Discuss the major themes in The Flame trees of Thika.

Intolerance for Cultural Differences:

There are many differences between the native Africans and the Europeans who settle the region and both seem to have little tolerance for most of the differences. For example, the European women who agree to settle in Africa with their husbands are generally strong-willed women, at least to some degree. The Africans have little respect for their women and do not understand the European tendency to allow women to move around with the men and to voice opinions. On the other side of the coin, the Europeans have arrived in Africa with plans to civilize the African people. At one point Tilly says that their work is difficult but predicts there will come a time when the African people have a better life and that it will be because they are willing to emulate the European examples. Another aspect of this lack of understanding is seen in the fact that Africans have no word for thank-you and do not see any need to thank Europeans for any good deed or gift. The Europeans believe the Africans are inconsiderate and are not willing to accept that a cultural difference is the reason. It is interesting that the Europeans are not at all willing to believe that their influence and impact on the natives will be anything other than positive, and that they have no doubt that the Africans need to be changed.