When Rain Clouds Gather - Chief Matenje
Semester 2: Assignment 2
Chief Matenje is an example of corrupt leadership – particularly, the corrupt and oppressive leadership seen on the African continent. He is the antagonist and villain of the novel “When Rain Clouds Gather”. When we are first introduced to Chief Matenje, he is referred to as the “troublesome and unpopular brother” of the “paramount chief named Sekoto” (Head 2008:18). Chief Sekoto appointed Chief Matenje as the subchief of Golema Mmidi, a small, rural village in Botswana. He is extremely disliked by the villagers because of his “overwhelming avariciousness and unpleasant personality” (Head 2008: 18).
Chief Matenje’s unattractive and hard appearance is influenced by the angry, tortured and negative life which he had lived. He is described as having a “long, gloomy, melancholy, suspicious face” (Head 2008: 43). When the protagonist, Makhaya Maseko, first meets the Chief, he sees the face of a “tortured man” with “scarred deep ridges across his brow and down his cheeks” (Head 2008: 65). He notes that this is the face of a man who has only experienced the “storms and winters of life, never the warm dissolving sun of love” (Head 2008:18). Chief Matenje “really believed he was ‘royalty’” (Head 2008: 62). He used a number of items, including “a high-backed kingly chair” and “a deep, purple tasselled and expensive gown” (Head 2008: 62), to display this image. He even wished to display this royalty in his actions. When he first meets Makhaya, his descent down the steps of his house is described as “regal, kingly, spectacular” (Head 2008: 62). However, Makhaya sees right through this behaviour – he notices the “sham of it all” and it “instantly arouses his sympathy” (Head 2008: 62). Chief Matenje lived a lonely life “in a central part of the village in a big, cream-painted mansion” (Head 2008: 41). He had previously been married but his wife divorced him and kept their two children. While he had lived alone for many years, he had
Chief Matenje is an example of corrupt leadership – particularly, the corrupt and oppressive leadership seen on the African continent. He is the antagonist and villain of the novel “When Rain Clouds Gather”. When we are first introduced to Chief Matenje, he is referred to as the “troublesome and unpopular brother” of the “paramount chief named Sekoto” (Head 2008:18). Chief Sekoto appointed Chief Matenje as the subchief of Golema Mmidi, a small, rural village in Botswana. He is extremely disliked by the villagers because of his “overwhelming avariciousness and unpleasant personality” (Head 2008: 18).
Chief Matenje’s unattractive and hard appearance is influenced by the angry, tortured and negative life which he had lived. He is described as having a “long, gloomy, melancholy, suspicious face” (Head 2008: 43). When the protagonist, Makhaya Maseko, first meets the Chief, he sees the face of a “tortured man” with “scarred deep ridges across his brow and down his cheeks” (Head 2008: 65). He notes that this is the face of a man who has only experienced the “storms and winters of life, never the warm dissolving sun of love” (Head 2008:18). Chief Matenje “really believed he was ‘royalty’” (Head 2008: 62). He used a number of items, including “a high-backed kingly chair” and “a deep, purple tasselled and expensive gown” (Head 2008: 62), to display this image. He even wished to display this royalty in his actions. When he first meets Makhaya, his descent down the steps of his house is described as “regal, kingly, spectacular” (Head 2008: 62). However, Makhaya sees right through this behaviour – he notices the “sham of it all” and it “instantly arouses his sympathy” (Head 2008: 62). Chief Matenje lived a lonely life “in a central part of the village in a big, cream-painted mansion” (Head 2008: 41). He had previously been married but his wife divorced him and kept their two children. While he had lived alone for many years, he had
References: Head, B. 2008. When Rain Clouds Gather. Edinburgh: Heinemann