Gramsci on Ideology

Gramsci examines the class subject and makes a distinction between philosophy- a specialized elaboration of a specific position and common sense, described as what we think to be obviously true, common to everybody, normative, the practical; everyday, popular consciousness of human beings and; an amalgam of ideas ‘on which the practical consciousness of the masses of the people is actually formed.’ (Loomba)

He formulated the concept of hegemony as the bridge between ideologies and classes-hegemony is power achieved through a combination of coercion and consent. Ideology is crucial in creating consent – Gramsci views ideologies as conceptions of life that are manifest in all aspects of individual and collective existence - ideologies animate social relations, ‘organize human masses, and create the terrain on which men move, acquire consciousness of their position, struggle, etc.’

Stuart Hall relates these ideas to the relationship between on the one hand, race, ethnicity and colonialism, and capital and class on the other. Gramsci argued that capitalism works through and because of ‘the culturally specific character of labour power.’ His propositions are, firstly, class and race are eventually constitutive and shaping forces, and second, racial and cultural differences operate within the same class, or mode of production.

Gramsci’s notion that ideologies ‘create the terrain on which men move’ helps us locate racism not just as an effect of capitalism but as complexity intertwined with it.

Gramscian notion of hegemony stress the incorporation and transformation of ideas and practices belonging to those who are dominated, rather than simple imposition from above.

From Colonialism/Postcolonialism - Ania Loomba

Meera Kale 1413027 Gramscian Notions of Ideology

Gramsci examines the class subject and makes a distinction between philosophy- a specialized elaboration of a specific position and common sense, described as what we think to be obviously true, common to everybody, normative, the practical; everyday, popular consciousness of human beings and; an amalgam of ideas ‘on which the practical consciousness of the masses of the people is actually formed.’ (CITE THE TEXTBOOK)

He formulated the concept of hegemony as the bridge between ideologies and classes-hegemony is power achieved through a combination of coercion and consent. Ideology is crucial in creating consent – Gramsci views ideologies as conceptions of life that are manifest in all aspects of individual and collective existence - ideologies animate social relations, ‘organize human masses, and create the terrain on which men move, acquire consciousness of their position, struggle, etc.’

Stuart Hall relates these ideas to the relationship between on the one hand, race, ethnicity and colonialism, and capital and class on the other. Gramsci argued that capitalism works through and because of ‘the culturally specific character of labour power.’ His propositions are, firstly, class and race are eventually constitutive and shaping forces, and second, racial and cultural differences operate within the same class, or mode of production.

Gramsci’s notion that ideologies ‘create the terrain on which men move’ helps us locate racism not just as an effect of capitalism but as complexity intertwined with it.

Gramscian notion of hegemony stress the incorporation and transformation of ideas and practices belonging to those who are dominated, rather than simple imposition from above.

Response Essay: Meera Kale 1413027

The novel Second Class Citizen by Buchi Emecheta can be read as a black feminist text. The title refers to the condition of the protagonist Adah in both her native Nigerian society and in the African immigrant community in Britain. It is set in the period between roughly 1920 and 1960, partially out of colonial Nigeria. The title suggests an undertone of bitterness about covert oppression – however, in spite of her "second-class" condition, Adah is characterized throughout the novel by her sense of initiative and determination.

The protagonist is Adah Eke, named after her late grandmother. She is driven and enterprising. Adah was not allowed to go to school since it was considered an unnecessary excess. Determined, she snuck out and enrolled herself into primary school, later educating herself at secondary school on scholarship, and then reading to become a librarian, financially supporting her husband and extended family. She is iron-willed and pragmatic yet not one-dimensional. Her dream, to go to the United Kingdom and live as a Nigerian elite, gives her strength through the trials that the patriarchy and colonial powers put her through. Second Class Citizen is a hugely autobiographic novel.

The author has employed the family as the stage upon which patriarchal hierarchies play out. Indeed, he first conflict the reader witnesses is that between Adah and her mother, at the police station. It is not so much resolved as Adah's father makes a decision her mother is not necessarily okay with but, as a woman, must obey, and it happens to work out in favor of Adah. Here, the established patriarchy and power structures are bared and the reader gets a glimpse of the struggle Adah will be forced to endure later. Essentially, the patriarchy is the antagonist of the novel - in the form of her family's preferential treatment of her brother, the family structure that allows the wife and children of a deceased individual to be inherited, her cousin Vincent, Francis - all inhibit her progress and growth as an individual.

