A Meeting In The Dark

"A Meeting in the Dark"

This short story by Ngugi wa Thiong'o, is a captivating story about a young man trapped in a conflict that many young men face today. The young man, John, rebellious of his father and living in two different worlds, struggles with his girlfriend, Wamuhu, to find a solution to their problem. Unsure of what his parents will think when they find out what John and Wamuhu have done, John begins to panic and accidentally does the unthinkable.

John's father was a very religious man, so stern that he was feared by a lot of the village people. John led a double life that was always in conflict with one another. At night he would sneak out of his hut and go to see his girlfriend Wamuhu. He knew that if his father found out about his actions, he would be severely punished. During the day John went about his life as if he knew nothing about what went on at night. John was not the only rebellious son in the village, many young men and women snuck out at night to meet with one another against their parent's will.

Unfortunately for John and Wamuhu, Wamuhu has gotten pregnant and both are worried what their parents will think. I don't know why John is so afraid of his father. Ironically, this is the same way he was brought into the world, by accident. He should just tell his tell his father what has happened, and if he gets angry, John should just remind him of the way him and his mother made the same mistake when they were his age.

John however is too afraid of his father to tell him. He and Wamuhu decide they should get married and try to cover the whole thing up, but John knows his father will not approve of this either, because Wamuhu has be circumcised, something that John's father is completely against. At the end of the story, John begins to panic about what he should do. He and Wamuhu being to argue, then John began to shake her and accidentally