Cause And Effect In The Film 'The First-Grader'

There were many cause and effect relationships occurred in the film, “The First-Grader.” This film was about an 84 year-old man named Kimani Ng’ang’a Maruge, who wanted to receive an education. Maruge endured an inhumane past full of torture as a Mau Mau Warrior in an attempt to defend Kenya’s independence from the British empire. When Kenya’s government announced that there would be free education for all the people of Kenya, Maruge took advantage of this opportunity. Several cause and effect relationships exist in the film, “The First Grader,” include Kimani Ng’ang’a Maruge’s strong determination effectively causing angry parents, exploitation, self fulfilment and education awareness.
The first is Kimani Ng’ang’a Maruge’s strong determination to attend school which causes anger from the parents of the school children. At the age of 84 Maruge was offered a pension due to the inhumanities he endured while being in prison. This inspired him to go to school, although the government sent him to an adult school, Maruge felt the need to have
to been taught at the primary school. With this being said, the young school children´s parents did not agree with this and even became furious with the school system. The parents protested outside the school with demands that Maruge no longer attend the school. They were highly upset at the thought of their children being around a man of such age. One parent made a very blunt statement on his thoughts towards his child using the same restroom as Maruge. Overall Maruge felt as if he caused no harm at all, but the parents felt differently. This lead to a larger protest movement in the village against Maruge.
A second cause-effect relationship in the film is Maruge being exploited by the villagers.
The exploitation of Maruge by the people who lived within the village started when multiple news outlets, the press, and even the New York Times came to the village where the school was and interviewed him and the teacher Jane. The people in the village thought that Maruge was using this opportunity for financial gain. The villagers responded angrily and surrounded his house in protest. They assumed that Maruge received a large amount of money for being a main feature in an interview regarding the school. Maruge’s home was surrounded by angry residents. They demanded to receive some of the money that they thought he received. Instead, one of the protesters paid off the protesters to surround the school the next day and make it unbearable for Maruge. They attempted to scare Maruge away from the school but were unsuccessful at doing
so.
The third cause-effect relationship in the film was education leading to Maruge´s self-fulfilment and a greater awareness of the joy of education. Maruge was a Mau Mau warrior who took an oath with fellow villagers of self fulfillment and not to give into the British. Since they took this oath, the British came in and tried to kill all the warriors. They tortured the warriors, stripped them, put them in orange jump suits, cut off their toes, and put them into torture camps. Maruge remained strong. Maruge explained within his film that he had to work in the white man plantations and was never offered the opportunity to go to school, that he had been through a lot, that he wanted to be able to read a letter for himself. Furthermore, once he was out of the war and trying to go to school even the older people in the village harassed him “don't waste your time.” Maruge continued to go to school and as he learned the lowercase letters he was just so happy that he understood it quickly and he began to help the other kids. Despite the flashbacks (sharpened pencils in his ears as a prisoner of war), Maruge continued to strive as a student. You could see the joy in Maruge´s face as he was learning the numbers and phonics and with it a new level of self awareness and self development. This is an example of empowerment through education. Ultimately, Maruge was able to help and inspire others, even after his death. After all, a man without an education is “merely a goat, an animal who eats and sleeps.” In conclusion, it is clear that several cause-effect relationships exist in the film, “ The First Grader.” They include Kimani Ng’ang’a Maruge’s strong determination effectively causing angry parents, exploitation, self fulfilment and education awareness. The most important cause-effect relationship that stood out to me was his self fulfilment and education awareness. He brought so much to the importance of educating children. Furthermore, this film has inspired me to create a GOAT scholarship on my dream board.