Hawa The Bus Driver by Richard Mabala
PLOT SUMMARY
The story or the book is about a strong,tall,tough,courageous but a kind woman called Hawa.Hawa is the bus driver in Dar es salaam.Men didn’t like a woman being a bus driver.They believed that she was destroying African tradition.She overcomes all challenges that face her, a situation that makes all the men to completely accept her.She becomes the most famous bus driver in Dar es salaam.Selemani,
Hawa’s husband feels jealous because his wife becomes so famous than him.He decides to stop her from working as a bus driver.Hawa obeys her husband but before submitting the letter of resignation,her fellow drivers go to request and convince Selemani to allow his wife to carry on with her job.He finally agrees and lets his wife to go on with her job and they live a happy life
SUMMARY OF THE CHAPTERS.
CHAPTER 1: HAWA THE BUS DRIVER.
This chapter introduces us to Hawa Ibrahim, the tall, strong and tough woman who weights 82 kilos.Hawa is the bus driver. Some men don’t like the idea of woman being a bus driver.Hawa is married to Seleman who is a machine operator at Urafiki Textile Mill.They have two children who are Hassa and Saada.One day when Hawa was in Ubungo, one of the buses started moving while the driver was outside smoking. Many people were worried.Hawa jumped quickly into the bus and helped to stop it. People congratulated her.
CHAPTER 2: HAWA’S DAY
Hawa lives in Manzese in Dar es salaam. She lives in a rent house with her family. She wakes up early in the morning,cooks vitumbua and thn wakes up the whole family for breakfast. Having finished their breakfast, she and her husband leave for the job while the children leave for school.Hawa sells her delicious vitumbua before she starts her job. Many people like her vitumbua.
CHAPTER 3: HAWA AND THE DRUNKARD.
One day when Hawa was in the evening shift, one of the drunkard passengers holding a knife attacked Hawa claiming that he wanted to drive a bus.Hawa was wearing her boots. She kicked the drunkard three times on the leg and he felt down. Conductor Meshack and other passengers seized him and he was taken to the police station.
CHAPTER 4: HAWA AND THE THIEVES.
Hawa was in the evening shift again,some thieves who entered the bus as passengers abducted the bus and then forced Hawa to drive out of the route. They wanted her to drive to Mbezi forest, outside the town.She obeyed and started driving while thinking on what to do to rescue the passengers. She looked via the driving mirror and saw one of the passengers in blue overall winked her.Hawa stopped the bus suddenly and the thieves were seized and they were taken to the police station. People congratulated her again.
CHAPTER 5: THE ACCIDENT.
The bus named CHANGU NI CHANGU CHOTA CHAKO KWINGINE knocks down a boy and it did not stop. The boy was badly injured.Hawa stopped her bus to help the injured boy. Some passengers blamed her that they were late for work, but Hawa remained consistent that she would better help the boy, if they think that they are late ,it would be better that they take another bus. Instead they helped her to take the boy to the police station and later on to the hospital. The inspector blamed Hawa for being late. In that evening she went back to the hospital and found the boy was improving.
CHAPTER 6: SELEMANI IS JEALOUS.
Hawa becomes famous in Dar es salaam in such away that everyone knows her. She becomes famous even than her husband Selemani.Selemani becomes jealous because her wife is now famous than him.His friends at work advise him to stop her from working because it is not good for a woman to be famous than her husband. He calls his wife and tells her to write the write of resignation. She obeys her husband’s order but her fellow drivers led by Mzee Athumani help her by talking to her husband. They request him to change his mind and at the end of the discussion he agrees to let his wife continue with her job. At that evening, Selemani called his wife and apologized for making decision without asking for her permission. The story end happily.
SETTING: TANZANIA
The events take place in Tanzania in Dar es salaam town with the following sub-settings,
a) Manzese: Where Hawa lives with her family in a rent house.She lives with other fellow renters like George,Chausiku,a nurse, a clothes trader and a school primary teacher.
b) Ubungo: Where Hawa volunteers to stop the bus which was already oving very fast whose driver was outside smoking a cigarette.Hawa jumped into the bus quickly and tried all means she could till she managed to stop the bus.
c) Police station: Where Hawa takes the drunkard man, the boy who got an accident and the thieves..
d) Hospital: Where the boy who got an accident was taken to for treatment.
e) Bus station: The destination of the buses company.
CHARACTERS
1. HAWA
She is the main character in the story.
She is tough,strong,tall and weight 82 kilos.
She is a famous bus driver in Dar es salaam.
She is a wife of Selemani and a mother of Hassan and Saada.
She lives in Manzese suburb in a rent house.
