UNANSWERED CRIES: BOOK ANALYSIS
- By Jo Africa
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AUTHOR: OSMAN CONTEH
SETTING: FREETOWN, SIERRA LEONE
PUBLISHER: MACMILLAN
YEAR: 2002
CHARACTERS AND CHARACTERIZATION
OLABISI: The main character in the novel. She fought in opposition of circumcision. At the end she won the case and was not circumcised. She represents strong girls who fight for what they believe.
MAKALAY: Olabisi’s mother, she was educated (a school teacher) yet she remained to be superstitious. She believed in women’s circumcision. To her, a clean and real woman is the one who is circumcised. The Gborka (uncircumcised girl) was despised and isolated by the society.
ADE JONES: Olabisi’s father. He lives in Freetown with another woman [OYAH]. He is fond of chasing skirts. He opposed her daughter to be circumcised and let the issue be settled in the court of law.
OYAH: Ade’s girlfriend in town. She is a lawyer by profession .She is a good woman since she loves Olabisi like her daughter. She won the case as Ade’s lawyer though on the other hand they were in a love relation.
DAUDA KAMARA: Makalay’s second husband. He was wise since he did not support his wife on the issue of circumcising Olabisi.
EDDY (EDWARD COLE): Olabisi’s boyfriend. He let the rat out of the sack about his relationship with Olabisi, hence betrayed his girlfriend.
RUGIATU AND SALAY: Daughters of Yah Posseh. They were badly beaten by Olabisi at the well and later at the forest. They, like their mother, believe that a clean and real woman is the one who is circumcised.
PA AMADU: The hunter who collided with Olabisi in the forest. He believes in superstitions since he ties a big amulet on his hand. He betrayed Makalay since he let the girl go after being given money enough to buy two goats by Olabisi.
SALAAM SESAY: Makalay’s lawyer. He pleaded the case on the side of Makalay but at the end they lost the case. Regardless of his knowledge in law, he supported the bondo secret group on women’s circumcision.
YAH POSSEH: The leader of Bondo secret group. She was superstitious and believed in spirits .She is believed to possess magic power and she is highly feared in the community.
DR. ASIATU KOROMA: A Gynecologist who explained the disadvantages of women circumcision in the court.
CONTENT IN UNANSWERED CRIES
THEMATIC ANALYSIS OF THE NOVEL
FEMALE CIRCUMCISION: The author tries to tell African countries that female circumcision is bad due to its effect on women; the author tries to use Olabisi as an element of girls who are willing to stop female circumcision.
POSITION OF WOMEN IN THE SOCIETY: The writer portrays a woman as weak creature (person). Women are circumcised without their will in order to reduce their sexual desire. Also women are portrayed as refreshment tools to men as in the novel; Ade Jones made love with different types of women before he got married to Oyah.
CONFLICT: This misunderstanding occurred between the following:
Olabisi Vs Rugiatu & Salay - The conflict occurred at the forest when Olabisi asked them if they are circumcised or not, so they started fight when Olabisi called them Gborka .They also felt jealous as Olabisi came from town.
Makalay Vs Olabisi: The conflict was due to Makalay’s demand of circumcising Olabisi without her will. Olabisi did not support her as she realized the effects of women circumcision.
Ades Jones Vs Makalay: The conflicts between them occurred as the result of lack of faithfulness in marriage. Ades Jones likes chasing skirts. Their marriage broke down due to jealousy and lack of understanding between them. The act of Ade Jones prohibiting her daughter to be circumcised increased the conflict between them.
Makalay Vs Oyah; Oyah took the husband of Makalay. This caused conflict between them as everyone considered that she had right to be the wife of Ade Jones. Love and jealous played part to their misunderstandings.
BETRAYAL: Makalay betrayed her only daughter (Olabisi) when she conspired with bondo secret group to circumcise her. Makalay says” whatever the spirit says I will do”. The betrayal of Olabisi’s father when he decides to marry a Lawyer and leave her Wife suffering in the village. Makalay betrayed her husband when she got a man to live with (Dauda).
JEALOUSY: Makalay felt jealous since her ex-husband fell in love with another woman. Rugiatu and Salay felt jealous since Olabisi was from the city and shows that she had confidence and self awareness.
SELF AWARENESS: Olabisi is aware that women circumcision is dangerous to women during child birth. Doctor Asiatu was aware of the problems caused by genital mutilation. Ade Jones was aware that circumcision of women did more harm than good.
