2017

LCCS
11C-2

GROUP MEMBERS

1. Amha G/Wolde
2. Benhar Elias
3. Eyuel Teklu
4. Ezana Abebe
5. Kidus Tibebe
6. Yeroham Dawit
7. Yohannes Berhanu
8. Yohannes Mengesha

THE BEAUTIFUL THINGS THAT

HEAVEN BEARS
BY DINAW MENGESTU
CONTENTS

Summary ......................................................................................................................................... 3

Setting ............................................................................................................................................. 3

Plot .................................................................................................................................................. 4

Characters ....................................................................................................................................... 4

Figure of speech .............................................................................................................................. 4

Conflict ............................................................................................................................................ 4

Point of climax ............................................................................................................................. 5

Narration ......................................................................................................................................... 5

Questions ........................................................................................................................................ 5

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SUMMARY

The story is about Sepha Stephanos who lost his father to the red terror campaign which took
place during the Derg regime. Seventeen years have passed; yet, he still remembers the day his
father vanished from his eyes.

Seventeen years ago, when he was sixteen years old, Sepha volunteered to pass out flyers that
were considered to be anti-revolutionary by the government. However, the flyers were
inconsequential, and all they had was an acronym, SFD (Students for Democracy) and a time.
Then he placed them in his room where his father, Shibrew Stephanos, found them, and then
took them to his bedroom.

The next day, at mid-afternoon, Sephas father hears soldiers coming and waits for them in the
door way. Three soldiers got out of a truck, one of which being the lead. Sephas father tried to
greet them courteously. Then, however, they started kicking him in the head and ribs.
Afterwards, the lead soldier started searching through the bedrooms for something that could
be, in their language, anti-revolutionary.

He, indeed, found the flyers that Sepha brought, in his fathers bedroom. The soldiers started
beating Sephas father brutally until his left eye swelled, and his whole face bruised. But he
resigned himself from answering to any of their questions except claiming ownership for those
flyers. Then they started forcing him out of his house.

He then pleaded the soldiers to let him walk out on his own with his two feets. They granted his
wish and escorted him out with a gunpoint. He looks back one last time at his wife, Sepha and
his seven year old brother. That is last time Sepha saw his father, before he vanished into thin
air before his own eyes.

The next day, at his mothers insistence, Sepha left home for Kenya, taking his parents
belongings. Some years later, apparently, he moved in with his uncle, Berhane Stephanos, in
USA, and lived there for some years.

SETTING

Part of the story which deals with Sephas past seems to have been set in Ethiopia at Shibrews
house. At the time the story was narrated, however, Sepha was located in his uncles house in
USA.

There are some clues in the story that point out the time of criticlal events. For example, it is
mentioned in the story that Sephas father found the flyers that his son brought on the night

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before his disappearance. The next day at mid afternoon, the soldiers barged into his house and
took him. The day forward, Sepha fled home.

When we talk about the setting of a story, we are also talking about the social background
behind the story. This story seems to have been set at the early years of the Derg regime.

PLOT

There are four key incidents that determine the events that take place in the story. First, Sepha
brings the flyers. Second, his father finds the flyers and hides them in his bedroom. Third,
Sephas father claims ownership over those flyers; and as a result, Sepha never sees his father
again. Sepha, then decides to leave his home.

CHARACTERS

The main character of the story is Sepha Stephanos. The minor characters are:

Shibrew Stephanos, the father

Berhane Stephanos, the uncle
The mother
The younger brother
The lead soldier
The two young soldiers

FIGURE OF SPEECH

Apparently, the author of this story preferred accuracy and truth over beauty. Due to this fact,
we dont observe much use of figures of speech. However, there are some points in the
narration that make use of figures of speech:

When she (Sephas mother) fell,she seemed to float across the living room, light as air
and just ... (Simile)
I pray for the roof of the house to cave in, for the ground to open and swallow us
whole, anything to end this moment. (Metaphor)

CONFLICT

Interpersonal conflict is observed in the story between Sephas father and the soldiers. Sephas
father wanted to protect his son, whereas the soldiers wanted to take him away from his son
and the rest of his family. This clash of interests led to conflict.

