The Gentleman of the Jungle is a political allegory in which animals are used to represent colonial powers and African natives. The story centers on an elephant who, under the guise of protection, takes over a man’s hut, and shows how colonizers took over African land.
Summary of The Gentleman of the Jungle By Jomo Kenyatta
In the story, the author writes about the injustices inflicted by Europeans on African people. For example, how Europeans persuaded African people to sign unfair treaties and, after signing them, took away their lands.
The story begins with an elephant who was once a friend of a man. One day, a severe storm raged in the forest. The elephant went to his friend, a man, who had a hut at the edge of the forest. The elephant requested his friend, the man, to let him put his trunk into his hut so he could escape the storm. Since the elephant, the man’s friend, was in very bad condition, the man allowed him to put his trunk into the hut.
The elephant first put his trunk into the hut, then his head, pushed the man out of the rain, and sat down in his hut. The elephant said to the man, “Your skin is tougher than mine, so you can escape the rain and storm.” The man began to mutter, and the nearby animals of the forest heard his voice and came to the hut to find out what was happening.
While the elephant and the man were arguing, the lion, the king of the jungle, approached them and said, “Don’t you know that I am the king of the jungle? How could anyone dare to disturb the peace of my kingdom?” The elephant replied, “No one is disturbing the peace of the kingdom; we were simply discussing who owns this hut and who will live in it.”
Seeing this, the lion orders his ministers to form an inquiry commission. The lion then tells the man that he has done a great job by befriending his men, especially the elephant, who is a respected minister of the kingdom.
The lion told the man not to complain and to wait for the inquiry commission to arrive. He assured him that he would be given a full opportunity to present his case and that he would be happy with the commission’s decision. The man was delighted to hear the lion’s words and was confident that he would get his hut back.
Elephant agrees with Lion and appoints other ministers to the Commission of Inquiry. Mr. Rhino, Mr. Buffalo, Mr. Crocodile, Mr. Fox, and Mr. Leopard are appointed to the Commission of Inquiry, with Mr. Fox serving as Chairman and Mr. Leopard serving as the Chairman’s Secretary.
Seeing only animals in the inquiry commission, the man protested why no one on his behalf had been called. He was told that no one on his behalf was educated enough to understand the rules of the forest. He was told not to worry because the members of the inquiry commission were known for their honest decisions.
The commission then began its work. They called the elephant. The elephant, claiming it was his duty to think well of his friends, lied, saying the man had called him to protect his hut from the storm. The elephant further explained that by sitting in the hut, he had used the vacant space economically. Hearing the elephant’s words, hyenas and other large animals from the forest were summoned, and they all supported the elephant. The commission then summoned the man. He was about to speak when the commission members suddenly interrupted him.
The commission members asked the man, “Was the undeveloped portion of the hut occupied by anyone else before the elephant?” The man replied, “No.” The commission then announced that they had heard both sides. The commission members ate a meal with the elephant’s money and delivered their verdict.
The commission members concluded that the conflict between the elephant and the man was caused by the man’s narrow-mindedness and misunderstanding. The commission further stated that the elephant fulfills its duty by doing good to you. Ultimately, the commission issued its final verdict, stating that the elephant could retain possession of the hut and allowing the man to build his own hut anywhere in the forest.
In this case, the elephant prevailed against the man, although the man was right and the elephant wrong. The man had no choice and feared that if he opposed the commission, they would attack him with their claws and teeth. So, the man did what the commission advised him to do. But as soon as the man built his second hut, Mr. Rhino took possession of it.
The committee was reconvened, and the same thing happened: the committee ruled in favor of Mr. Rhino. This continued to happen to the man again: every time he built a new hut, the animals would enter.
But the man decided he had to find a new way out because the investigating commission was of no use to him. One morning, the man built a large and beautiful hut, and as he was building it, the animals began to gather there one by one. Mr. Rhino, Mr. Elephant, Mr. Leopard, Mr. Lion, Mr. Buffalo, and Mr. Crocodile arrived at the hut and began quarreling and fighting among themselves for the hut. Seeing the right opportunity, the man set the hut on fire, burning all the animals inside.
He leaves, saying, “Peace is expensive, but it’s worth the expense.” At the end of the story, he lives his life in peace and happiness.
Through this story, the author shows how Europeans in the 19th century oppressed Africans and took away their land through unfair treaties. In this story, the author presents the animal community as the European community and the human community as the African community.