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Chapter 4 Summary of The Boy Who Spat in Sargrenti’s Eye
Chapter 4 of The Boy Who Spat in Sargrenti’s Eye resumes on 8 December 1873 in Cape Coast, where Kofi and his family have been living as refugees for the past five months. Kofi brings breakfast to his grandfather, Mr. Christian, a merchant whose import/export business has suffered due to the war. To make up for lost income, Mr. Christian has rented rooms to three famous white newspaper correspondents: Mr. Henry Morton Stanley of the New York Herald, Mr. George Henty of The Standard, and Mr. Melton Prior of The Illustrated London News. Mr. Christian advises Kofi to practice his English with them, noting that the British are conquering the world and English is essential for success.
Because the white men occupy the main rooms, Kofi’s extended family is crowded into the family house across the street, where Kofi shares a single room with nine cousins. His mother has re-established herself as the best hairdresser in Cape Coast, and his sister Esi acts as her apprentice while also serving the white correspondents their meals. Esi secretly uses her understanding of English to eavesdrop on the correspondents’ conversations, passing their intelligence on to the locals while pretending to be an uneducated servant.
Kofi uses this chapter to fill in his diary with the events of the past five months. He records that the Asante army was severely defeated at Elmina by British cannons, and was subsequently decimated by dysentery, smallpox, and hunger. Following this, the British navy mercilessly bombarded several coastal towns (Shama, Sekondi, and Takoradi) simply because they refused to fly the British flag.
In October, Major-General Sir Garnet Wolseley (“Sargrenti”) arrived as the new governor and commander. Sargrenti immediately held a durbar (meeting) with the Fante chiefs, where he demanded they fight the Asante. He offers them a meagre threepence a day per man. Kofi and his friend Yaw sneaked into the tent and eavesdropped on the chiefs’ private deliberations. The chiefs were deeply insulted by the low pay and the lack of provision for widows and orphans. They decide to stall the governor rather than risk their lives for the British.
Meanwhile, Grandpa Christian tests Kofi’s literacy by having him copy a business letter. Impressed, he sends Kofi to the best local teacher to be tested, but the teacher declares that Kofi is already “book-long pass me paa” (highly educated). Therefore, Kofi is left to study independently in his grandfather’s library. As the chapter closes, the Asante army, under the command of General Asamoah Nkwanta, is retreating across the River Pra, having lost half its men to war and disease.
Analysis of Chapter 4
The chapter emphasises the power dynamics tied to the English language. Grandpa Christian explicitly tells Kofi that because the British are building a global empire, English is the only language that matters for his future. However, the Fante use the colonisers’ linguistic arrogance against them. Because the British assume the locals are uneducated and do not understand English, both Kofi (at the Fante chiefs’ durbar) and Esi (serving the correspondents) are able to act as unseen spies. They weaponise their bilingualism, hiding behind the colonisers’ racist assumptions to gather vital intelligence.
The introduction of the three historical war correspondents (Stanley, Henty, and Prior) highlights how the narrative of the Anglo-Ashanti war was constructed for the Western public. These men are not soldiers, but their presence is crucial to the British Empire; they are there to craft a myth of British heroism and African savagery for readers in London and New York. Kofi’s proximity to them sets up a stark contrast between the published, official version of the war and Kofi’s private, authentic diary entries.
The durbar between Sargrenti and the Fante chiefs perfectly illustrates the disconnect between British expectations and African realities. Sargrenti expects the Fante to blindly and gratefully serve as cannon fodder for his campaign. The Fante chiefs, however, are highly pragmatic. In their private, Fante-language discussion, they see through the exploitation: the British value Fante lives at a mere three copper coins a day and offer no support for the families of the fallen. Their decision to politely stall Sargrenti demonstrates a sophisticated political resistance.
Kofi’s summary of the previous five months exposes the extreme violence the British use to enforce their rule. The British navy bombards entire coastal towns just for refusing to fly the Union Jack. They flatten villages in a display of indiscriminate imperial terror. This undercuts the British narrative that they are bringing “civilisation” to the Gold Coast. It shows instead that their authority is maintained purely through superior firepower and mass destruction.
Chapter 5 Summary of The Boy Who Spat in Sargrenti’s Eye
Chapter 5 of The Boy Who Spat in Sargrenti’s Eye resumes in December 1873. Mr. Melton Prior calls Kofi for a private meeting and offers him a job as his assistant for the duration of the British military campaign against the Asante. Prior offers a wage of one shilling a day and expects Kofi to carry and guard his drawing materials, warning him that they will likely be in the thick of the battle.
Excited by the prospect of adventure but needing permission, Kofi first approaches his mother. She is absolutely horrified and outraged that the British want her fifteen-year-old son to risk his life fighting the Asante for a mere shilling a day. She immediately sends Kofi to seek advice from his grandfather, Mr. Christian, who in turn decides that only Kofi’s father can make the final decision.
Kofi travels from Cape Coast back to his hometown of Elmina to find his father, Intakwadi. He walks through the devastated, ruined town of Elmina and finally meets his father, who is secretly hiding his Asante friend, Ababio. When Kofi relays Mr. Prior’s offer, Intakwadi firmly refuses. He declares that he will not allow his son to become an allied tool of the British invaders.
