Heart of Darkness9

A detailed Summary of Heart of Darkness9

In the novel, Second Class Citizen, the main character, Adah, is a strong, Nigerian

women who faces sexism from within her own culture since she was born. She explains,

"She was a girl who had arrived when everyone was expecting and predicting a boy...

She was so insignificant" (Emecheta 7). In the Ibo culture that Adah grew up in, being a

girl was looked down upon. Giving birth to a boy was a major accomplishment, whereas

giving birth to a girl was an equally major disappointment. Girls were taught to be useful,

not intelligent: "A year or two would do, as long as she can write her name and count.

Then she will learn to sew" (Emecheta 9). In Ibo culture, girls were valued for their

domestic abilities. Adah refused to be measured by this, instead she was determined to go

to school and get an education. She worked had to overcome the sexist attitude that her

This sexist attitude continued after she got married to Francis. Francis is a typical

Ibo male. He held the view that the males should go and get educated and the female

should stay home, or in Francis' case, work to support his education. Adah knew his

attitude, "The sharpness seemed to say to her: 'It is allowed for African males to com

tell the story of his journey into the Congo searching for the lost ivory trader, Mr. Kurtz.

demeaning and sexist view of women. Marlow objectifies women depending on their

She also stirs up desire in Marlow's heart, as he describes her presence: "...The colossal

losing a possession to him. Kurtz exclaims, "'My Intended, my ivory, my station, my

human because they would never be so quick to kill a white women. Her sexuality is

Marlow would have place her into the real world and she would have had to face those

Intended to know what he has become because he might lose her and that would be like

Approximate Word count = 1367
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: English

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