will not smoke or drink.” (page 40)

Moral Values
1. Hard work and patience will be rewarded
2. Good education is very important
3. we must not let opportunities pass us by.
4. We must be grateful to our parents.
5. We must try not to be judgmental about the things we do not understand

SPM BASED EXCERCISES

TEMPLATE FOR THE RESPONSE

PARAGRAPH 1 : INTRODUCTION

………(title of the story)……………by ………………..(name of author)……………is the short story I learnt. This story is about ………………….( a short synopsis of the story in three to five sentences  sentences). The …….(recycle the question here)……………………………………… There are many ……………………(  sate the main ideas)………………………..................................

PARAGRAPH 2 : BODY 1

                The first reason why , ……( state the FIRST MAIN IDEA). This is because …………(state the reason). This is shown in the story when……………….. (provide evidences with key word from the story). ……………………………………..(write 3 evidences)………………. As we can clearly see now, ……..(link the cause to an effect)……………………………

PARAGRAPH 3 : BODY 2

                Next, …..( state the SECOND  main idea)…………………………. This is because………………(state the reason). This is shown in the story when…………………….(provide evidences from the story with key word from the story). ………………………….(write 3 evidences) It is as clear as day that………………….(link the cause to an effect)………………………..

PARAGRAPH 4 : BODY 3 

Lastly, …..( state the THIRD  main idea)……………. This is because………………(state the reason). This is shown in the story when…………………….(provide evidences from the story with key word from the story). ………………………….(write 3 evidences) Now we can see  that…………….(link the cause to an effect)…………………………………………………

PARAGRAPH 5 : CONCLUSION

I hope…………………………………………………………………………………………… 

or 

In my opinion…………………………………………………………………………………………

or

In a nutshell,..........................................................................................................................................

or

In conclusion …………………….........................................................................................................

(restate the question and the main ideas)

SPM BASED EXCERCISE

1. The following are the short story and drama studied in the literature component in English Language.
Short Stories - Tanjung Rhu by Minfong HO
                      - Leaving by M.G.Vassanji
Drama           - The Right Thing to Do by Martyn Ford

Choose any one of the text above and answer the question below.
Everyone has someone that they admire." With close reference to the text, which character do you admire the most?

MODEL RESPONSE

         Leaving by M.G. Vasasanji  is the short sory I learnt. This story is about Aloo a young boy who wants to pursue his studies in America. Aloo is the youngest child in a single-parent family. Aloo is a bright student and he is inspired to go to America after his ex-teacher Mr Datoo talks so much about America. His mother does not take him seriously until  a well-known university, California Institute of Technology offers him a place there with full scholarship. Seeing her son's determination, finally with heavy heart, Mother relents to Aloo and allow him to go to America. There are many characters that I admire in the story. The character that I admire the most is Mother because she is determine , caring and loving and selfless.

      The first reason why I  admire  Mother the most is  because she  is a determine woman because she always put her children first. She is a single mother with five children. Her husband passed away when she was thirty-three.   This is shown in the story when she chooses to stay with her children rather than remarry and loses them. She sold her shop after her daughter Razia was married. She wanted her sons the narrator and Aloo to study hard. She moved from Uhuru, a noisy and busy palace to Upanga. She became a tailor in Upanga. She hoped  for the two youngest children, her flesh and blood to to excel in their studies. Upanga was a quiet place, with wild land and  tall trees was a perfect place for her sons to study. As we can clearly see now Mother is a determined woman because she  always put her children first.

      Next, Mother is loving and caring. She feels sad when her children leave her. She finds it difficult to let Aloo go to America. This is shown in the story when she told Aloo that she cannot afford to send him to America. Three thousand shillings was a large amount of money.  Aloo was very upset. Aloo was the apple of her eyes. Seeing her son's disappointment, Mother sought advices from Mr Velji. Mr Velji was very impressed when he learnt that Aloo got  flying colour results in his examinations. Mr Velji told Mother that going to America would be good for Aloo's future but added that she might lose Aloo as he might  not return to Upanga. She decided to let her son to go to America after listening to Mr Velji advises. It is as clear as day that Mother is a loving and caring person. 

    Lastly, I admire Mother because she is selfless because she allows Aloo to go to America. Mother asks Aloo to show her the prospectus of the university. Aloo eagerly shows her the prospectus and tells her he can learn everything there. This is shown in the story when she thought deeply about the offer Aloo received. Aloo was a very ambitious boy who wanted a better life for himself. He did not want to venture into agriculture in the local university. He sought for a better opportunity and was ecstatic to receive the scholarship to study in California Institute of Technology. He hungered to learn more. Letting Aloo to go to America depicts her selflessness as she knew he would be devastated is she refused him. Mother also feared that Aloo would pick up negatives habits. She sternly warned Aloo not to marry with a white woman and stayed away from smoking and drinking.  Even knowing that she might never see him again, Mother decided to let him go to America. Now we can see that Mother is selfless because she allows Aloo to go to America.

      In a nutshell, the character that I admire the most is Mother. There are many various reasons why I admire her  such as  she is determine , caring and loving and selfless. The character teaches me to be determined, caring and loving and selfless. 

2. The following are the short story and drama studied in the literature component in English Language.

Short Stories - Tanjung Rhu by Minfong HO
                      - Leaving by M.G.Vassanji
Drama           - The Right Thing to Do by Martyn Ford

Choose any one of the text above and answer the question below.
Everyone fears separation." With close reference to the text give reasons write on the theme of  separation.

