Anylitical Essay Topic: the No.1 Ladies’ Detective Agency by Alexander Mccall Smith

as we can’ (McCall Smith 2003, 17).

Obed also says his people should love Botswana because There’s no other country in Africa who can hold up its head like we can. We have no political prisoners, and never had any. We have democracy. We have been careful.

The Bank of Botswana is full of money, from our diamonds. We owe nothing (McCall Smith 2003, 17) Mr J. L. B Matekoni, a main character demonstrates his belonging to his country ‘O Botswana, my country, my place’ (McCall Smith 2003, 232) and shows that he has a place in this world.Mma Ramotswe’s pride is evident when she says that she ‘would not be anything else but an African’ (McCall Smith 2003, 214).

Many of the characters acknowledge that there are grim and bleak sides of the country but they are still appreciative of what they have and of their motherland. Through his characters McCall Smith creates hope, optimism, patriotism and pride for their country. The Botswana scenery, splendour of the countryside and Africa itself captivated McCall Smith and inspired him to write his best selling novel The No. Ladies Detective Agency.

In a “Foreign Correspondent” interview ‘Africa transformed McCall Smith into a best selling novelist’. He decided to write positive views about Africa in his novel because ‘there was so much suffering in Africa that it was tempting to shrug your shoulders and walk away but you can’t, you just can’t. ’ Many African authors have written about the bleak and grim views in Africa. McCall Smith says that ‘the grim is there in every country, but it should not be the dominant one’.

He is determined ‘to make

his mark through creating hopefulness’. McCall Smith says ‘I think that many people living in Africa - in circumstances which are quite difficult, maintain that balance themselves and with great dignity’. He has placed examples of that into the novel to create a sense of optimism. He has always thought that ‘it is important to maintain the positive side of these books, not to make them into tragedies’ which is a key point for creating hopefulness and optimism and not dark, grim and bleak views.

McCall Smith ‘recreates optimism through his characters and their dramas’ and ‘gives the right sort of attention to Africa and its people’. There are many characters in the novel that have stories that give cause to optimism. Obed Ramotswe works in the mines for the better part of his life. For the majority of the time he works there he endures many hardships until he get a job as a blaster with an understanding white man. He says of the white man He was a good man and he listened to me carefully when I told him that I would have to go.There was no other white man I could have spoken to like that, but he understood (McCall Smith 2003, 24) Obed also gives a sense of hope when a white man finally shakes hand with a black man ‘So I called him my brother, which is the first time I had done that to a white man’ (McCall Smith 2003, 25) showing that two races of people that have had so many transgressions in the past have now joined to give cause to optimism.

Obed has had his life

span shortened due to the fact that he is working in the mines and breathing in the dust has eaten away his chest.He is sad not for his own body but The only thing that makes me sad is that I shall be leaving Africa when I die. I love Africa, which is my mother and my father. I shall miss the smell of Africa (McCall Smith 2003, 15) McCall Smith shows that Obed is positive about living in Africa and he is a great example of optimism through his story. Mma Ramotswe is disappointed in her first month in opening her detective agency because she has a loss in profits but has hope that things will pick up for her.She has been given an opportunity when a very rich man, Mr Patel called her for a job ‘Mma Ramotswe was delighted when she received the telephone call from Mr Patel’ (McCall Smith 2003, 96).

Through the stories and dramas of the characters McCall Smith recreates optimism. Family and community are key points presented by McCall Smith throughout the novel that recreate hope and optimism. Obed Ramotswe is one of the many characters that show a sense of family and community. Obed Ramotswe gave the cousin responsibility for looking after his daughter, Mma Ramotswe.Mma Ramotswe leaves her father to live with her cousin. Her cousin has been looking after Mma Ramotswe since she was a child.

She has an unconditional love for the cousin and the cousin’s husband She loved the cousin, even is she still treated her as a child and scolded her publicly. She loved the cousin’s husband, with his sad, scarred face

and his large, mechanic’s hands (McCall Smith 2003, 46) Obed was never able to find any fault while the cousin was raising Mma Ramotswe ‘Obed thanked her, and done so often, and generously’ (McCall Smith 2003, 32).Solomon Moretsi, a minor character yet displays virtues and values of respect, willingness to help others and a sense of family. He keeps on claiming insurance for lost fingers. In truth he was doing insurance fraud but not for personal gains or ambitions but for his family I am looking after my parents.

And I have a sister who is sick with a disease that is killing these days. You know what I am talking about. She has children. I have to support them (McCall Smith 2003, 171) McCall Smith has given his novel many examples of family and a sense of community.

Through that he creates hope and optimism for making his novel maintain the positive view on Africa and not for making it into a grim view. Alexander McCall Smith the author of the award winning novel The No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency which is the first in the series, Alexander McCall Smith has shown his famous hopeful and optimistic views on Africa. He says the grim is ‘it is not the typical perception Africa’ therefore it should be the dominant one. In contrary he ‘recreates optimism because he wants to make his mark through creating hopefulness’.

So through the characters and their events he creates patriotism and pride. He gives his characters a perceptive understanding of family and community which in turn creates a sense of hope and optimism. Bibliography McCall Smith, Alexander 2003, The No. 1 Ladies’

Detective Agency, Abacus, London, UK Clements, Toby 2006, The Interview: Alexander McCall Smith, The Sydney Morning Herald, December Interview: Alexander McCall Smith, Foreign Correspondent Class notes, sources unknown