The Bite of the Mango

“He stood so close I could feel his hot breath on my cheek. ‘When you grow up, I will be your husband,’ he announced.” 

The first time Mariatu encounters Salieu is when he accosts her while she is playing with her friends. His invasion of her personal space, his direct assertion that he will marry her, and the fact that Mariatu is only eleven years old at the time of the incident all foreshadow his later assault. 

“‘Whenever you dream of palm oil,’ my grandmother had told me when I was seven, ‘blood will spill by the end of the day.’” 

The discussion of the belief that dreams of palm oil mean blood will be spilt foreshadows the brutal events of the chapter. It prepares the reader for the terrible violence that is coming, just as Mariatu’s dream will warn of her of the mutilation that awaits her. 

“As my eyelids closed, I saw the rebel boys giving each other high-fives. I could hear them laughing. As my mind went dark, I remember asking myself: ‘What is a president?’” 

Both the youth and the callousness of the rebel boys who take Mariatu’s hands is vividly demonstrated by their childish celebration. At the same time, the revelation that she does not know what a president is reveals the futility of violence supposedly committed to stop Mariatu from voting.