123-129. But it turns out that it worked well for an enjoyable afternoon reading ; not for it's content of course, harrowing as that is, but just the right book for the right mood. Not one of her best works I must say. Because she is an unmarried teenage girl, life is additionally hard for her. They come together to "help each other when in trouble or in need…. In other words, Emecheta is speaking out of the silence that male African writers have created in reference to the African woman. 221-226. Since our Western comedic genre is not particularly useful, we need to ask if we have any other genres that might do a better job of helping us understand Emecheta's novels. In sum, Western readers have trouble anticipating—and accepting—the ending of The Bride Price because the narrator focuses so much attention on Aku-nna and Chike's courtship ritual. There are many incidents in this story concerning the gap between the privileges of men compared to those of women. She could run away. How would these or other African readers today interpret Ma Blackie's behavior? And both of them pray to God every night to help them through Aku-nna's subsequent pregnancy. But this same loving father has named his daughter "Aku-nna, meaning literally 'father's wealth,' knowing that the only consolation he could count on from her would be her bride price." At the same time that the maintenance of external reality is dependent on our conversation with others, the maintenance of an individual's subjective reality is also dependent on our various language systems. She was going to marry well, a rich man of whom her father would approve and who wouldn’t be able to afford an expensive bride price” (Emecheta, 10). She also portrays women, in a sense, as slaves to men. However, the more I read, the more I began to see the story lacked character development and essentially seemed to go no where. Despite the fact that her new husband divorces her because of the shame Aku-nna has brought on his family, Ma Blackie attempts to counter the curse that this husband has placed on her daughter's life. THEMES Because they are outsiders, their actions can have no validity or merit. I really thought the author captured the relationships, the cultural dilemma, the "feel" of Nigeria in this book. 3.5 stars if I could give half stars and I liked it enough to grab another book of hers called Double Yoke I saw at my library today. The independence comes to her at the price of not only losing her mother but of losing her grandmother, aunts, cousins, and all the men folk of the Ibuza village. What are the major differences in how their roles are defined? Chike's father warns him to stay away from Aku-nna, as his father does not want "a son of mine to bring shame on his [Aku-nna's step-father's] family.". [Boy regains girl.] Critical Overview If a bride price, for instance, is accepted by the father of the girl, the young woman would have to go to the suitor's home and be married no matter whether she knew the suitor, liked the suitor, or had fallen in love with another man. In the following essay, she looks at how feminist and postcolonial literary the-ories define the Other, how Emecheta's novel demonstrates this categorization, and how her protagonist, Aku-nna, attempts to resist it. Anthony Thwaite, "Fiction: Faded truths". Chike is taken aback, but Aku-nna, gaining strength in both body and voice, covers his mouth with her hand "not knowing where the boldness which was working inside her came from." “Aku-nna on her part was determined not to let her father down. Writer However, she is an intelligent woman who has lived in the city and her thoughts differ slightly from the other woman in her village. Shortly afterward, Okoboshi's family steals into Aku-nna's village and kidnaps her. 'The Bride Pride' by Buchi Emecheta was a book that actually sparked my interest from the first page all the was until the last and held it by using unexpected details to the story that were minor yet could change the whole story. "[4] Anthony Thwaite wrote in The Observer: "Buchi Emecheta is an unstrivingly poignant writer, who convinces through plain narrative authenticity and a feeling for character. In so doing, Aku-nna risks everything, possibly even her life. While standing for countless hours in the swampy fields of Burma, something happened to Ezekiel's foot. She tells him not to worry. They were tolerated, but there were strict taboos on how far relationships with these outsiders could go. I recommend it warmly and without reservation. Ma Blackie is a tall, dark-skinned woman. To us, this ending is reactionary, invoking the archetypal endings of an absolute past when heroines were not free to do and become what they wanted. It is his farewell to his children (the mother, at this time, is visiting the country village of Ibuza) that sets the rest of the events in motion. Schooling was based on the educational standards of Europe. The bride price is not paid, and according to tradition the bride must die in childbirth, which is what Aku-nna does. Although Emecheta does not overtly criticize the traditional customs of her culture in The Bride Price, her writing has been criticized by male African writers for its negative portrayal of Nigerian customs. Buchi Emecheta’s The Bride Price tells not only a beautiful yet tragic love story but also provides a strong lesson about straying from the beaten path, or in this case, cultural norms. Despite this, Emecheta has become one of Africa's best-known women writers, and her books continue to investigate the themes of gender discrimination and the effects of caste that were initiated in The Bride Price. ©2020 eNotes.com, Inc. All Rights Reserved. It is akin to taboo." Such traditions do not change very much." When most of these women gave birth to girls, it was believed that the river goddess had replaced "the ones she had taken.". Ezekiel's funeral is a more extensive example of heteroglossia, as its components are created out of a melange of the old and the new. As much as the term "pagan" sticks out here, it is also not clear what the term "Christian" means to people who believe in river goddesses, bride prices, and ogbanjes. Following tradition, Ma Blackie becomes the fourth wife of her deceased husband's brother, Okonkwo. Her mother is forced to marry her uncle because it. Unbeknownst to the mother and children of the Odia family, Ezekiel, the father, is dying. The Bride Price by Buchi Emecheta begins in Nigeria—specifically, in Lagos. When she finally reveals that she has her period, young men come to court her and Okonkwo receives several offers. Although, according to Maier, the outlook for Nigeria's future is grim, he tells inspiring stories about the people's resilience and sense of humanity in their struggle for independence. The Portuguese maintained control over the city until 1861 when the British took control and eventually abolished the trade. The characters were enjoyable and the plot interesting. Female writer Professor Osayimwense Osa, for instance, in a 1996 essay published in Research in African Literatures declares that The Bride Price is a "masterpiece of African children's and youth literature that sophisticated younger readers will find as satisfying reading." Aku-nna's father dies when she is thirteen-years-old. First, she wanted Chike to stand up and speak for her. Chike is a gentle man who provides Aku-nna with every comfort she needs. Because she has brought shame on her family, her uncle prevents her mother from intervening and would kill her himself if he caught her. Therefore, it is understandable that these African male writers do not like the image of the African women that Emecheta creates. "You must be careful," one of Aku-nna's cousins tells her, referring to Chike, "that man … he's not one of us. Both the silence and the lack of honor multiply the closer Emecheta's work is examined, especially when it is examined under the microscope of feminism by male African critics. She is an intelligent young woman who knows, without being told directly, that she is "too insignificant" in the eyes of her parents.
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