Ever imagine what it feels like to be in a world where you're silenced and fight to be seen?
Second Class Citizen. This book holds so many memories. It was one the required African Prose novel for senior students taking literature. When I remember this novel, my language lab flash in my mind and I'll remember the heated discussions, character analysis and the different opinions we would share. At first I thought it would be a "serious" boring novel with big words, but when I read the first page I was bought.
The novel is an old book first published in 1974 by a Nigerian Author, Buchi Emecheta. It is 244 pages and 13 chapters long. The book follows Adah a head strong Ibo girl facing discrimination and gender inequality as a Nigerian and also an immigrant in London in the 1960s.
The novel highlights the struggle of being black and even worse a female in the 1960s. At the time I believe Gender equality was a norm, female being pushed aside, considered insignificant and only useful for managing the home and being no less than servants to their husband and Adah was no exception. Nobody bothered about her, she was seen less than compared to her brother.
Despite the stifling culture, Adah, very stubborn and resilient, didn't allow the shackles of her traditions limit her, scales through school all by herself, gets married and gets a job. She decideds to fulfill her dreams of going to London and single handedly moves her family to London.
Life in London is not what she thought it to be, she felt like going to London was like paying God a visit, like going to heaven which was quite ironic. As an immigrant, she was subjected to racial prejudice due to her race and nationality. She was treated inferior, a second class citizen by British society and institutions. She finds it hard to get a good job and housing due to her race.
Emecheta really expose how the system reminds the immigrant of the fact that they are inferior and how london is regarded as a beautiful opportunity but in reality it's a place of social exclusion, hardship and alienation.
It's crazy how moving to London didn't have any effects of traditional expectations. Even in London, Adah is expected to drop her dream for her husband and continue to serve him no matter how badly she's treated. Francis, her husband, an unambitious and entitled man gets too comfortable with Adah being the breadwinner of the house and takes pride in just impregnate Adah on whim. Francis becomes more and more controlling and aggressive, constantly undermining Adah's aspirations and efforts to provide for the family. He finally resorts to physical and emotional abuse.
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Thorough out the novel, I find Adah's resilience and stubborn nature quite inspiring. She was head strong about what she wanted. She never saw her self less. She never saw her self through the label placed on her by society. She didn't allow the inferiority imposed on her get to her, her dreams or self worth. She didn't allow cultural expectations or racial segregation silence her. Although she suffered throughout the novel, she didn't give in to despair. She refused to be defeated.
This novel always gets me thinking about what my life as a girl child would be like if feminism awareness was not made or if feminists didn't speak up, maybe women would still be insignificant and undervalued. This novel is more than a personal story of Adah. It a tale about the struggle of black African as immigrants and females in a world where patriarchy decides their lives.
This novel is a must read for lovers of feminist books, book on black culture and racism.
Thanks for reading ☺️
