GOLDEN BOY
Written by Tara Sullivan
“A Tanzanian, albino boy nds himself the ultimate outsider,
hunted because of the colour of his skin.”
• Set in Tanzania: Arusha, Mwanza, Dar es Salaam
• Kiswahili is the language used in the book. It is an o cial
language of Tanzania. (Hakuna matata is Swahili.)
• Habo (Dhahabo) is the thirteen-year-old protagonist. He has
albinism.
• Albinism = A genetic disorder where the body does not produce
enough melanin. Melanin creates pigment (colour) in the skin,
hair and eyes.
• Albino = A person with albinism. Most albino people have pale
skin, eyes and hair. Albinism often causes poor eyesight and
skin conditions, such as skin cancer.
• Habo and his family live in a village outside of Arusha. His family
are a part of the Wa-arusha tribe.
Habo’s immediate family: Raziya (mother), Asu (sister), Enzi (oldest
brother) and Chui (older brother).
These quotes are organised by THEMES
THEMES: Othering, Perseverance & Bravery, Luck, Acceptance
Othering - (discrimination/alienation) A person or group is
treated as di erent/abnormal because of their appearance,
race, culture, religion, etc.
Chapter 1
Page 4: “He looks like a ghost and he does as little work as a
ghost.” - Chui says this to Enzi about Habo. Habo is judged by his
own family for the way that he looks.
Page 7: “If he hadn’t left because of that stupid ghost, none of this
would be happening!” - Chui blames Habo for their father’s
absence and for their current situation.
Page 7: Habo speaking about his hands: “Not black and strong,
like Enzi’s. Not black and slender, like Asu’s. Not black and
stumpy, like Chui’s. Not black and calloused, like Mother’s. Milk
white. Bone white. Ghost white.”
Habo feels estranged from his family. He thinks that he does not
belong.
Page 8: “We all know what “before” means. Before I was born.
Before Father left.” - Habo is seen as a burden to his family.
Page 9: “Chui may not be a man, but I’m hardly a person.” - Habo
is not equal to his siblings. He is not treated as a person with
rights.
Chapter 2
Page 13: “Don’t you dare think about shaming us in the city, too.”
- Mother to Habo. Habo’s mother has been shamed by Habo’s
existence in their village and does not wish for the shame to follow
their family any further.
Page 14: “White like ugali in the pot; white like the teeth in your
face; white like a tourist who isn’t where he should be.” - Habo
feels like he does not belong. He is as abnormal as the white
tourists who visit Tanzania on Safari.
Page 14: “Perhaps I’d be normal somewhere else.” - Habo has not
seen a white person but wonders if he would belong with them.
Page 17: “Even to the strangers, I am strange.” - Habo sees white
tourists in Arusha and sees that he does not look like them. They
stare at him and whisper. He knows he does not belong with them.
Page 19: “Probably no one but my family would be willing to sit
beside me.” - Habo is forced to sit by the window on the bus
because strangers will not sit next to him.
Page 21: “He’s sick!” “He was born in a cave!” “He’s really an
animal!” “His father’s a white man!” - The young boys that are
outside of the bus shout at Habo. They do not understand his
genetic condition.
Chapter 3:
Page 35: “I hate it when people call me zeruzeru. The name means
“zero-zero,” “nothing.” A zeruzeru is an unnatural thing, like a
zombie. It’s like calling me an animal.” - Alasiri mocks Habo and
calls him zeruzeru. The name follows him throughout the book. His
skin makes him unnatural to others.
Chapter 4:
Page 39: “…I distinctly heard Chui’s voice whispering ‘mtoto pepo’
- ghost boy.” - On Habo’s rst day of school, Chui bullies him with
the other school children. This is ironic because we expect an
older brother to support his younger brother.
Perseverance and Bravery
Chapter 2
Page 24: “For a brief second, I feel a ush of triumph.” - Habo has
scared away the Maasai children who threw rocks at him. He used
his appearance to bene t himself.
Chapter 4
Page 39: “Fine, go on!” I had shouted at him. “Run away,
Chuijoya!” … - Habo uses Chui’s pride against him. Habo uses his
words to defend himself.
Page 43: “And I’m not going to let Chui call me a coward!”
Page 44: “Just keep going.”
Habo is afraid during the hunting trip with Alasiri but continues
helping because he does not want to be seen as a coward. He
supports himself using his inner voice.
Chapter 5:
Page 54: “So that makes it all okay, then? … He should probably
be in jail, and you like him.”
Habo criticises Chui for admiring Alasiri and the money Alasiri
earns from poaching.
Luck
Chapter 5:
Page 57: “Waganga control great forces of spirit and luck. Luck is
very important. Good luck brings you full harvests, strong sons,
and a peaceful death. Bad luck brings you sickly animals, needy
relatives, and lets everyone treat you badly, even Death. Really bad
luck could curse you with a ghost boy. Freakish, weak, useless.
Worse than a girl.” - Habo discusses waganga (witch doctors/
traditional healers) and luck. This paragraph shows the importance
of luck and foreshadows how albino people and ivory are used by
waganga for luck medicine.
Page 59: “…I wish we were still on our own and had never met up
with this luck hunter.” - Habo calls Alasiri a “luck hunter”. This is
ironic as luck is not supposed to be controlled or strived for, like a
hunter catching an animal.
Acceptance
Chapter 1
Page 6: Asu calls Habo “Golden Boy”. She accepts him and
values him, despite his di erence. He may be the “Golden Boy”
but he is not a golden child.
Chapter 3
Page 29: “And then I looked at your white skin, your yellow hair,
and your light eyes, and I said to them, ‘Yeye ni mtoto dhahabo!’” Asu tells Habo the story of his birth and how she named him
Dhahabo. His family and the midwife were arguing about what he
was and left him to cry on the oor. Asu was the only one who
praised his di erence. Asu acts as a mother to Habo.