Final Paper

Henderson the Rain King is about a man in search of fulfillment. The main character, Henderson, constantly hears “I want, I want” and finds no cure for this ailment while in the United States. His journey to Africa enlightens him, showing him the path he must follow. This is taught to him, indirectly, by Dafhu, the king of the Wariri tribe. Although he says, near the end of the book “He [Dahfu] thought he could change me. But I met him too late in life, Romilayu. I was too gross. Too far gone”, it is apparent that he is changed (Bellow 314). This change is apocalyptic; a change that he fails to see at first, but is manifest through his actions. Through travelling to Africa, encountering the Arnewi then the Wariri tribes, meeting new, intensely interesting and revealing people, Henderson’s perception of the world is unveiled.

After leaving his friend, choosing to sojourn solely with Romilayu his guide, Henderson is first guided to the Arnewi tribe, wherein he meets Itelo, the prince of the tribe and Willatale, the queen of the tribe. These people greet him with a great sadness: their cattle are dying of thirst. When Henderson realizes the reason for these deaths, he is compelled to fix the problem or rid the cistern of frogs. He wants to fix these people’s problems through what he knows; the use of explosives. This instance is the very first step of his personal change. While in the village, he begins his journey towards enlightenment. Willatale finds Henderson to be very interesting and decides to instill in him the knowledge of the grun-tu-molani: a man’s want to live. This begins to answer his nagging inner voice saying I want, I want. He realizes that yes, he does want to live, he just hasn’t found the proper way to do so; he hasn’t found the proper path to follow. He says, “Yes, yes, yes! Molani. Me molani…God will reward her, tell her, for saying that to me. I’ll reward her myself” (Bellow 85). At this point, Henderson realizes he wants to live; wants to make a difference in the world but he doesn’t see that he must realize himself before being able to do this.

After growing close to these people Henderson destroys their sole means of water and his spirit is completely pillaged. Never before feeling such remorse, he says, “‘Stab me, don’t ask me. Stab, I say. Use my knife if you haven’t got your own. It’s all the same and don’t forgive me. I couldn’t stand it. I’d rather be dead’” (Bellow 109). Saying that he would rather die than face their forgiveness, Henderson is showing absolute repentance. He wants Itelo to kill him; he wants Itelo to take his life into his hands. Although it would seem that he is transformed at this point, major changes are yet to be made. It is obvious that he feels terrible and that he is at the lowest point in his life but he still doesn’t quite understand the significance of his actions. Not only has he caused upheaval in the community, he has disappointed a people that trusted him entirely. In asking them to kill him though, he is asking them to take responsibility for what he has done. He must suffer and he must find in himself the reason for his suffering. Henderson will not find the answers through Willatale’s wisdom and he will not find happiness when desperately trying to fix other’s problems. He must fix himself before he can fix others and after his soul is crushed from the immensity of his remorse, he is primed for Dahfu.

After losing himself in the depths of the African desert landscape, wandering feverishly behind his Moses-like guide, Romilayu, Henderson finds himself in the hands of a violent tribe called the Wariri. At first, he is repelled by their actions and considers them barbaric and uncivilized. This initial perception is changed upon Henderson’s introduction to the king of the tribe, Dahfu. He finds himself fascinated by the king’s intelligence and wisdom, and once again tries to glean wisdom directly from Dahfu’s conversation. He wants to know what the king knows, but does not realize that wisdom is procured through personal experience, not through rhetoric. Soon, Dahfu leads Henderson to the basement of the castle and introduces him to the lioness, Atti. He is utterly terrified. This terror he feels represents Henderson’s fear of change; his fear of something that may lead him to actual realization. He does not want to experience the lioness in the flesh but he wants Dahfu to tell him why the lion is so important. Once again, he tries to procure wisdom through simply asking the king; he does not want to take the risk and try to experience something personal. He does not want to go “by a way wherein there is no ecstasy” (Eliot EC 137).

The path Henderson must follow to gain wisdom is not a simple one and T.S. Eliot describes this path best in The Four Quartets. He says, “In order to arrive at what you do not know/ You must go by a way which is the way of ignorance./ In order to possess what you do not possess/ You must go by the way of dispossession./ In order to arrive at what you are not/ You must go through the way in which you are not./ And what you do not know is the only thing you know/ And what own is what you do not own/ And where you are is where you are not” (Eliot EC 139-146). Henderson is ignorant to Dahfu’s intentions but his thinking is flawed in that he believes that the wisdom he seeks may be gained easily. There is no ecstasy on his path and this is why he has suffered so much throughout his lifetime. He does not possess the faculties to deal with this suffering and the voice saying “I want, I want” has pushed him to seek answers or at least solace. Although he is constantly fumbling and making colossal mistakes, he manages to find answers through sheer ignorance; through going by a way in which he knows nothing. He is unfamiliar with the landscape and the people of Africa, he is unfamiliar with the landscape of his soul, but through going “through a way in which he is not”, Henderson discovers himself.

Dahfu encourages him to take on properties of the lioness, to become acquainted with her on a deeply personal level. When the king first introduces Henderson to Atti he demonstrates his connection with her: “As he hung from her, smiling upside down into my face, with his high-swelled lips, I realized I had never even had a clue” (Bellow 227). At this point, Henderson recognizes his ignorance and in doing so, reveals to himself the truth. He does not know, and this is the ultimate realization. Once he has accepted his ignorance, Dahfu then begins to encourage him to accept the lion and allow her to change him. During one of their visits to the lioness’s den, an understanding is reached: “‘You ask, what can she do for you? Many things. First she is unavoidable. […] And this is what you need, as you are an avoider. […] She has many things to teach you.’ ‘Teach? You really mean that she might change me.’ ‘Excellent. Precisely. Change. […] Oh do not be surprised by such a recognition’” (Bellow 260). When Henderson realizes that Dahfu intends to change him through the medium of the lion, he is genuinely surprised. Once again, he is ignorant to the path he must follow and through a revelation he is able to go by a way in which he is unfamiliar; through a way in which he is not. He is not a lion; he even claims that he is a pig but the only way he can change is to tread upon an unfamiliar path. Since he believes that he possesses no properties of the lion, he must “go by a way of dispossession”.

Henderson’s enlightenment is slow and painful but he does eventually realize his journey’s significance. After Dahfu dies, he flees with the lion cub that is supposed to intercept the soul of the dead king. This is significant because the cub represents Henderson’s new perception of the world; it represents his unveiled reality. The cub is new and young, just as its new owner’s reality is new and young. Lying in the hut, waiting to die, Henderson has an epiphany. Suddenly he realizes how badly he wants to live, how he must honor the king that had taught him so much and changed him so significantly. The voice saying “I want, I want” is gone and he must carry his new beginning to his old life. He must live abundantly and “arrive where he started and know the place for the first time” (Eliot LG 241-242).