Speaking of the stage and setting, the story begins in her home at Lagos. Later she lives with her cousin Vincent at Pike Street. Upon acceptance into the Methodist Girls' School, she lived in the boarding house for 5 years and then married Francis and led an elite life with him until they moved to England, where Adah and Francis live with their two children in a room in Ashdown street. It was more like a half-room - small, with a single bed at one end, a new settee at the other and a Formica topped table occupying all of the space in between. There was no bath, no kitchen; the toilet was outside, four flights of stairs down, in the yard.

The novel makes for easy reading. The writing is lucid, almost conversational, and grounded in the lived experience of oppression and injustice – both Adah’s and the authors. The author steers clear of lengthy philosophizing, as is true of the protagonist. The imagery in the narration is powerful. The details are visual, olfactory, auditory, tactile - such that the reader experiences as much of the squalor of the colored immigrant life as Adah's dignity and pragmatism allows her to dwell upon.

In the first few chapters of the novel, the reader is alternately proud of Adah and rejoicing with her about her triumphs and achievements or anxious about the trials and obstacles she must overcome. Also, the reader is not infrequently frustrated by the general incompetence and callousness of Francis and the systems Adah is subject to, not only after marriage but also before, in primary and secondary school. Adah's interactions with her immediate family are a parallel to the sense of oppression bitterly referenced in the title – although she is the elder of the two children, the firstborn, she is denied things she feels entitled to and which are then given to her younger brother, often at her expense. Before she got into the Methodist Girls’ School (with scholarship) she was expected to provide for Boy and facilitate his education in addition to all of the excess house work she had.

Most of the time, in the novel, Adah’s oppressors are her own family. Her father and more often, her mother, would subject Adah to impositions she had no say in. The elders and patriarchs of the family are consistently expecting far too much of her and indeed in the end this is a conflicting situation, where, as the woman, Adah is Francis’ property whereas she literally provides for him and supports the family basically single-handedly. Although Francis’ father and Adah’s own late father sometimes come off as lenient or even supportive, there are vested interests of the shrewdest kind, as well as a skewed sense of justice that normalizes the statement, “you will pay for me, and look after yourself, and within three years, I’ll be back…Why lose your good job just to go and see London? They say it is just like Lagos” at work here so we are forced to discredit their kindness and seeming affection. The few characters that genuinely respect her are in no position to help her. Her American colleagues were “diplomats, not missionaries”.  

Immediately after, when the narrator quips, “A much more civilized man would probably have found a better way of saying this to his wife. But to him, he was the male, and he was right to tell her what she was going to do” we gain insight into Adah’s absolute helplessness – situational as well as ideological.

Christian and native religious symbols recur throughout the novel. The image of Mary and unborn Jesus, the river deity Oshiba and episodes from the Bible are quoted frequently. For the sake of perhaps universal relevance or at least comprehension, the novel does not have any local figures of speech or sayings. However, the motif of “cunning as the snake, harmless as the dove” is persistent throughout, a constant reminder of hope. The story addresses discrimination of whites against blacks, Ibos against Yorubas, an intensely patriarchal family structure, gender issues apart from this, along with such socio-political issues as poverty, slavery, child labor and colonialism.

Response Essay to the novel 'Second Class Citizens' (Chapters 1-6) (Dharani Dhavamani 1413059)

The novel, Second Class Citizens by Buchi Emecheta narrates the story of Adah, and how she battles with the many unfair and unjust practices existing in the post-colonial world. She faces layers of problems, which shift according to her age, location and education. The chapters of the novel trace stages of her life, and we learn how a colored self-confident woman, who wants to get educated and establish her life with independence achieves what she wants.

