Dreams from My Father

by

Barack Obama

Francis Character Analysis

Francis is the driver and guide for Barack and Auma’s safari. His wife and children cultivate corn and coffee, and he’d rather farm than work for a travel agency. He’s open about how government corruption makes farming an untenable job for him, and he believes that he needs to speak out in the hope that something might change.
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Francis Character Timeline in Dreams from My Father

The timeline below shows where the character Francis appears in Dreams from My Father. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 17
Race and Identity Theme Icon
...days, but he convinces Auma to go with him on a safari. A driver named Francis takes them and several others out into the countryside. Barack thinks about Zeituni’s advice to... (full context)
Family and Community Theme Icon
Race and Identity Theme Icon
Francis stops the van and picks up his young teenage niece, Elizabeth. Barack and Auma greet... (full context)
Family and Community Theme Icon
Storytelling and Truth Theme Icon
On the other side of a rise, they reach the savannah. Francis drives the van slowly through a herd of wildebeest, and Barack notices both Auma and... (full context)
Family and Community Theme Icon
Storytelling and Truth Theme Icon
...happens to a person when they die. The Masai smile; they don’t believe anything happens. Francis, who’s Christian, argues with an Italian man who left the church about whether Christianity brought... (full context)