However, Ababio asks to speak to Intakwadi in private. After their discussion, Intakwadi tells Kofi that Ababio has a proposal and that Kofi is now mature enough to make his own decision. Swearing Kofi to absolute secrecy, Ababio reveals that he is an intelligence agent for the Asantehene, Nana Kofi Karikari. Ababio proposes that Kofi accept Mr. Prior’s job offer in order to act as an internal spy for the Asante. Ababio explains that the white men assume Africans are stupid and do not understand English; if Kofi pretends to be an uneducated servant, the British will speak freely around him, which will allow him to gather vital intelligence on their troop strengths and intentions.
Kofi eagerly agrees to the dangerous mission. To communicate safely while on the march, Ababio teaches Kofi a secret talking drum signal (“Kwaku Ananse, bra bekyia yen”) and they agree on a password using an English anagram of the commander’s name, “Sir Garnet.” Ababio explains that Asante runners will memorise Kofi’s intelligence and relay it back to Kumase. The chapter ends as Kofi and his father set out for Cape Coast to convince his mother to let him go.
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Analysis of Chapter 5
The defining theme of Chapter 5 is the subversion of British racial prejudice. Ababio explicitly points out that the colonisers assume the locals are ignorant and do not understand their language, which is why he tells Kofi to lean into the stereotype of the “stupid native” so he can gather intelligence for the Asante. Kofi’s literacy and bilingualism are therefore transformed into powerful tools of espionage and resistance.
This chapter marks a major turning point in Kofi’s life. When he arrives in Elmina, his father recognises how much he has matured during his time in Cape Coast. Rather than making the final decision for him, Intakwadi gives Kofi the autonomy to choose whether to accept Ababio’s dangerous mission. When he swears a blood oath of secrecy and enters the world of wartime espionage, Kofi officially leaves his childhood behind and steps into the adult world of complex political allegiances.
Meanwhile, the economic realities of the colonial war are highlighted through Mr. Prior’s job offer. Prior casually asks a fifteen-year-old boy to step onto a battlefield and risk his life for a paltry one shilling a day. Kofi’s mother recognises this exploitation. She questions why her son should die for the British for a single silver coin. This reflects the broader British strategy of using cheap local labour and mercenaries to bear the heaviest and most dangerous burdens of their imperial campaigns.
The planning of the espionage network demonstrates the sophistication of the Asante resistance. While the British rely on technology like the “telegraph” and heavy artillery, the Asante rely on deep cultural knowledge, back-path navigation, talking drums, and runners who memorise intelligence word-for-word. Kofi blending an English anagram of “Sir Garnet” with the folklore of “Kwaku Ananse” perfectly symbolises his unique position: a boy utilising both Western education and African heritage to fight back against the empire.
The chapter continues to illustrate the deep political fractures among the coastal people. Kofi’s mother, a Cape Coast Fante, represents the faction that is horrified by the violence but somewhat resigned to the British presence. She simply wants her son to stay out of the conflict. Kofi’s father, an Elmina man, is staunchly anti-British and fiercely loyal to the Asante. Kofi finds himself caught between his Fante family in Cape Coast, his Elmina heritage, and his new role as an undercover agent for the Asante.
Chapter 6 Summary of The Boy Who Spat in Sargrenti’s Eye
Chapter 6 of The Boy Who Spat in Sargrenti’s Eye begins on Friday, 12 December 1873, as Kofi and his father, Intakwadi, walk from Sanka towards Cape Coast after parting ways with the Asante spy, Ababio. Along the journey, Intakwadi shares grim news about the retreating Asante army: of the 40,000 warriors who marched south, only 20,000 survived, with most falling victim to smallpox, dysentery, and starvation rather than dying in combat. Kofi asks what the invasion actually achieved, and his father admits it was largely a failure. He attributes this to the massive technological gap between the two sides: the Asante were armed with slow-loading flintlocks and ironstone slugs (sometimes even using stones for lack of ammunition), while the British utilised rapid-firing Snider rifles that could shoot over long distances.
Upon arriving at the family house in Cape Coast, they are warmly welcomed by Kofi’s mother and extended family, who are especially thrilled by the gift of a smoked grasscutter (bushmeat) Intakwadi caught on his farm, as food in the coastal town is scarce. After private discussions with Grandpa Christian and Kofi’s mother, Intakwadi secures her reluctant permission for Kofi to take the job with the British war correspondent, Mr. Prior.
The next day, Saturday, 13 December, Kofi and his father meet with Mr. Melton Prior. To maintain a strategic advantage, Kofi tells Prior that his father does not speak English, positioning himself as the interpreter. This allows Intakwadi and Kofi to converse freely and secretly in Fante right in front of the Englishman. Intakwadi proves to be a masterful negotiator. When Prior offers the standard bearer’s wage of one shilling a day, Intakwadi counters that Kofi is an educated interpreter, which eventually drives the wage up to one shilling and ninepence. Furthermore, he demands that Prior purchase Kofi’s gear (boots, a rucksack, and a water bottle).
In a surprising final demand, Intakwadi insists that Prior make a written provision in his will to compensate Kofi should Prior be killed in battle. He argues that money would be the only consolation if Kofi were left stranded in a war zone. Taken aback by the shrewdness of this supposedly “illiterate” man, Prior agrees, and Intakwadi seals the deal by pouring them both shots of Schnapps.
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Related:
- Chapter 1 to 3 Summary and Analysis of The Boy Who Spat in Sargrenti’s Eye by Manu Herbstein
- Chapter 9 to 11 Summary and Analysis of The Boy Who Spat in Sargrenti’s Eye by Manu Herbstein
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