The first paragraph talks about the 'Presence', a strong positive inspirational force that guides one to achieve one's dreams. Dream, in this context, follows the definition similar to that given by Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, "Dream is not what you see in sleep. Dream is something that doesn't let you sleep." Adah has one such dream, to go to the United Kingdom. As the novel progresses, we see Adah facing several obstacles to fulfil her dream. And when she does achieve it, the reality of her life hits her, and she realises that England is not all that she expected it to be. Adah struggles to acquire the life and treatment which she and her personality deserves. But in a world filled with a myriad of inequalities and discriminations, coupled with the continuously changing character of the people in her life, Adah's journey is a gripping one.

The title of the book, Second Class Citizens, takes form when she reaches the United Kingdom, where we can see the stark contrast between the quality and lifestyle lived by her in Nigeria and England. She is not a valued citizen anymore, and the fact that she is educated doesn't seem to play a strong role, like back home. All that mattered was that she was a woman, a colored woman. The reader can sense an interplay of various themes, woven together in an intricate yet realistic pattern that the novel unveils. There are a sequence of themes that follow one another, like gender discrimination, a struggle to achieve education and independence, life and treatment in an immediate post-colonial scenario and racial discrimination. These themes essentially tell us the history and gives us a glimpse into the past. They are very evident in key incidents like where her family plans on getting her married so that her brother could get good education, or when Adah has no choice but to steal money to get educated, and also the treatment she faces in England despite being educated- just because she is colored. Instances where people who belonged to her own country indirectly accused her of trying to transcend the established norms set for the colored population tell us how the concept of discrimination and prejudice was kept alive essentially from the discriminated themselves, "She knew that there was discrimination all over the place, but Francis's mind was a fertile ground in which such attitudes would grow and thrive" (Chapter 5, page 58). On the other hand, there are themes like love & affection, pain, will-power, religion, family and the like, that are centered around Adah's life. "Be as cunning as a serpent and harmless as a dove," (Chapter 4, page 34) is one such line, where she uses religion to justify her actions to bring her family (which is loves intensely, for it is the only thing that is completely hers) together and fulfil her dreams. We can see how these themes play a major role in the decisions that she takes in complex circumstances.

The author uses many settings to put forth her message or opinions on the then socio-political set-up. The story moves from one setting to another, with a gradual progress of the plotline and corresponding changes in the themes, like mentioned above. The timeline of World War II (when the protagonist was born) and its aftermath also play an essential role in the novel, since that was the time when these unjust practices  were at their peaks, and so were the rebels. The timeline, coupled with the settings, make the story even more compelling. The settings range from her home in Lagos, her uncle's home in Lagos, boarding school (Methodist Girls' School), Ebute-Metta to pockets of England like the place she stayed (Kentish Town) and worked (North Finchley). Each of these settings have their own story to tell, and influence Adah's life. For instance, with the education that Adah had, she was at a high class position in Nigeria, feeding and tending to the whole of her husband's family and catering to Francis's education. On the other hand, Adah was pushed into the lower rungs of the society and had to struggle to make both ends meet in England, even though she was educated.

Another method employed by the author to elaborate on her themes were her characters. There were characters like Pa, Mr. Cole, Janet, Mrs. Konrad etc. who were a source of support and encouragement, even if it was for a short period of time. However, there are characters who continuously change and evolve as the plot advances. We see how Francis's lifestyle changes after moving to England and how his attitude towards Adah changes after she reaches England. In addition, Adah's parents-in-law seem to be treating her with respect and affection, but when we get to know that it is only because she earns a lot of money and bears children, we lose any respect and affection for them!

