Mallam Sile Character Analysis

In the short story Mallam Sile, the protagonist with the same name owns a tea shop on Zongo Street where many young children steal and harass him. He’s a pushover, not known to be the most physically appealing character. Because of this trait, people in the village exhibit a sharp disliking towards him. Eventually, he leaves his shop to visit his hometown. On his journey, he met his new wife Abeeba. Mallam Sile and Abeeba return to the shop, however, Abeeba is displeased. The young children of the village continue stealing from Mallam Sile, and he does not forgo any action to apprehend the adolescents. One of the culprits is Samadu. He was in debt to Mallam Sile, but he never paid the money. That is when Abeeba confronts Samadu and when he refuses to pay once more, they both engage in a fight that causes the whole village to stop any further

Throughout his life, Mallam Sile had a childhood illness that caused perpetual impaired vision however he refused to seek medical aid. The reason for this is that Mallam Sile believes that “God is the one who brings illness, and he is the only true healer” (95). It is apparent he is a firm believer of his faith due to the fact that he would wear his “white embroidered Mecca hat-- worn by highly devout Muslims as a reflection of their submission to Allah” (95). Later on in the story, Abeeba, Mallam Sile’s wife, fights for the debt Samadu never paid. The result of that fight causes the rest of the village to show more respect towards the tea-seller. Despite the truth, Mallam Sile had “smiled and thanked Allahu-Raheemu, the Merciful One, for curing the street folks of the prejudice they had nursed against him for so long” (104). To explain, he is so deep within his faith that he interprets the change of behavior as more of a spiritual salvation. He does not see Abeeba was the one who caused the differences that occur within the