He waited till he went to school and was looking forward to a memorable time at school. This is a type of happiness as a child is so fond of gaining an education although at the same time, with the knowledge that his family is poor and cannot afford to get him all the good things in life, and this is a kind of sadness. A type of sadness, which is very clearly revealed in the novel, is also linked to a theme, pains of growing up. This is evident when Njoroge goes to school and is teased by his schoolmates. One of the boys said, "He must carry my bag for me. " This embarrassed Njoroge very much. Although Njoroge was being disturbed by his schoolmates, he ignored them and was more interested in learning about new things. .
Another example of happiness was when he met Mwihaki and sat with her chatting away. For Njoroge, it was a pleasant experience to mingle with a girl who was from a higher social class than he was. On the other hand, his mother was worried about him and did not want him to "associate with a family of the rich because it would not be healthy for him. " This again is a depressing issue for Njoroge. Njoroge was a very dedicated student who loved to tell stories in his class and English was his favourite lesson. He always looked forward to it. As Njoroge had a great interest in studies, he proved good at reading. He even says this quote, "Give me more and more learning and make me the instrument of Thy light and peace. " The thought of being an educated man made him feel confident of saving his family and one of the main reason why Njoroge wanted to study was to gain the land which his father and Mr. Howlands had tendered to with so much affection. All these were the happiness for Njoroge when suddenly, he was called from his class and was accused of being part of the Mau Mau. His father was killed and Njoroge was not able to get back his education. The ending of the story was a depressing one as all of Njoroge's dreams were shattered and all his hopes and especially his education were down the drain now.