The flow of the story is made riveting by the narrative style and language. It is essentially a third-person, homodiegetic narrative in the present tense, as the story details on what the protagonist thinks and her rationale behind her actions, and speculations regarding what other characters might think. Buchi Emecheta has included several of her own experiences in the novel, it can also be deemed as semi- autobiographical, in the sense that the narrator can be looked upon as an 'authorial persona.' The style of narration, language and the prose is very natural, understandable and relatable. The language is simple and yet has the capacity to explain the subtleties of the atmosphere and characters. The descriptions provide vivid imageries in the reader's mind while reading them. For example, the houses in Ashdown Street, Trudy's backyard, Mrs. Konrad's dressing style etc. were described in such a minute manner that one could visualise the scenes and situations. The author uses devices like metaphors, comparisons ("just like the dying Ayesha in Rider Haggard's She," 41) and subtle humor ("... whilst her heart sent her mother-in-law to her Maker," 33) to add to the impact. The names of the chapters too, like Escape into Elitism, A Cold Welcome, "Sorry, No Coloreds" etc. function as metaphors that denote slices of Adah's life. In addition, the tone of the story also isn't fixed, it changes according to the protagonist's feeling of her situations. Her emotions are projected into the mood of the story itself. There are a string of emotions that follow one another with no particular sequence. While reading the story, one can feel a mixture of emotions like sadness, happiness, amusement, shock & disbelief, sympathy, rage etc.

In all, the content, style of narration and narrative style complement each other and helps one understand and comprehend the niceties of the themes established in the novel. Moreover, since most of these experiences were actually in tandem with the reality of the immediate postcolonial timeframe, it makes the narrative even more interesting. The knowledge of the perspective of the 'other,' be it on gender, racial or social discriminations and religion gives us a different view-point altogether, similar to Alice Walker's Color Purple, but with a wider social and geographical dimension and deeper themes.

Reading notes on Second-Class Citizen by Buchi Emecheta (Meera Kale 1413027)

EXPECTATIONS

The first sentences of the book suggest a strong Christian or spiritual theme in the book. The title suggests an undertone of bitterness about covert oppression.

Adah's interactions with her immediate family are a parallel to this sense of oppression - although she is the elder of the two children, the firstborn, she is denied things she feels entitled to and which are then given to her younger brother, often at her expense.

The first conflict the reader witnesses is that between Adah and her mother, at the police station. It is not so much resolved as Adah's father makes a decision her mother is not necessarily okay with but must obey, and it works out in favor of Adah. Here, the established patriarchy and power structures are bared and the reader gets a glimpse of the struggle Adah will be forced to endure later.

CHAPTER 1

Character development: Adah does not display growth or change in outlook just yet - we only see her determination, and calculated courage to take risks.

Plot: Chapter 1 chronicles the absolute beginning of Adah's academic career: her enrollment in school. Adah was not allowed to go to school since it was considered an unnecessary excess. Instead, her brother would go. Adah sneaked out to attend class at the Methodist School where her neighbor Mr Cole was a teacher. She returns to find her family and the police waiting for her. Her mother is punished for child neglect and directed to send Adah to school.

CHAPTER 2

Narration: The narration, although third-person, is obviously from her point of view - we catch a glimpse of the autobiographical element in the book when in chapter 1 the narrator describes Adah's remembrance of her Ibo superstitions and her amusement by them (page 15). The narration is not wholly dominated by Adah's POV - readers are aware of the thoughts of a few other characters. The narrator is not identified as a character.

CHAPTER 3

The protagonist is Adah Eke, named after her late grandmother. She is a driven, enterprising young girl, educating herself at secondary school on scholarship. She has been sent to live with her cousins as a servant after the death of her father. She is iron-willed, pragmatic yet not one-dimensional. Her dream, as a Presence, gives her strength through the trials that the patriarchy put her through. Essentially, the patriarchy is the antagonist of the novel - in the form of her family's preferential treatment of her brother, the family structure that allows the wife and children of a deceased individual to be inherited, her cousin Vincent, Francis - all inhibit her progress and growth as an individual.

The other characters so far are Adah's brother Boy, her husband Francis, his parents and sisters, their daughter Titi and son Vicky, and their Yoruba neighbors.

CHAPTER 4

The story begins in her home at Lagos. Later she lives with her cousin Vincent at Pike Street. Upon acceptance into the Methodist Girls' School, she lived in the boarding house for 5 years and then married Francis and led an elite life with him until they moved to England, where Adah and Francis live with their two children in a room in Ashdown street. It was more like a half-room - small, with a single bed at one end, a new settee at the other and a Formica topped table occupying all of the space in between. There was no bath, no kitchen; the toilet was outside, four flights of stairs down, in the yard.

