Women’s temperaments are often expected to be submissive and compliant. In older pieces of literature female characters are sidelined, while male characters take on the role of the hero, or the dominant part of the story. Nowadays, female characters take the lead in a lot of books, taking on rebellious roles, dominating male characters, and illustrating them to be more than just an extra factor of a story. Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie's The Thing Around Your Neck opposes the normal female character behavior in literature through her short stories that each end up with the female protagonist going beyond the ties of gender roles and their expected behaviors. Adichie empowers her female characters through providing them with an unexpected voice,
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Edward Campbell, the coordinator of the writing workshop, asks Ujunwa multiple questions in attempt to into her personal life. Ujunwa waits until there is a distraction of “the Ugandan walking toward them” (pg 97) before she could be comfortable, since the attention is averted away from her. The author specifically made Ujunwa appear uninterested through her actions. She gave Edward concise answers to his questions, uncomfortable with the invasion of questions. The author purposefully made Edward appear intimidating towards Ujunwa, setting a power structure in the beginning of the story. Ujunwa is below Edward because he is a white male, while Ujunwa is a Nigerian women. In this dynamic, Ujunwa is below Edward due to her feeble attempts to stop Edward’s interrogation. Instead, she should have expressed to Edwards where her boundaries were laid. In addition, the female protagonist allows herself to be ogled by Edward, even when he does not look directly in her eyes. Instead he looks lower, not giving Ujunwa respectful eye contact. Ujunwa responds to Edward’s actions through laughing “because it was funny and witty, she told herself” (pg 106). Through Ujunwa laughing, she is following an expected female response. It is a common action, where women laugh during an unpleasant situation. Ujunwa did not take the initiative to voice her uneasy feelings. …show more content…
Nonso, the unnamed female protagonist’s brother, is favored by their “Grandmama” and their mother. The Grandma would praise Nonso’s climbing . even when the protagonist is a better climber than Nonso. The Grandma justifies her reasoning for favoring Nonso because he “would protect the family lineage” (pg 189). Automatically, the author hints to a prefered choice of males in the family than females. In addition, the female protagonist’s mother never pays any mind to her. The affection displayed for Nonso is not given to the protagonist. Instead, the Grandma encourages Nonso to eat more, but explains to the protagonist that making food is “ how you will take care of your husband” (pg 195). Adiche made an important distinction between the roles of a male, and the roles of a female. In the circumstances of her family, the female protagonist is expected to be behind the scenes while Nonso is treated with the utmost affection and attention because he is supposed to be next in the family lineage. The protagonist soon began to realize that if Nonzo did not do everything perfectly in the eyes of her Grandma or mother, she figures it would “make him less lovable” (pg 195). As a result, she made Nonso climb the tree, scare him, and he falls and dies immediately. Morally, it was wrong for the protagonist to take the life of her
Edward Campbell, the coordinator of the writing workshop, asks Ujunwa multiple questions in attempt to into her personal life. Ujunwa waits until there is a distraction of “the Ugandan walking toward them” (pg 97) before she could be comfortable, since the attention is averted away from her. The author specifically made Ujunwa appear uninterested through her actions. She gave Edward concise answers to his questions, uncomfortable with the invasion of questions. The author purposefully made Edward appear intimidating towards Ujunwa, setting a power structure in the beginning of the story. Ujunwa is below Edward because he is a white male, while Ujunwa is a Nigerian women. In this dynamic, Ujunwa is below Edward due to her feeble attempts to stop Edward’s interrogation. Instead, she should have expressed to Edwards where her boundaries were laid. In addition, the female protagonist allows herself to be ogled by Edward, even when he does not look directly in her eyes. Instead he looks lower, not giving Ujunwa respectful eye contact. Ujunwa responds to Edward’s actions through laughing “because it was funny and witty, she told herself” (pg 106). Through Ujunwa laughing, she is following an expected female response. It is a common action, where women laugh during an unpleasant situation. Ujunwa did not take the initiative to voice her uneasy feelings. …show more content…
Nonso, the unnamed female protagonist’s brother, is favored by their “Grandmama” and their mother. The Grandma would praise Nonso’s climbing . even when the protagonist is a better climber than Nonso. The Grandma justifies her reasoning for favoring Nonso because he “would protect the family lineage” (pg 189). Automatically, the author hints to a prefered choice of males in the family than females. In addition, the female protagonist’s mother never pays any mind to her. The affection displayed for Nonso is not given to the protagonist. Instead, the Grandma encourages Nonso to eat more, but explains to the protagonist that making food is “ how you will take care of your husband” (pg 195). Adiche made an important distinction between the roles of a male, and the roles of a female. In the circumstances of her family, the female protagonist is expected to be behind the scenes while Nonso is treated with the utmost affection and attention because he is supposed to be next in the family lineage. The protagonist soon began to realize that if Nonzo did not do everything perfectly in the eyes of her Grandma or mother, she figures it would “make him less lovable” (pg 195). As a result, she made Nonso climb the tree, scare him, and he falls and dies immediately. Morally, it was wrong for the protagonist to take the life of her