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Political conflict is also observed in the story. Sepha seems to have been supporting the so-
called anti-revolutionists. The regime at that time led a bloody campaign against such groups.
In order to protect his son, Sephas father took the blame for owning the flyers. As a result, he
became the victim of the regimes campaign. Thus, we can say that political conflict plays the
most significant part in the story.

POINT OF CLIMAX

The point at which the conflict reaches its peak point is when Sephas father, Shibrew, claims
ownership of the flyers.

NARRATION

The story is narrated by the main character, Sepha. Thus, the type of viewpoint displayed in this
story is of first person (first person point of view). Every part of the story is observed to be told
from Sephas perspective.

QUESTIONS

Question 1: Flashback is a technique borrowed from film making into writing of novels. It takes
the character back into the memory lane, as he describes the event. From where does the
flashback occur in the text? Write a couple of sentences to say what it is relating.

Flashback occurs in the story from Berhanes apartment in the USA, seventeen years later after
the incident. It relates the past incidents to the situation where Sepha is at now.

Question 2: The author summarizes the beginning of the violence against his father in a short
sentence: Spit and hit. What makes people become violent? Brainstorm and write some
notes on your conclusions.

The short sentence Spit and hit implies that spitting, and then beating people has become the
routine of the soldiers lives. Thus, violence to them is nothing but a mere part of their carrier
as soldiers. They do not, thus, need any other reason to become violent. Hence, we can
conclude that violence develops the more we use it.

Question 3: Should the son be blamed for the mishap?

No; for three good reasons. First, the flyers that Sepha brought cannot be concluded to be anti-
revolutionary, as they consisted of only the acronym SFD (Students for Democracy) and a time.
All of this occurred, not because anyone made a crime, but because of the brutality of the then
regime. Second, had the father not found the flyers, none of these things would have occurred

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as the soldiers were looking for a fault in the father and not in his young son. Third, it was the
fathers choice to claim responsibility over his sons acts. When the father said that the flyers
belonged to him, at that instant, he was wiping his son off any responsibility. Although we are
not denying the involvement of the son in his fathers disappearance, the ones that should take
the blame are the soldiers and the regime.

Question 4: Why did those soldiers show such a merciless act? Could they have used another
method?

The soldiers began kicking Sephas father before even finding evidence for anything. This
implies that they were taught by the regime to put on a brutal act on whoever doesnt belong
to them. Even when finding the flyers, rather than using violence, they could have used
peaceful means to get information. Then the father could tell them the truth believing that they
would not take a ruthless act against his son. Even if the father didnt speak, the son himself
would have told them the truth that he was only ordered to pass flyers, and did not know of the
consequences.

Question 5: What was the purpose of complaining to foreign authority to resolve local
problem?

The local government at that time would certainly not hear any complaint against its regime.
Rather, it would make things even harsher to make such complaint. Bearing this fact in mind,
Berhane wrote to the then President of The USA, Jimmy Carter. Big foreign nations like USA had
the power to influence affairs in smaller nations like Ethiopia.

Question 6: Suppose you were the narrator. Would you feel guilty for the incident? Why?

Yes. I would feel that I am the one to be blamed for everything that happened to my father.
Had I not brought the flyers at the first place, none of these would have happened.

Question 7: Why did the father lie?

In order to protect his son.

Question 8: What is the name of such horrible time in Ethiopian history?

Qay Shibir (Red Terror)

Question 9: What lesson have you got from this story?

Let us see the comparison between Sepha and his father. Sepha failed to take responsibility for
his own act, and as a result lost his father. His father, on the other hand, claimed responsibility
for his sons act even if it could cost him his own life. We got a lesson that we should take

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responsibility for our own acts rather than putting the blame on somebody else. But
sometimes, in order to protect our beloved ones, we should be courageous like Sephas father
and take the blame.

Question 10: Does the title represent the real nature of the story? If not, why?

No. The story does not show any signs of optimism. Rather, it narrates the story of the
sufferings of a family who lived during a brutal regime. Thus, contrary to what its title suggests,
we cannot see any beautiful thing in the story.

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