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.