Ruth Character Analysis in Dreams from My Father

Ruth is the Old Man’s third wife whom he met at Harvard. She followed him to Kenya, where they married and had two sons, Mark and David. A white American woman, Ruth doesn’t accept Kezia as a legitimate wife, so she refuses to let her sons visit Alego. However, she does accept Roy and Auma as her own—until her sons are born and the Old Man is blacklisted from the government. She suffers a great deal of verbal abuse from the Old Man until they finally divorce, and she never makes peace with the rest of the family. Indeed, Ruth changes Mark and David’s last names when she marries a Tanzanian man and is incensed when David insists that he’s still an Obama. Barack meets Ruth when he visits Kenya. During the visit, she consistently speaks poorly about the Old Man while praising Mark for his achievements. Auma tells Barack later that Ruth is the only of the Old Man’s wives who can prove her children’s paternity without a doubt.

Ruth Character Timeline in Dreams from My Father

The timeline below shows where the character Ruth appears in Dreams from My Father. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.

...was afraid of him. She was little when the Old Man returned from America with Ruth and took her and Roy to Nairobi. The Old Man was doing well working for... (full context)

...the time, she just put up with the Old Man’s shouting at her and at Ruth. Ruth began to treat Auma and Roy differently and insisted they weren’t her children. Ruth... (full context)

...is why she dislikes Kezia. Zeituni explains that while the Old Man was married to Ruth and visiting Kezia—who was technically still his wife—Kezia was also seeing another man. The Old... (full context)

...as people on the street mistake him for David. Auma explains that she hasn’t seen Ruth and Mark since David’s funeral. After Ruth and the Old Man’s bitter divorce, Ruth married... (full context)

...few days later, Auma receives an invitation for her and Barack to have lunch with Ruth and Mark. Barack insists they go. Ruth lives in an expensive neighborhood that reminds Barack... (full context)

...knowing they have no intention of doing so. When Barack tells Auma about this, she laughs—Ruth has the documents to prove that the Old Man is Mark’s father, unlike any of... (full context)

...Ann anyway. Onyango correctly predicted that the Old Man would return to Kenya alone, though Ruth showed up soon after. Even though Ruth and the Old Man got married, Ruth wouldn’t... (full context)