Sponono (Read This)

Alan Paton

"Sponono", by Alan Paton, is about a boy named Sponono who lives in a reformatory that is located in South Africa. This story is also about the Principal of the reformatory, which Alan Paton wrote so the Principal is narrating the story. This story begins when Sponono sees the Principal in order to save someone named Johannes Mofoking from going to prison. After Sponono's persuasion, Johannes is set free. Sponono soon returns to the Principal with an irregular request to work in the Principal's garden, which I thought was very peculiar. After the Principal agrees to let him work in it, Sponono quarrels with the previous worker, William, and they get two separate sections to work with. When Christmas Day comes around, a boy from the reformatory does something terrible to some guests named Mr. Anderson and Mrs. Anderson.

(55)"This boy menaced them with a large stone and had snatched up Mrs. Anderson's handbag from the grass and made off into the bushes. In the bag was sixty pounds, in twelve five-pound notes, a whole month's earnings, and the distress of the husband and wife was painful to see." the Principal says. 

Later he finds out it was Sponono that terrorized this couple and stole the money. His consequences were serious; he lost his free privileges and has to start his term in the reformatory all over again. But that wasn't all. He also later got into a fight with a boy named Tembo and got whipped in the eye with a metal belt. But, with his forgiving heart, Sponono forgave Tembo and hoped to move on. When he is asked where he got the  idea of forgiving, Sponono said it was a teaching of Jesus. He isn't a Christian, for he said, (61)"'I am not good enough, but I like to obey the commandments.'" I thought this was odd.

He was banned form working in the Principal's garden, which didn't satisfy him. Sponono assumes that once someone is forgiven, they can wipe out the memory of their bad-doing and act like it never happened. He made the Principal promise he could work in his garden again and the Principal gave his obliges. This promise backfired on him because, when he quit his job as a principal to move to Natal, he was forced to allow Sponono to come  because of a silly promise. After a few days of working in the Principal's garden, he got invited to a party, killed and ate a chicken from dissatisfaction for the food, and threatened the host. He was sent back to the reformatory the next day. 

Reformatory

Even though he pleaded and begged the Principal to come back and work in his garden, the Principal never let him.

One  thing in Sponono that can set several of the readers off is the fact that Sponono quoted the Bible, even though he isn't Christian. Back in the story when he forgives Tembo so easily, Mr. van Dyk asks him why he forgives people so easily and where he got this idea from. He claims that Jesus forgives everyone, even if they wrong him seventy times seven. Sponono also believes that if someone is forgive, they can forget their wrong like it never happened.

(60)"'Do you think,' I asked, 'that if a person is forgiven, his offence is wiped out like it had never been done?' 'Yes,' Sponono said."

I think that Sponono wants the Principal to forgive his offences so he doesn't have to keep thinking about them. he uses the quote form the Bible about forgiving people seventy times seven so the Principal might start forgiving him, thus relieving him of his crimes.