Mariatu’s struggle to stop her disability from making her dependent on others is one of the central through-lines of the book. The reader only sees her briefly before the rebels take her hands and, from that point on, it is at the center of her journey. The strength of her drive towards independence is made apparent very early in the book, when she refuses to be “fed like a baby” (48) by the man with the mango. This moment is extremely revealing: desperately sick and having only extremely recently had both her hands violently cut from her body, Mariatu still refuses to let her new disability stop her doing things for herself. This sets a tone for how Mariatu approaches her injury and her stolid determination not to let it hold her back.

Although she struggles at times, Mariatu does manage to maintain her independence. In fact, even the way she achieves this is an expression of her autonomy and strength. While others are trying to convince her to use prosthetics, she teaches herself to perform essential tasks with only her arms and her teeth. For Mariatu, even the prosthetic hands and the people who fuss around her trying to make her learn to use them are symbols of dependency that she rejects in favor of reliance on herself, her determination, and her own, unenhanced body.