Baho! by Roland Rugero is an interesting piece of literature that really challenges the way the reader perceives certain sections of society and the type of people they are home to. It’s in an interesting piece of literature to me, because of that.
There are various scenarios throughout the book that really make the reader think about the metaphors they represent. For one, the scenario with the mute and the villagers that suspect him of wrong doing can really get the reader to think about how the judicial systems of certain countries might make it hard for those accused to adequately defend themselves. There is a line towards the beginning of his part in the book that really stands out; “His jaw works. His tongue works. The main thing is to produce clear and audible sounds, words and phrases that are meaningful” (Rugero 12). I feel like this is the purpose of the entire book itself, as the author means to present things that are meaningful enough to the reader to make them reflect on things that happen in the world.
Situations such as the one above not only get you to think about the processes of such systems but how the system can allow innocent people to be accused and punished. This also applies to the opposite, as those that are accused and genuinely guilty can sometimes go be let off. This allows readers to question whether or not the current system works or needs to be greatly improved.
The book is chock full of questions that ask this general concept, at least that is my interpretation. It appears that Roland Rugero sought, through the writing of this book, to get people to ask more specific questions about how they themselves feel about the world around them that they might not necessarily have thought about before.
– Bhavin Bhavsar
Sources
Rugero, Roland, and Christopher Schaefer. Baho! Phoneme Media, 2016.
Literary Genres in Translation 