Chapter 6 Summary

Julius remembers his parents taking him for his interview for military school in Northern Nigeria. Shortly after his acceptance, Julius's father dies of tuberculosis. Julius also remembers that last intimate conversation he had with his mother after his father's death. He was 14 and his mother tells him about her and her mother's escape from Germany.

Julius remembers the music teacher making an example out of Julius, calling him a thief and parading him around the school telling everyone he is a thief and a spoiled brat. The same teacher caned him in front of his classmates on Julius's bare bottom. Julius never tells his mother about the incident, is named head health prefect the following year, and is accepted into college in America.

Chapter 6 Analysis

The stories Julius reflects on this chapter reveal that humans turn into the people they are because of...