English, asked by oquindearbreyne, 1 year ago

How does the author emphasize the change in Nnamabia’s character over the course of the story?

Answers

Answered by paryuljain23
6

Summary Analysis

The unnamed Cell One narrator says that a neighbor robbed her family home the first time; the second time, it was her brother Nnamabia who broke in and stole their mother's jewelry. Their parents were out of town, and Nnamabia drove their mother's car, a Peugeot 504. The narrator and Nnamabia sat in church together for ten minutes before Nnamabia left. He returned right as the service ended and when the two arrived back at the house, Nnamabia exclaimed in English that they'd been robbed.

Because the narrator is unnamed, it suggests that the story isn't about her at all; it's much more about Nnamabia. This begins to develop the idea that men are seen as more important and generally have more power than women. With Nnamabia's theft, he's attempting to grab even more power by stealing valuable jewelry.

Themes

Women, Marriage, and Gender Roles Theme Icon Family and Lies Theme Icon

The Cell One narrator tells the reader that the mess in the house seemed staged—the windows had obviously been opened from the inside, and the thief had known exactly where the jewelry was. She knew that Nnamabia had done it, and their father knew it too. When their father confronted Nnamabia, he acted dramatically wounded about the accusation and left for two weeks. When he returned, he cried and apologized for pawning his mother's jewelry.

Nnamabia's lie is an attempt to make it seem as though their family is perfect, fully functional, and has a healthy family dynamic (though we'll soon get confirmation that none of this is remotely true). However, Nnamabia’s family still provides some degree of support or safety since Nnamabia returns to them and apologizes.

Themes

Family and Lies Theme Icon

Mother cried when Nnamabia said that he hadn't gotten a good price for the jewelry, making the Cell One narrator angry. Father asked Nnamabia to write a report about what he'd done, since Nnamabia was 17 and too old to be “caned” (beaten).

The narrator is angry here because Mother crying about the sale price of her jewelry shows that on some level, the family places more value on physical valuables than on trust within the family unit.

Themes

Family and Lies Theme Icon

The Cell One narrator explains that the jewelry was the only thing of value in her family's home, and the other sons of professors were doing the exact same thing at the time. Theft was rampant on the Nsukka university campus, but the professors whose children were stealing complained about the "riffraff" stealing their possessions. The thieves were popular and drove their parents' cars. The narrator mentions the neighbor who stole from them, a handsome boy that the narrator wished would notice her. The narrator's parents never questioned the boy’s parents about the theft, even though they knew who'd stolen from them.

The façade of perfection isn't unique to the narrator's family; it extends to many of the families who live on Nsukka campus. This indicates that the people who live there are extremely concerned with creating the image of the campus as an idyllic place and ignoring the fact that they're all living a lie. Notice that the narrator never suggests a reason for the widespread thefts. This suggests that the thefts themselves are largely senseless.

Themes

Stories and Representation Theme Icon Family and Lies Theme Icon Colonialism and Violence Theme Icon

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