The Ear, the Eye and the Arm
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| The Ear, the Eye, and the Arm | |
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| Author | Nancy Farmer |
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| Original title | Unknown |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Genre(s) | Children's, Science fiction novel |
| Publisher | Orchard Books |
| Publication date | April 1994 |
| Media type | Print (Hardcover and Paperback) |
| Pages | 311 (first edition, hardback) |
| ISBN | ISBN 0-531-06829-3 (first edition, hardback) |
The Ear, the Eye and the Arm is a Newbery Honor book written by Nancy Farmer. It takes place in Zimbabwe in the year 2194.
[edit] Summary
Tendai, Rita, and Kuda are children of the General Matsika, Zimbabwe's chief of security, who recently purged the country of criminal gangs. Because their father is an important political figure, the children grow up in isolation. The oldest child, Tendai, is the protagonist of the book. He is thought "soft" by his father and by other instructors, as Tendai dislikes violence and is very sensitive to the pain of others. Kuda, on the other hand, has a fighting spirit. Rita is a brilliant mathematician who is generally cantankerous. The only other human in the household, other than their parents, is a blond English man known as the "Mellower", whose name is known later in the book to be Anthony Horsepool-Worthingham. The Mellower's job is to deliver Praise to the family, sending the family into a state of pseudo-hypnosis. His desire to please everyone makes him an ineffective guardian, but the parents are unaware of this. This is especially apparent when the three children decide to explore the city by themselves. The Mellower hypnotizes the General using Praise; while the General was in this state, the Mellower persuades him to sign permission forms for the children to go into the city, as they wanted to earn their scout badges.
Their first stop is Mbare Musika, a food market bustling with unpleasant people. Within minutes, they are kidnapped by two men and the Blue Monkey. The men, Knife and Fist, and the Blue Monkey are accomplices of the She Elephant, who runs Dead Man's Vlei, a vast wasteland inhabited by people who follow her every command. She plans to sell the children to the Masks, who are the most dangerous gang in all of Harare, to make a profit. In the interim, she bids them mine for plastic, which has become a rarity in 2194.
In Harare, Mother and General Matsika discover their children have gone missing. They enlist the help of the Ear, the Eye, and the Arm, who are three detectives. The three men have powers beyond those of other human beings: Eye has supernormal vision, Ear can hear sound that originates within any distance less than a mile, and Arm, whose name comes from his long, flexible limbs, can sense other people's emotions.
The children manage to escape Dead Man's Vlei and then become trapped in the city of Resthaven, an isolated community holding antiquated beliefs and no modern technology. The children again escape and catch a subway that is attacked by the Masks. Rita is feeling ill, so the children decide to go to the closest friendly place they know, which is the home of the Mellower's mother, Mrs. Horsepool-Worthingham.
Meanwhile, the Ear, the Eye, and the Arm are continuing their search for the children; in this, they always arrive in every place just after the children leave. They sneak into the Dead Man's Vlei and are pursued by the She Elephant, but escape. They then break into the city of Resthaven, where they pretend to be bogeymen and rescue a condemned baby; but the children have already been expelled.
Throughout this, the Arm's psychic talents are seen to increase; he is able to see into people's souls and is contacted by the god of Zimbabwe. This god gives him a task, which is fulfilled at the climax.
At the house of Mrs. Horsepool-Worthingham, all three children come down with chicken pox. The Mellower's mother claims that she is unable to contact the children's parents, General Matsika and his wife, because they have traveled abroad. In reality, as Tendai discovers, she is holding the children for ransom. Although the General is not offering a reward, the Mellower's mother is trying to convince her son to hypnotize the General during Praise and tell him to do so. As soon as Tendai discovers this, he and Rita plan to escape. Just as Tendai and Rita are putting their plan into action, the She Elephant breaks into the house and captures the three children once again. This time, the She Elephant goes immediately to the Masks' headquarters to sell the children, where Tendai is almost used as a sacrifice to the Masks' gods, whom the Masks intend to propitiate so that they may become more powerful and feared. Their mother and a small army of chefs and rich people rescue Tendai and his siblings from the Masks. The Masks themselves are diminished in power.
After other trials and tribulations, they finally reunite with their parents. Arm's psychic talents are destroyed during his encounter with the Masks' gods, so he adopts the baby he rescued and brings her up as his daughter.