MODEL RESPONSE

         Leaving by M.G. Vasasanji  is the short sory I learnt. This story is about Aloo a young boy who wants to pursue his studies in America. Aloo is the youngest child in a single-parent family. Aloo is a bright student and he is inspired to go to America after his ex-teacher Mr Datoo talks so much about America. His mother does not take him seriously until  a well-known university, California Institute of Technology offers him a place there with full scholarship. Seeing her son's determination, finally with heavy heart, Mother relents to Aloo and allow him to go to America. There are many themes  that is potrayed  in the story.  One of the theme is fear of separation. Mother fears that as the children grow up they will leave the family home.  

      The first reason to be highlighted is Mother does not want to be separated from her children.  Her husband passed away when she was thirty-three. She becomes  a single mother with five children at the age of thirty three. This  is shown in the story when she chooses to stay with her children rather than remarry and loses them. She sold her shop after her daughter Razia was married. She wanted her sons the narrator and Aloo to study hard. She moved from Uhuru, a noisy and busy palace to Upanga. She became a tailor in Upanga. She hoped  for the two youngest children, her flesh and blood to to excel in their studies. Upanga was a quiet place, with wild land and  tall trees was a perfect place for her sons to study. As we can clearly see now Mother fears of being separated with her children  because she  always put her children first.

      Next, Mother feels upset about being separated with her children. She feels sad when her children leave her. She finds it difficult to let Aloo go to America. This is shown in the story when she told Aloo that she cannot afford to send him to America. Three thousand shillings was a large  amount of money.  Aloo was very upset. Aloo was the apple of her eyes. Seeing her son's disappointment, Mother sought advices from Mr Velji. Mr Velji was very impressed when he learnt that Aloo got  flying colour results in his examinations. Mr Velji told Mother that going to America would be good for Aloo's future but added that she might lose Aloo as he might  not return to Upanga. She decided to let her son to go to America after listening to Mr Velji advises. It is as clear as day that Mother fears separation but relents to Aloo's dreams.

      Lastly, Mother fears of the separation with Aloo. Mother asks Aloo to show her the prospectus of the university. Aloo eagerly shows her the prospectus and tells her he can learn everything there. This is shown in the story when she thought deeply about the offer Aloo received. Aloo was a very ambitious boy who wanted a better life for himself. He did not want to venture into agriculture in the local university. He sought for a better opportunity and was ecstatic to receive the scholarship to study in California Institute of Technology. He hungered to learn more. Letting Aloo to go to America depicts her selflessness as she knew he would be devastated is she refused him. . She feared of the unknown especially the Western  countries and people. Mother also feared that Aloo would pick up negatives habits. She sternly warned Aloo not to marry with a white woman and stayed away from smoking and drinking.  Even knowing that she might never see him again, Mother decided to let him go to America. Now we can see that Mother fears the separation because she might not see Aloo again.  

      In a nutshell, everyone fears separation. There are  various reasons why Mother  fears to be separated from her children because she loves her children very much. Mother fears that as the children grow up they will leave the family home.  

      

3. The following are the short story and drama studied in the literature component in English Language.

Short Stories - Tanjung Rhu by Minfong HO

                      - Leaving by M.G.Vassanji

Drama           - The Right Thing to Do by Martyn Ford

Choose any one of the text above and answer the question below.

 With close reference to the text write about a character that you admired. Provide evidences from the story/drama to support your choice.

Template with model response:

Paragraph 1	i. State the name of the story  ii. State the character that you have chosen.	The story that I have studied is Leaving by M.G. Vassanji. The character that I admire in the story is Aloo’s mother. There are several reasons why I think she is an admirable character. Two of the reasons are she has foresight for her children and selfless.
Paragraph 2	Synopsis of the story	The story is about a family that lives in Tanzania. The family comprises of Mother and her five children, Firoz, the Narrator, Aloo, Razia and Mehroon. The main character, Aloo, has just completed his secondary studies. He obtained straight As in his examination and and he has a dream to study in America.  He applied to various universities there and he was offered a scholarship to further his studies in Medicine at the California Institute of Technology in America. Since Aloo’s mother is a poor single parent, she had to face some challenges in fulfilling her son’s dream.
Paragraph  3	· Reason 1          has foresight	Aloo’s mother has foresight in raising her children well. She had a store at the busy Uhuru Street. She sold the store and moved to Upanga, a much quieter part of Dar es Salaams city. She did this to avoid her children spending time working in the family store. Instead, she wanted them to concentrate on her studies. Her plan has paid off when Aloo succeeded in obtaining straight As in his school’s final examination. This makes her an admirable character.
Paragraph 4	· Reason 2 selflessness	Another trait that is to be admired in Aloo’s mother is selflessness. She lost her husband when she was only 33 years old. Since then, she had a few marriage proposals but she turned all of them down. The tradition was that she would have to send her five children to a children’s home once she remarries. Aloo’s mother did not want to lose her children so she sacrificed her own happiness. Because of her selflessness, she was able to raise her children well. Aloo scored straight As in his final examination, the Narrator is studying at a university, Mehroon and Razia are already married, and her eldest son, Firoz, is working in the office in a big shop
Paragraph 5	· Reason 3 overcome her inner fear	The last trait in Aloo’s mother that makes her admirable is her ability to overcome her inner fear. From the story, Mother was initially adamant not to let Aloo further his studies in America, a place which is very far from where they live.  As a single mother, she was scared that Aloo will leave and not to return. As they are poor, she also feared that she was unable to face the challenge of raising the money for Aloo’s ticket and some expenses for him to go to America. However, when she realised that Aloo was very determined with his plan, she managed to overcome her fear and changed her mind. As the result, she decided to let him go and helped him pursue his dreams. At the end of the story, Aloo was on his way to America.
Paragraph 6	Conclusion	From the reasons stated above, one cannot help but conclude that Aloo’s mother is a truly admirable character. I hope to be like her. I have learnt about mother's love from the story.