The story is set in the post WWII era - Adah was born during the Second World War. Therefore, the events in the story could have taken place between 1920 and 1960. The timeline of the novel is straightforward – linear – the readers are not made to process temporal fluidity.

CHAPTER 5

Style: the novel makes for easy reading. The writing is lucid, almost conversational, and grounded in the lived experience of oppression and injustice. The author steers clear of lengthy philosophizing, as is true of the protagonist. The imagery in the narration is powerful. The details are visual, olfactory, auditory, tactile - such that the reader experiences as much of the squalor of the colored immigrant life as Adah's dignity and pragmatism allows her to dwell upon.

Christian and native religious symbols recur throughout the novel. The image of Mary and unborn Jesus, the river deity Oshiba and episodes from the Bible are quoted frequently. For the sake of perhaps universal relevance or at least comprehension, the novel does not have any local figures of speech or sayings. However, the motif of “cunning as the snake, harmless as the dove” is persistent throughout.

Tone: In the first few chapters of the novel, the reader is alternately proud of Adah and rejoicing with her about her triumphs and achievements or anxious about the trials and obstacles she must overcome. Also, the reader is not infrequently frustrated by the general incompetence and callousness of Francis and the systems Adah is subject to.

CHAPTER 6

Significance/meaning: the story addresses discrimination of whites against blacks, Ibos against Yorubas, an intensely patriarchal family structure, gender issues apart from this, along with such socio-political issues as poverty, slavery and colonialism.

Second-Class Citizens by Buchi Emecheta: Reading Notes - Chapters 1 to 6 (Dharani Dhavamani 1413059)

Expectations? What do you expect?

The title 'Second Class Citizens' hints at a society that is subject to a practice that might be unfair or logically unjustified. I expected it to describe the life of a person/ family deemed to be 2nd class even though they aren't. The first 3 chapters' names, Childhood, Escape into Elitism and Cold Welcome, I thought was the progress (and process) in which the description was made.

The lines about the Presence in the first paragraph of the novel brought into my mind the existence of a guiding force that keeps one going, and I thought the book describes the journey of one such person- guided by the Presence.

From the novel, we learn about the various levels of social structures, based on race, accent, economic and social status, gender etc. Through the initial unfolding of events, we get a picture of the life and struggle from the viewpoint of the oppressed, and expect that the rest of the story elaborates this.

What happens in the story?

In the first chapter itself, we see several changes in the situations, like Adah going to the school, Pa's death etc. The plot thus promises many more drastic shifts in the storyline, both fortunate and unfortunate. In the further chapters, we also see that the characters, Adah included, change fractions of their characters and retain others.

Through my reading of chapter one, it was very evident that the story describes the journey of a strong- willed and self-confident woman, who wants to gain education and establish herself. In the current scenario, we also learn the several obstacles that she faces, with the possibilities of many more to come. It talks about the then social milieu- the treatment of the coloured, the educated-coloured, the females, the superstitious beliefs that gives the reader an in-depth knowledge of culture. 

As the novel progresses, we can see the evolution of the dream that Adah has, the things she has to go through to stand by her principles, her changing atmosphere and nature of the supporting characters.

The story brings the feel of an account of the struggles and hardships faced by the protagonist, which might be a part or whole autobiographical narration. It might be on the lines of a semi- autobiographical narration.

How is the story narrated?

The story is narrated in the present tense, third person style. We know all of what the protagonist thinks, and speculations regarding what other characters might think (not necessarily their thought process though, examples in the essay). In this sense, the narrator is not a character on the story- it is a homodigetic, third person narrative.

Who are the characters?

The protagonist of the story is Adah, a Nigerian woman born during the second world war.

The several unfortunate situations and gender based discriminations that she has to go through, pressures from her society and their values, expectations from the patriarchs, (several times from her own mother) except her father form the antagonists in her life (and essentially in the story). Focussing on chapter 3 and onwards, the changed Francis, the way in which UK treats her and her color and the way in which the fellow colored people in her place of stay treat her are the antagonists.