She cooks bans and sells them before she goes to work.
She is a very courageous woman driver in Dar es salaam town.
She is kind and good-hearted,she helps people with the need.
She helps the boy who was knocked down by the bus.
She is very obedient to her husband.She obeys to whatever she is told.
She is a good mother to her children.She advises them not to fight at school.
She writes a letter of resignation but her fellow drivers help her to continue with her job.
2. SELEMANI
He is Hawa’s husband and a father of Hassan and Saada.
He is a mashine operator at Urafiki Textile mill.
He listens to wrong people who give him wrong advise. His friends at work advise him to stop his wife from working simply because she is famous than him.
He becomes jealous because his wife becomes famous than him.
He tells his wife to write resignation letter and stop working.
He is hot-tempered, he gets angry for minor reasons.
He akes decision without asking his wife’s opinions.
He is given a good advise by Mzee Athumani and finally allows his wife to continue with her job.
He later on,apologized to his wife.
NEGATIVE CHARACTERISTICS OF SELEMANI.
These are characteristics/behaviours which make us to dislike or hate Selemani;
He is very jealous.
He listen to wrong people who give him a wrong advice.
He is hot tempered.
He makes decisions without consulting his wife.
3. HASSAN AND SAADA.
They are Hawa and Selemani’s children.
They are in primary school.
They are laughed at school because their mother is a bus driver.They always get angry of this and sometimes want to fight.
They are very obedient to their parents.
They are well raised by their mother.
4. MZEE ATHUMANI.
He is the oldest driver in the company.
He works in the same company with Hawa.
He is a very wise old man.
He gives Selemani a good advice that he should allow his wife to continue with her job.
He succeeds to convince Selemani to change his mind and allow Hawa to go on with working.
He believes that couples must respect each other.
He also believes that pride and respect are enemies and they cannot sleep together.
5. MESHAK.
He is Hawa’s bus conductor.
He collects the bus fare from the passengers.
He is very helpful, he helps Hawa against the drunkard who attacked her.
He also helped Hawa against the thieves.
6. OTHER CHARACTERS.
Chausiku
George
THEMES.
i. CONFLICT.
a) Conflict between Hawa’s children and the school pupils
This conflict erupts because the school pupils laugh at Hassan and Saada because their mother is the bus driver.Hassan and Saada get angry and always want to fight but their mother advises them not to fight with the fool.
b) Conflict between Hawa and the drunkard.
This happened when the drunkard tried to force Hawa out of the steering wheel for him to drive.Hawa kicks him on the legs three times and he falls down. Meshak and the passengers seized him and take him to the police station.
c) Conflict between Hawa and the thieves.
This conflict occurred when the thieves forced Hawa to drive the bus out of the route to Mbezi.Suddenly Hawa stops the bus, the thieves lack balance and they were seized by Meshak and the passengers then they were taken to the police station.
d) Conflict between Hawa and the passengers.
When Hawa stopped the bus to help the boy who got an accident, the passengers got furious against Hawa claiming thatn they were late for work.Hawa also reacted against them by telling them that,”If they see that they are late for work,it would be better that they take another bus.Finally, they realized how kind she was and they helped her to save the boy’s life.
e) Conflict between Selemani and the drivers.
Selemani gets furious when the drivers advised him to late his wife to go on with her job.They went on giving him a wise advise till he agreed to free his wife to carry on with her job.
ii. JEALOUS
This happens to Seleman when he discovered that his wife is more famous than him.At first Seleani was happy that his wife is famous but later he began to be jealous. He becomes jealous and wants to force his wife to quit or resign from her job.
iii. TRUE LOVE.
This is shown by Hawa .She has true love for her husband and takes care of her children. She obeys to her husband whatever he says for example whn her husband told her to resign from her job, she agreed without objections, hence this is the sign of true love.
MESSAGES/LESSONS THAT WE LEARN FROM THE STORY/BOOK.
From the class reader we learn the following;
We shoul be courageous, kind and good hearted people as Hawa is.
Wives should respect their husbands even though they are famous.
Men should not be jealous of their wives whenever they become famous.
We should not listen to wrong people because they may mislead us.
We should keep away from bad friends who always give wrong advices.
Couples should respect each other.
We should apologize whenever we make mistakes
RELEVANCE OF THE STORY.
We normally say that the story is relevant to our society of what is said in the story is also found in our society. Therefore, we say that this story is relevant to our society because;
There are women in our society who are bus drivers nowadays.
There are people who rob people in the bus.
There are husbands who are jealous to their wives whenever they succeed.
There are people in our society who give their friends wrong advices.
There are some men in our society who make decisions without consulting their wives.
