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Written by Charles Mungoshi
"If You Love Something, Let It Go." Philosoblog. Wordpress, 16 Aug. 2011. Web. 12 Nov. 2015.
The title "The Setting Sun and the Rolling World" directly relates to the theme of facing darkness, literally and figuratively. The setting sun implies the experience of light and happiness going away and darkness and evil entering. The idea of the "Rolling World" refers to the idea of change which Musoni does not like. Nhamo wants his world to change but his father is very worried for him. In Musoni's opinion, there is direct correlation between the setting of the sun (i.e. facing the darkness and truth of his son leaving) and and rolling world (i.e. change and unwanted differences).
"Let It Go Facebook Cover." Let It Go Title. FbCoverLover, n.d. Web. 15 Nov. 2015.
The point of view of Nhamo was that although the world may be dangerous and dark, he is prepared and he knows that he must face the challenge or else he will be "stuck" on the farm for the rest of his life. This impacted the plot of the story greatly, if he had not had such a strong belief and will power, his father may have convinced him to stay. The dialogue between Nhamo and Musoni directly reflected the views that they have, if Nhamo agreed with his father, there would be no conflict. The story is based upon this crucial conflict.
The quote "If you love something, let it go. If it comes back to you, it's yours forever. If it doesn't, then it was never meant to be" (Unknown). This relates to Musoni's feelings towards Nhamo, he loves him enough to let him free into the dangerous world. Sometimes you must forget about your beliefs for the beliefs of a loved one.
The main conflict in the story is an external conflict between the son and the father. Their views are very different which leads to serious conflict between the characters. Another factor that contributes to the conflict is both of their inabilities to see the other side of the story. Nhamo was very stubborn towards the point of view of his father, he could simply not accept that he might be wrong. The same goes for Musoni, he could not grasp that maybe his son could handle the real world. The last source of conflict was the inevitable darkness that seemed to be chasing them. If Nhamo stayed, they knew the land was not going to produce any more and the family was broken so that would not work, but if he left, he would live a miserable and dangerous life. This conflict created uncertainty and a sense of unresolvable misery.
Nhamo is the protagonist and he is very ignorant to negativity, stubborn but also confident in himself. He is very ignorant towards the truth that the world can be an evil and dangerous place, he believes that he knows enough to make something of himself. This is conveyed through his quick and sharp responses to his father when he warns him about the real world. Nhamo is very stubborn, he refuses to look at the opinion or even give his father a chance, he knows that he is leaving and he will not change his mind. this is informally shown through the thoughts that run through his mind. The last and very prominent character trait is his self-confidence. He immediately has a response to every question and comment, he doesn't have a doubt in his mind about his plan, so he therefore becomes ignorant to his father's remarks. These character traits work in sync with each other. His stubborn personality makes him confident in his plan which makes him ignorant to his father's worries.
A very important theme in the short story is the facing of darkness. Nhamo must realize that his future is unclear and might not have a happy ending. The first way that this is portrayed is in the location and time of when the scene takes place. It is out in the field of the farm and it is almost sunset, Musoni is working the land when Nhamo comes to talk, as the conversation ends, pathetic fallacy is used through Musoni's feeling of despair and darkness projected in the setting of the sun (from sunlight to darkness) and the anticipation of darkness and nothing good. Darkness and evil are created through Musoni's hyperbolic speaking; "A homeless, nameless vagabond living on dust and rat’s droppings, living on thankyous, sleeping up a tree or down a ditch, in the rain, in the sun, in the cold, with nobody to see you, nobody to talk to, nobody at all to tell your dreams to... Do you know how to live beyond Have you seen black despair, my son?" (Mungoshi, 2). The final method that Mungoshi uses to create a underlying theme of facing darkness is pathos for Nhamo. This is created by making Nhamo's future
(leaving) sound so unbearable and miserable that he must simply avoid any change "Come back where? Nobody comes back to ruins. You will go on, son. Something you don’t know will drive you on along deserted plains, past ruins and more ruins, on and on until there is only one ruin left: yourself." (Mungoshi, 2). That is how the author uses literary devices to instill the theme of facing darkness.
The story captures a conversation between Musoni (the father) and Nhamo (the son) in which the Nhamo persuades Musoni that he needs to leave the farm to make a life for himself. It is important to note that Musoni is very hesitant at first and does not plan on giving his consent, but in the end, despite his fears, he lets Nhamo go. A key concept of the plot is anger, both the father and the son become angry at each other at some point within this short story. Nhamo is angry that his father is being two-faced "You have sent me to school and told me the importance of education, and now you ask me to throw it on the rubbish heap and scrape for a living on this tired cold shell of the moon. You ask me to forget it and muck around in this slow dance of death with you." (Mungoshi, 2). Musoni becomes angry when Nhamo refuses to believe that any good could come from staying on what Nhamo believes to be an overworked farm and a broken family "Nothing is more certain to hold you together than the land and a home, a family." (Mungoshi, 1).