However, there are characters like Pa, Mr. Cole etc. who provide her support, love and encouragement, even if it is for a brief period of time. There are also characters who appreciate her, celebrate her and respect her- like her American colleagues, Francis's sisters etc. All the same, her parents-in-law are facilitators who give her respect and do not act against her. But we cannot deem them as completely positive characters, since they have their vested interests in her, that can be seen as the reason for them to behave in the way that they do. The nuances of certain characters were fully understood by me only as the story progressed, like Francis and her parents-in-law. On the other hand, nature of characters like Trudy, Janet and Mrs. Konrad are quite predictable.

What is the setting of the story?

The story is set during the Second World War (when the protagonist is born) and its aftermath. The settings are various, changing during each of Adah's life stages, ranging from her home in Lagos, her uncle's home in Lagos, boarding school- Methodist Girls' School, Ebute-Metta to pockets in England like the place she stayed, worked, and the like. 

The story moves from one setting to another, with a gradual progress of the plotline and corresponding changes in the settings. Till chapter 6, there is no back and forth movement (except Pa's mom's death, which is a small flashback). There are also very subtle mentions of the past, when the protagonist thinks about the changing attitude of people in her life and the existence of unfair social practices. However, there are hints of the possibility that Adah might return to Nigeria.

What do you notice about how the story written?

The style of narration, language and the prose is very natural, understandable and relatable. The language is quite simple and yet has the capacity to explain the subtleties of the atmosphere.

The descriptions provided vivid imageries in the mind while reading them. For example, description of the houses in her street, Trudy's backyard, Mrs. Konrad's dressing style etc. invoked the reaction that would result when I watch them in films.

The tone of the story isn't fixed, it changes according to the protagonist's feeling of her situation. Her emotions are projected into the mood of the story itself. There are a string of emotions that follow one another with no particular sequence. While I read the story, I felt a mixture of emotions like sadness, happiness, amusement, shock/disbelief, sympathy, rage etc.

What does the story mean?

The story talks about several facets of the situations faced by most of the societies during the immediate post-colonial scenario and by the fractions of the society within the oppressed. We can see many themes put across, like colonialism, pain, hard-work & will-power, discrimination- gender and racial, family, love & affection, religion, struggle for independence etc. There are also several incidents that lead the protagonist to question the established norms like white superiority, who deserves education etc.

Response: “Second Class Citizen” by Buchi Emecheta - Surbhi Shand 1413035

Buchi Emecheta’s story “Second Class Citizen” is a highly realistic account of the trials and tribulations people feel when settling in a country where there are racial biases and standards for living. This superiority and inferiority complex is brought out in the novel very naturally and continues throughout the sequences of character growth. Upon first glance it is seen as an individuals’ life and experiences being offered to the reader for reflection but upon further inspection the story of a Nigerian woman battling oppression is viewed as a shared suffering where Adah is a symbol of the masses. This essay will give a response to the first seven chapters of the novel.

The narrator is unnamed and largely detached preferring just spout out events as they proceed and give the reader a look into the inner workings of Adah’s mind. Descriptions are made only when necessary to the scene and allusions to religious figures are common, again, this is through the use of Adah. The narrator uses simple language and keeps the pace of the novel relatively even with a few bursts of time being economically packaged into compact sentences. The narrator allows the reader to make their own interpretations about what is happening in the novel rather than commenting on it so as to give a specific impression. The reader is left to make their own choices and thoughts on rounded and flat characters.

Adah is the main rounded character, she is strong and resilient yet her heart craves for emotional support and comfort. She is educated and a hard worker but also a full-time mother and wife. She encompasses so many contrasting qualities but they still make her personality starkly genuine. Her character is flawed yet still inspiring as she is presented as a mundane woman with rash thoughts and feelings, with cautious care and with manipulative tendencies in order to achieve her goals. “Be as cunning as a serpent and harmless as a dove”. This line more than adequately explains Adah, she is a cunning Nigerian woman. Thusly, in her oppressed state she cannot be flamboyantly open with her desires though she certainly does appear to be harmless. Other characters soon find that this is not the case.

Francis is a round character but largely stalk; he is a stereotypical male hindrance who has to be loved and despised in tandem by his wife. His quiet disposition of acceptance in Nigeria is lost in England where his new found identity leads him to become more overtly patriarchal and neglectful of his duties as a husband and father. His unfaithfulness makes him all the more distasteful as a character but the reader is able to recognize that he is a tool; an unconcealed symbol of patriarchy.

