48 pages • 1 hour read
Beryl MarkhamWest with the Night
Nonfiction | Autobiography / Memoir | Adult | Published in 1942A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Summary
Background
Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Key Figures
Themes
Index of Terms
Important Quotes
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BetaIndex of Terms
Horse-Training Terminology
Horse-training terminology is important in the memoir, as Markham takes pride in becoming a successful horse trainer as a young woman. A stallion is a male horse used for breeding purposes. A colt is a young male horse, and a filly is a young, unbred female horse; most racehorses are colts and fillies. A foal is a young horse who is still with the mare, its mother. “Breaking a horse” refers to training it to allow a saddle and rider on its back. The length of horse races is established in furlongs, with one furlong equal to 220 yards or one eighth of a mile. The author refers to the stable boys who assist her as syces. These syces are usually Africans.
Ingomas
Ingomas are traditional dances performed by the Kikuyu tribe. Markham describes attending a performance of ingomas as a child in Kenya, presenting herself as someone welcomed by the Kikuyu and implying that she thus has an insider’s perspective of their culture.
Monoplanes
Monoplanes are single-wing craft, with inline cabins where the pilot sits behind the passenger’s compartment. Most of the aircraft flown by Markham in West With the Night are monoplanes.
Swahili
While the Nandi and other area peoples have individual languages, Swahili is the common language that allowed communication among differing tribal groups. Swahili remains the most common language in sub-Saharan Africa.
In her memoir, Markham intermingles Swahili words and expressions. She sometimes, but not always, translates these words into English. For example, when she finds herself walking across the path of the lion Paddy, she says, “Twendi, twendi—ku pigana—piga aduoi—piga sana,” meaning, “Let us go, let us go—to fight—beat down the enemy” (62). She also employs honorific Swahili titles, such as bwana (“sir”). The Nandi refer to Markham as Lakweit, or “little girl.” When her childhood friend Ruta reunites with Markham as an adult, her title becomes Memsahib, a woman in authority. Markham’s use of Swahili terminology is another method she deploys to present herself as an insider in African culture.
Tribes
Throughout the narrative, Markham refers to dozens of separate African populations that in English vernacular are commonly called “tribes.” These groups were not distinct, internationally recognized nations until after the Berlin Act of 1885 when the imperialistic nations—particularly Belgium, Germany, France, and England—partitioned off the majority of sub-Saharan Africa irrespective of the traditional tribal areas. The rights and preferences of tribal peoples were largely ignored by the European powers unless violent conflict became a threat.
Markham mentions several specific tribes in the memoir. She describes the Nandi as wise teachers, hard workers, and hunters, depicting the Nandi women as adhering to traditional feminine roles. She describes the Masai as fierce, proud warriors. She depicts the Wanderobo as reclusive jungle dwellers who avoid interaction with white settlers. Markham writes of the Kikuyu people as steeped in rituals. In describing these tribes and her interactions with them, Markham aims to present herself as having a special insider view of Colonial Life in Africa.
