Circling the Sun by Instaread

Author:Instaread [Instaread]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: iDreamBooks Inc
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

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Themes

Freedom is the overriding theme that links together the many threads of Beryl’s life. As she grew up, and in her work life, she fought against the limitations on the role of women in the first decades of the twentieth century. She suffocated in the role of a traditional wife. Agonizingly, she chose freedom over even motherhood. Yet, as much as she cherished her own freedom, it was not easy for the romantic within her to accept that Denys, a similar free spirit, could never be tamed into a single relationship.

On a broader level, the issue of freedom for Africa and the people and animals in it loomed large over the book. Many colonials responded as Lord Delamere did, by circling the wagons and resisting change. Delamere’s Vigilance Committee wanted to keep the economically successful Asians from gaining any political power and to limit Africans permanently to subservient roles. Others, as represented by the new governor, understood that the colonial occupation of Africa could not stand indefinitely and tried to work toward a gradual and peaceful transition. Beryl’s circle of expatriate Europeans skirted nervously around the subject, yet they too sensed that their tenure as masters in Africa was tenuous. Beryl expressed this by reflecting that her whole life could shift away from her at any time. This led to the widely shared carpe diem attitude, as expressed so adorably by Berkeley and as lived out by his social set in a sea of champagne and a procession of marriages, divorces, and scandals. As Cockie explained it to a naïve young Beryl, everyone knew that the carrying on was just the Kenya expatriate way, and no one cared as long as it was discreet.

Freedom for Africa was not just an issue of politics, but ecological as well. The effects of colonization on the land and its people already might have been irreversible. Beryl, Karen, and Denys sensed that Africa’s uniqueness must be saved and argued for it. Yet, they were still foreigners, and they participated in its destruction. The coffee and grain farm operations, respectively, that Karen and Beryl’s father created were unnatural additions, and both ultimately failed. Africa took them back. Beryl actually did better with her horses, which at least were not foreign to Africa. (1) Denys, meanwhile, disapproved of hunting animals from motorized vehicles and leaving their carcasses to rot. He wanted to believe, as Kibii and his people did, that animals should not die unless there was good reason for it. Yet, though he went on about how photo safaris would save the wild animals’ lives, he also hunted ivory in a direct contradiction of his own beliefs. As a counterpoint to the Europeans, Kibii and his people lived naturally, with respect for the land and animals. They were not filled with doubts or guilt about their role. Though she grew up with Kibii and became an honorary Kip, Beryl never had the same ease with Africa as he did.

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