Familial ties are used to represent motifs and themes, the characters related to Adah’s family serve as traditional gateways for the reader or as the problems and responsibilities that come with the female gender. For example, “Boy” appropriately named shows how just by being male status is elevated to a point that no woman can reach. Adah’s parents used to show how any common household of that time in Lagos would perceive it as a danger for a girl to have an education; a base on which to think for herself. Titi and Victor are symbols of the yoke that many women must bear; child birth and for a large amount child-rearing. Adah is alone in her caring for the children as Francis is disinterested. The kids are used to show how their mother can support them, the household and the influx of money without her husband’s aid.

The concept of ‘help’ or ‘aid’ arises a lot, it is seen as a luxury that is given to those who can afford it by economic means or by status. Adah’s high status in Nigeria gave her maids to wait on her every desire, she needed only to work at the American Consulate and supply her extended family with her wages for the rest would be taken care of by respect and money. In England Adah’s social status has been lowered to that of a second-class citizen, her work load increases due to pressures on her for money and she is not given any respect. This is seen with her interactions with Trudy and when Adah and Francis were prospective buyers for a two room flat but the landlady turned them away. It is through such experiences that the reader sees growth in Adah where she becomes more and more self-reliant refusing to ask or even think of asking for help in dire situations.

This story was written at a time in Nigerian history where large amount of people had to rely on their own industry to get by. People were oppressed by their colonial governance and women were doubly oppressed by their gender. The story is written is a very realistic, down to earth manner where there are no dramatic events other than those that are deeply rooted in the everyday, common place matter of affairs. The writer seemed to be blatantly aware of the situations people were in and described that exactly as it was without any literary decorations. This makes the writing approachable and relatable to a large extent regardless of the reader’s background.

The novel is impactful in its simple form for the words have heavier meaning to them and the lives narrated are made to seem more tangible. The different kinds of struggle in terms of living, being educated, having a spouse, having kids and trying to pave a foundation in another country is brought out clearly. The impact that these struggles have on people is even more resounding as the reader see them change and adapt to their surroundings or face the consequences of not doing so. All in all, Emecheta’s attitudes towards colonialism and the second-class citizen are presented in an approachable way where readers are given information regarding sensitive issues like family and racism in a more open-minded way. This allows for more understanding and thought to go behind forming opinions and responses towards the novel.  

Reading Notes: “Second Class Citizen” by Buchi Emecheta - Surbhi Shand 1413035

1. What do you expect?
• Title: “Second Class Citizen” as a novel that tells of the true horrors of being treated as inferior regardless of capabilities but judged severely based on the color of one’s skin and the place of one’s birth.
• The first chapter “Childhood” starts with an odd quote about dreaming. The oppression felt by the female is inflicted right from the start; when a child is born. This kind of suffering is expected to continue.
• One expects great hardship to be at the crux of this novel. Where continuous turmoil on emotional, physical and mental levels are always in flux and being felt.
• Oppression is always put alongside hope for a better life for the family and for the self. It will be interesting to see if this kind of hope continues or if it is eventually stamped out by the harshness that is foreboding.

2. What happens in the story?
• The story is filled with movement and is relatively fast spaced in terms of its time sequence.
• The main character Adah dreams of going to England but upon arriving to Liverpool she finds herself isolated from her familial support system, facing a broken marriage and an extremely unfair life ahead. All this coupled with her fear for her children’s safety and her own work makes her rethink her opinions of what a life in Ashdown will bring for her future.
• During her childhood Adah quickly became an orphaned and enslaved child with a passion for education. This grew until she became and extremely well educated young Nigerian woman who worked for the American Consulate. Out of necessity she marries Francis and has a child Titi with him. Her high living standards and persuasive skills allow her in-laws to be swayed by her charms. She ends by convincing them to send Francis to England. She follows soon after but her life there is anything but a dream. Her husband begins to become unfaithful, her work takes up much of her time and she has a few months of torturous living when she leaves her children with their day-sitter Trudy.

