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Heart Of Darkness
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Heart of Darkness
Part I 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 culture held. 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 come and get civilsed in England. But that privileged has not been extended to females yet’" (Emecheta 36). Francis is a pure reflection of the values held by the Ibos. All Francis wanted from Adah was money, to pay for h...
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