R20 COMMUNICATIVE ENGLISH I too stubborn and too hard to control.

”
B.TECH I SEM. But the criticism of woman community
Like a Tree, Unbowed: Wangari for not following African tradition was
Maathai - Biography even more challenging.

Wangari Maathai, a true activist Later Maathai joined the National

of society and environment, advocate of Council of Women of Kenya (NCWK) to
women’s rights and a real spirit of educate women on their rights. She
African wisdom has been the lighthouse faced a lot of harassment from the
of the movements of eco-socialism and government of President Daniel Arap
eco-feminism throughout the world. She Moi. Throughout the 1990s she was
won the Nobel Peace Prize for her arrested, imprisoned and threatened for
“holistic approach to sustainable speaking out against the government.
development that embraces democracy, She remained stead-fast to her cause of
human rights, and women’s rights in protecting women’s rights. She got
particular.” In giving the peace prize to elected to the National Assembly and
her, the Nobel Prize committee has was made Deputy Minister of the
extended the definition of peace beyond Environment, Natural Resources and
the boundaries of war to the areas of Wildlife in MwaiKibaki government.
environment and women’s welfare. Maathai tried successfully to end
Born in Kenya, Maathai grew up the damage of Kenya’s forests and lands
in a traditional environment of farming caused by development by launching
community where men controlled every the Green Belt Movement. Maathai has
aspect of the family life with little role coupled woman empowerment with
for women and where education for forest conservation. Women needed
women and girls was not valued and income and they needed resources
encouraged. But Maathai’s family because theirs were being diluted. The
decided to encourage her education and Green Belt Movement began in 1977
she was sent to U S too for higher with the planting of a few plants in her
studies. She was the first woman from backyard. Soon it caught with the entire
East Africa to earn doctorate degree and Africa and in no time more than 30
joined the faculty of the University in million trees were planted by 30
1976. thousand women which opened up new
chances for development. For every tree
Maathai faced challenges in her
that takes root, the woman who planted
personal life. Her husband found her as
it earns a small sum. Wangari’s
“too educated, to strong, too successful,
realization that activism must be
grounded in the community, and that TELEPHONE CONVERSATION by
communication must be at a level all WOLE SOYINKA
members of the community can
Wole Soyinka hailing from
understand, is the secret of the Green
Nigeria is a popular writer and
Belt Movement’s success.
playwright won Nobel Prize in Literature.
The awarding of Nobel Peace Soyinka’s plays range from comedy to
Prize for her relentless efforts has tragedy from political satire to the
started a revolution in the thinking of reflection of African pain in literary art
the African mind. Her work has gone form.
beyond trees. She has risked her life in
support of the causes for which she Telephone Conversation is highly
stood for. She stood for maintaining satirical poem that describes the
touch with the mother earth and nature. protagonist’s search for a house for rent
Maathai believes in traditional spiritual in the highly color conscious white
values: love for the environment, self- society like England. Without a physical
betterment, gratitude and respect, and a face to face interaction through an
commitment to service. She says, “If you impersonal instrument like telephone,
stay focused on what you want to attain, the speaker is able to strip a faceless
then you actually go right in there where landlady of all hypocrisy cultured by
many people would not dare to go.” “good breeding”.  Simultaneously his
own feelings of shame and humiliation
Maathai wrote her amazing life
are exposed even though he covers
story with the world in the 2006 memoir:
them up with his wit, command over
Unbowed. It is not only the courageous
language and imagery and even
story of Maathai but also a thrilling
manages to hit at the lady’s false sense
account of modern Africa’s trials and
of manners by talking of his “raven
triumphs, a universal story of courage,
black” bottom.
persistence, and success against great
odds. Maathai became a pole start and Wole Soyinka launches the poem
light house for many movements across by saying that the price of the housing is
the globe and several woman leaders reasonable and the location,
across the human race. She truly comfortable free from color and racial
enjoyed her life to the fullest extent in discrimination. The land lady is not
all its hues and flavors. going to stay nearer to the house. The
only thing he has to reveal is about his
race to prevent any wastage of journey
time. He declares to the land lady that
he is African. At this the land lady gets hand and soles of his feet are of
shocked but her good-breeding has peroxide blonde. But because of friction
prevented her from expressing that his bottom became blackish otherwise it
shock in a loud manner. That resulted in would have been a little lighter. At this
silence and a pressurized silence. deep throated sarcasm and controlled
anger of the poet, the land lady bangs
Then the silence is broken by her
the phone receiver unable to digest the
questions about his color and its shades.
insult returned at her by the poet. In a
She asks whether it is dark or light or
sarcastic manner he pleads with her to
very dark. The questions are like
see him fully and decide for her. By that
pressing button A or B for a possible
point the anger and anguish of the poet
answer. The humanity of the other
person has been reduced to a choice of has reached a point of no return and the
land lady’s hypocrisy has been
a button. This resulted in anger which is
punctured absolutely.
symbolized by the red colored objects
like red booth, red pillar post box and In this manner Wole Soyinka
red omnibus which the poet sees shoots at the double standards of the
everywhere all around the telephone white society with his insightfully sharp
booth. He was insulted by that words that shatter the superficial
questioning and the silence. Humanity humanity and narrow values of the so
has been reduced to simplification of called “broad minded” white population.
color shades. The landlady asks whether
it is plain chocolate color or milk
chocolate color. The voice is lipstick-
coated, posh and gold rolled cigarette
holder tipped soiled with the flavor of
hate and disgust.
At first angry later trying to calm
himself, he says his color is West African
sepia. At this the land lady mentally
examines all the shades of the color to
visualize this sepia and finding it
difficult, she inquires about that color
and questions whether it is brunette
color. The poet says that his face is of
brunette but she should see his other
parts of the body too. The palm of his