3. How is the story narrated?
• The story is narrated in third person and is limited to mainly hearing Adah’s voice and her thoughts. The narrator is not actively involved in the story but merely commenting with bias to Adah’s character.
• The reader is often given privy to Adah’s thoughts, she is a strong character with a fiery attitude and this is brought out especially well when the narrator describes her strong, overpowering emotions.
• There is dialogue but it is rather limited the narrator is more focused on describing an experience or situations that are not commented upon but the scene described resonate loudly with the reader.
• The mode of narration is sequential and relatively straightforward to read and understand. The narrator seems to speaking to the masses rather than an individual reader.

4. Who are the characters?
The characters are:
Adah
The protagonist of the novel and the main focus from the beginning. Her life is explained in great detail and the narrator is seen to be slightly biased towards her.
Boy
Is Adah’s brother with whom she has little contact. She is jealous of him being privileged by his gender alone as a child but surpasses him as an adult. He is seen crying for her as she sails away to England.
Mother and Father
Boy and Adah’s mother and father have short lives. Her father dies early on in the novel making her enslaved property for her father’s brothers. Her is seen as a weak figure who has no real character, her existence is reduced further after her husbands’ death. Adah misses her mother when her first child is born.
Francis
Francis is Adah’s weak willed, pompous husband. After leaving his family and heading to England he goes from being a passive listener and son to an arrogant self-righteous man. He cares not for Adah and their children. He sleeps with other women and does not enjoy the company of his children. He allows himself to be liberated but expresses a heavy Nigerian patriarchy on his wife.
The In-Laws
The in-laws, especially Francis’s mother and father are the law-makers. Their permission needs to be taken for every important decision. Adah is careful with them and complies to their wishes so that they may comply to hers.
Titi
Titi is Adah’s daughter and first child. Titi is talkative in Lagos but suddenly becomes mute in Ashdown because of her father’s threats. Titi spoke Yoruba and her father threatened to beat her if she didn’t start speaking English.
Victor/Vicky
Victor is Adah’s son and second child. He is a sweet baby but gets horribly ill with meningitis. It is his illness that prompts the children’s officer to allow the kids to go to a nursery.
The Landlords
The landlords are hateful and jealous people. They are jealous of Adah’s perseverance and her breaking of unwritten ‘black’ rules. They condemn the family through eviction for this.
Janet and Babalola
Are a mixed-race couple. Janet being a young cockney girl and Babaloba a North African man. They are good friends of Adah.
Mrs. Konrad
Mrs. Konrad is Adah’s kind employer. She is chubby and not at all fashion conscious.
Trudy
A terrible day-sitter who cares not for Vicky and Titi but her own two kids. She almost kills Victor through her neglect and she is constantly having affairs with men in her home when the kids are around.
Miss Sterling
Miss Sterling is a children’s officer she was the one who let Trudy get away with atrocities before finally allowing the kids to attend a nursery school.
Cynthia
A friend of Adah’s from work who comes to notify her when Victor is declared ill.

5. What is the setting and time of the story?
• The first two chapters of the story are set in Lagos, Nigeria when Adah is going through her childhood and education. The following chapters see her journey to Liverpool, England.
• The time is of colonial Africa where Nigeria is still under the rule of the British empire. So, the book is set in a time frame before the 1960s but after the 1920s.

6. What do you notice about how the story is written?
• The story is written simply for mass consumption. It is not decorated but filled with religious allusions to both tribal nature gods and symbols of Christianity. The author is creating a constant conflict between England and Nigeria, where England is seen as superior.

7. What does the story mean? Can you express its theme/themes?
• The story has several themes; the theme of hope is resounding. Adah is constantly striving for the best for herself and her family. She craves achievement and success.
• The theme of family is brought into question. Much peace is retained in a retraining family situation and there are always relatives to rely on, yet in England the family has more freedom and is getting destroyed in the process.
• Wealth and value are a theme that are equated to the same thing in Adah’s mind. The richer she is the more value she allows herself to have as an individual.
• Racism is seen as accepted but when it comes up it flairs with aggression and hatred. The injustice of it when Adah and Francis faced a prospective landlady was evident and deeply damaging.