LOVE AFFAIRS & PROMISCUITY: This issue of love affairs is portrayed by the writer of this novel through different characters. The writer reveals through the main character Olabisi who started engaging in love at the age of fourteen years old. Makalay got pregnant and hence this proved the failure of circumcision to reduce sexual desire. Also Ade Jones was a notable skirt chaser (Promiscuous). He did not control his sexual desire and ended up making love with other women who came close to him including Yamide (Ade Jones’ sexual life can be termed as ‘Promiscuity’)
PHYSICAL FITNESS: Olabisi was trained by her boyfriend eddy to defend herself. She used her body to defend Rugiatu and Salay and other people. So that shows how people can use their bodies to defend themselves.
THE ROLE OF COERCIVE ORGANS IN DECISION MAKING: The court can be used by people to get their rights. The dispute between Ade Jones and Makalay was settled in court. Judge Lansana Kanu led the judgment that Olabisi could not be forced to be circumcised without her own consent since she was grown up. The bondo secret group was defeated before the court.
LANGUAGE USED IN THE NOVEL
The author used the following figures of speech:
Symbolism: e.g. There is no lion in Sierra Leone ( means no one can stop female circumcision)
Foreign language: e.g. Gborka (uncircumcised), Subanallah, Mama (mother), juju (a charm or fetish, especially as used by some West African peoples, a supernatural power), duckett en lappa, bondo, agbada, lappa, digba sowey, duckett, sapo, Temne, foo-foo (a certain type of food), raffia skirt, etc.
Simile: A figure of speech in which two unlike things are explicitly compared:
- Daddy and Oyah fell on each other’s lips like starving children gobbling meat. (pg. 88)
- “She released her best smile, like a film star.” (pg. 88)
- The big lawyer seized the name like a bulldog seizing a bone. (pg. 58)
- Makalay was sitting on the left of the front row, like a hen on its nest. (pg. 54)
- A large man, as huge as a truck…” (pg. 54)
- The glasses perched on the end of his nose were as thick as the bottom of a Coke bottle. (pg. 54)
- She stood in the doorway, hesitating like a chameleon. (pg. 43)
- “Sleeping like Lazarus. You would not have heard Jesus, even if he had shouted your name.” (pg. 41)
- Ade sat up and thumped his chest like King Kong. (pg. 40)
- Makalay’s slap hit Olabisi in the face like a small bomb. (pg. 14)
- She sat up, listening like a dog sensing an intruder. (pg. 5)
- She scrambled across the bed on all fours, like a giant crab. (pg. 8)
- Makalay grabbed Olabisi’s left ear and twisted it, hard, like a driver twisting the ignition key of a stubborn car. (pg. 11)
Sayings and exaggeration: The novel has employed numerous sayings, and more of overstatements or exaggerations throughout the book. Almost in every page, there is a saying or an exaggeration.
- Over my dead body (pg. 84)
- A gown with enough shoulder-folds to hide a bull elephant. (pg. 87)
- “He is survived by his close friend, Miss Oyah Stupid.” (pg. 42)
- You need to replace your head with a better one. (pg. 41)
- Her hand disappeared into the bag… (pg. 7)
- Makalay released a sweet smile. (pg. 7)
- Her mother exploded. (pg. 8)
- I will beat you until your skin peels. (pg. 11)
MESSAGE FROM THE NOVEL
In this novel we get the following messages:
- Female circumcision is not good and should be abolished since it humiliates a girl’s dignity and endangers her reproductive system and her future.
- Polygamy is not good and it leads to family separation and conflicts.
- Bad believes like worshiping the spirits of the dead and harming innocent people to appease the unknown gods shouldn’t be practiced since they are not good to the society and its people.
- Education is important.
- Believe in yourself.
RELEVANCE OF THE NOVEL TO THE SOCIETY
The book is relevant to the society due to problems that are still in the society e.g bad African culture, betrayal, superstition etc
SAMPLE QUESTIONS
- Female genital mutilation is a common practice in some African societies. It is carried out for a particular reason according to customs and traditions. In reference to any novel you have read, do you think the reasons given in support of the practice fair? Why?
- Choose any TWO characters from the readings you have read and show the messages conveyed by the character. How relevant are the messages in our daily experience?
- Betrayal seems to be a common issue in the society. Those who practice it seem to enjoy but its effects are far reaching. Discuss the truth of this phrase in reference to two readings you have read.
- Unfaithfulness in marriage and in relationship tends to cause family or relationship break ups. Discuss how this issue is portrayed in two readings you have read.
- “Our parents are very important agents of shaping our personalities” Verify this claim by using two novels of your choice.
