The Eyes in the Trees

"I am muntu Africa, muntu one child and a million all lost on the same day. I am your bad child now gone good, for when children die they go good." This quote shows how Ruth May has changed, becoming pure like she once was when she was first born. Everything has now changed. Ruth May is now pure and is the spirit of Africa. She will forever be part of Africa. Also, the Congo has been swept by war , "a terrible war that everyone believes will soon have been worth the price." Mobutu dies in a darkened room and Orleanna and her 3 living daughters return to to Africa asking about Kilanga, which according to a women there, never existed. Changes have occur ed and each character was able to do what they had so longed hoped for, forgive.
In Orleanna's case, Ruth May forgave her. "Mother, you can still hold on hut forgive, forgive and give for long as long as we both shall live I forgive you, Mother...walk forward into the light." Guiding Orleanna into the path of enlightenment, stating that it is okay for her mother to move on, because Ruth May will never be forgotten. Adah finally forgave herself and Leah and was no longer blaming others for her "crookedness." "Misunderstanding is my cornerstone. It's everyone's...Illusions mistaken for truth are pavement under our feet." showing how she herself be run by the "illusions" and never actually looked at the truth and always had her mind set on betrayal because she constructed her life around misunderstandings. Leah was finally able to forgive Nathan because of her "skin color" and stated "if I could reach backward somehow and give Father just one gift, it would be the simple human relief of knowing you've done wrong, and living through it." To me them 3 stood out the most and took what they learned in Africa, back to wherever they were at.