89 pages • 2 hours read
Mariatu KamaraThe Bite of the Mango
Nonfiction | Autobiography / Memoir | Middle Grade | Published in 2008A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more. For select classroom titles, we also provide Teaching Guides with discussion and quiz questions to prompt student engagement.
Chapters 7-9Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Chapter 7 Summary
Mariatu’s aunt, Abibatu, arrives to help care for her. While helping her bathe, she notices that Mariatu’s breasts have begun to swell. A doctor soon confirms that Mariatu is pregnant. Abibatu asks Mariatu “Did the rebels give you a baby?” (67). Mariatu says no but is “really confused” (67). All she knows is that babies come “from a woman’s belly button” and that “only women have babies, not girls” (67).
It is not until Abibatu explains “how babies were made” (68) that Mariatu realizes how she became pregnant. A month before the rebel attack, while the villagers were hiding in the bush, Salieu lay down beside Mariatu and “started touching me all over, fondling my breasts and my hair, making his way in between my legs” (69). Ibrahim comes to investigate after Mariatu screams but Salieu simply claims that Mariatu had been having a nightmare and there was no need to be concerned.
After the incident, Salieu began visiting Mariatu’s home, asking to borrow small items, all the time watching Mariatu “through the slits in the corners of his eyes” (69). When Mariatu eventually gathered the courage to tell Marie, her aunt strikes her across the face with a “whipping stick” and admonishes her not to “speak badly of your elders again” (70).
Some days later, Salieu came to the house while Mariatu was alone and raped her. She “tried to get loose, to kick, to scratch, but he was too strong. I was a small 12-year old. He was a big muscleman” (71). After he finished, Salieu kissed Mariatu on the lips and told her not to tell anyone.
Back in the hospital, Mariatu is filled with shame and despair. She opens a jar of painkillers with her arms and pauses to pray: “Take me, Allah. Take my baby and me. I want to die” (71).
Chapter 8 Summary
Abibatu knocks the pill bottle out of Mariatu’s grasp and Mariatu is so furious that she wants to kill her aunt so that “there would be no-one to stop me from killing myself, and the baby inside me” (72). As her anger fades, she begins to cry that “I have no future” again and again (73). Abibatu tells her that she has “many things to live for” (73) and lists her family members, reminding her that “They all love you, and you love them” (73). Despite this, the pregnancy still makes Mariatu feel like she has lost the encouraging sense of common experience that she had once shared with the other amputees.
One night, Mariatu dreams that Salieu visits her, predicting that the baby will be male and claiming that raping her was “a mistake” (74). Outraged, she responds that “[a] mistake is putting too much salt on the rice” (74) and despairs that she “will never have a happy life now. I have no hands, and I have a baby growing inside me that I will never be able to care for” (74).
Mariatu learns that Adamsay is alive but also lost her hands to the rebels. The two are reunited in Freetown and spend their time with Mohamed and Ibrahim, watching the hospital’s patients going out to beg. They soon decide to join them and Mariatu’s days take on a regular pattern of waking filled with a fresh “hatred towards the world” (77) before going out to beg and hating “every moment of it” (75).
After she receives a large donation, Mohamed says that Mariatu will be the one to be adopted by a rich family. Mariatu finds this prospect appealing because it would offer the “safety and sleep-filled nights” (80) that she had once enjoyed in Magborou.
Chapter 9 Summary
Mohamed’s uncle, Abdul, arrives at the hospital to help care for Mohamed and Ibrahim. He is “a proud, happy man” who “walked and talked with confidence” (82). However, when he is around Fatmata, this confidence evaporates, leaving him shy and nervous. Fatmata too, loses her “calm and collected” (82) personality in his presence and Mariatu quickly realizes that they are falling in love.
Abdul travels to Mariatu’s village and returns with Marie and Alie, both of whom are alive and uninjured. When Mariatu tells Marie about Salieu, Marie begins to cry, asking “will you ever forgive me?” (84). Mariatu consoles her, promising that “our luck will change” (84).
The extended family move to Aberdeen, a camp set up for war amputees. It turns out to be a litter-strewn gathering of tents, each of which houses several families. The camp is severely under-resourced and Mariatu and the other children soon become the main breadwinners, supporting the family through begging.
When Abdul and Fatmata reveal that they are to marry, Fatmata confesses that she has not been circumcised and so is not considered to be an adult woman. Abibatu announces that they will perform the ceremony that night in the camp. This prompts Mariatu to recall being circumcised as a child, which she refers to as her initiation into the “Bondo Secret Society” (87).
A month later, Abdul and Fatmata wed and Mariatu is delighted, remarking that Fatmata “had become my mom, my sister, and my friend” (89-90), although she also regrets that there is no longer the time to celebrate the wedding for days as they once would have done.
Chapters 7-9 Analysis
Mariatu’s ignorance about sex and lack of understanding of her pregnancy are stark reminders of how young she is. It also complicates the way The Bite of the Mango addresses childhood innocence. For much of the book, innocence is seen as something that is lost, or violently stolen. Certainly, Mariatu’s rape by Salieu fits into this and her pregnancy undeniably forces her into the role of an adult in some respects, something that is highlighted by Mariatu confusedly remarking that “[o]nly women have babies, not girls” (67).
However, Salieu’s assault is also a demonstration of how innocence may be a vulnerability and something that can be targeted and exploited. Not only does Salieu take advantage of Mariatu’s lack of understanding and confidence, it is also this that allows him to get away with raping her because both Ibrahim and Marie trust him over Mariatu because she is a child.
The discovery that she is pregnant after being raped by Salieu starts another cycle of Mariatu wishing to die, directly triggering a suicide attempt in the hospital. As in earlier situations, it is again family that helps Mariatu overcome her despair as Abibatu reminds her of all the family members that love her and are loved by her, giving her the strength to carry on.
This is only a temporary reprieve, however, and Mariatu’s depression soon returns. Her pregnancy makes her feel alienated from the other amputees with whom she had shared a common experience. Alongside this, her fear that her disability will make her dependent on others is compounded by her fear that, without hands, she will not be able to care for a baby that is dependent on her, something she reveals when she dreams of Salieu.
Mariatu’s realization that she will soon have another human life depending on her parallels a shift in her family dynamic, too. When Marie reenters Mariatu’s life, it is significant that Mariatu is now the one comforting her, consoling her when she apologizes for ignoring her fear of Salieu. Likewise, at the same time, Mariatu and the other children take on traditionally adult roles, becoming the family’s breadwinners through their begging.
Mariatu’s begging also leads to another important moment: the first mention of Sierra Leonean children being adopted by wealthy, foreign families. Although it is only speculative discussion, Mohamed’s suggestion that Mariatu will be the one to be adopted is prescient, and foreshadows the great changes that will soon occur in Mariatu’s life.
