The River and the Source Literary Elements

Fiction

The novel is set in Kenya between 1870 and the 1990s in a variety of villages and cities: Yimbo, Sakwa, Aluor and Nakuru.

The story is told by a third-person limited-omniscient narrator

The tone is direct and the mood is optimistic, though there are moments of sorrow.

While the novel spans four generations of women, Akoko is the protagonist, as she works to break the male chauvinism epitomized by Otieno Kembo, who is her antagonist.

The conflict between Akoko and Otieno Kembo with regard to the chief's position is the major conflict in the novel. As a result of Otieno's greed for both material possessions and power, Akoko has to persist, particularly after her husband Owuor Kembo dies. This conflict drives Akoko to seek help from the colonial government in Kisumu, an act that brings into light her courage and willingness to accept change as a woman and seek justice.

The climax of the novel is the death of Elizabeth, Nyabera's daughter and Akoko's grandchild. After the death of Elizabeth, her children are forlorn and lost. However, as characters do throughout the novel, they go off to continue with the business of the living as they must.

When Akoko finds out her son Obura went off with the white men, she lies in bed for three days and grieves for him as if he were dead, foreshadowing his eventual death.

A vivid case of imagery is the narrator's description of Akoko

"Tragedy can sometimes be like a habitual drunk who keeps coming back for more."

Here tragedy is personified as an alcoholic who cannot stop drinking and always wants more. In the same way, tragedy will continue to come back and affect Akoko and her family.