Chapter 5
Njoroge and Kamau stand on a ‘hill’ of rubbish outside Ngotho’s house. From the ‘hill,’ they can see the lights of the big city Nairobi. They discuss Boro, who has left to find work there. Njoroge hopes that Boro will return, but Kamau explains that “Boro is not of this place” – he is too resentful of the village elders, who failed to fight off the white people (44).
Kamau confesses he would like to quit his apprenticeship and leave for Nairobi like Boro did. This means he could not participate in a strike that some of the local men are planning, but he believes strikes are for old men anyway. Njoroge begins to talk to his brother about Mwihaki, but changes his mind and asks about a mysterious character named Jomo instead. Kamau says that Boro used to call Jomo “the black Moses,” but does not offer much concrete information about him (46). That night, Njoroge prays that he will learn enough to both help his family and become smarter than Mwihaki.
Three years later, Njoroge and Mwihaki are in Standard IV, and beginning to learn English. They initially have trouble with grammar, which makes the teacher, Lucia (who is also Mwihaki’s sister), very angry. However, they slowly progress, and begin to grasp the language. One day, a European woman visits the class, and Lucia is enraged when the students greet her with "good morning, Sir" instead of with the more appropriate "good afternoon, Madam" (49). Later, Njoroge realizes that the woman was Mr. Howlands’s daughter, the missionary.
Time passes, and Kamau prepares for his circumcision ceremony, a rite of manhood amongst the Gikyu. Njoroge fears that once Kamau is a man, he will leave for the city and the family will disintegrate.
As time goes by, Njoroge immerses himself in books, especially the Bible. He develops his own kind of religious faith, which combines Christian teachings with traditional Gikuyu values. He comes to believe that Africans are God’s chosen people, and compares their struggles to those of the Israelites in the Old Testament. He wonders whether Jomo, "the black Moses," might in fact lead the Africans to freedom.