The+Joys+of+Motherhood+and+Second+Class+Citizen

Synopsis
//[|The Joys of Motherhood]// details the experiences of the woman Nnu Ego: an [|Igbo] woman, Ego is hampered by traditions concerning women, sexuality, and motherhood. The story begins with Ego’s mother, Ona, and her tense sexual and psychological relationship with Ego’s father, Nwokocha Agbadi. Ego is born to her mother not long after the death of a slave girl who swore she would revisit Agbadi’s family as his own daughter. After Ego sickened as a baby, she was taken to an oracle who foretold that Ego’s body was inhabited by the spirit of the former slave girl. Ego’s life was marred by the presence of the slave girl’s //chi//, or ghost ever after, and mental illness plagued Ego all her short life. Ego was married young to a man she loved, however the marriage fell apart when Ego remained barren. Ego returned to her father’s house only to be married off again shortly after to a man she found physically repugnant. However, Ego had seven children by him before her death at forty-five, alone and mentally ill.

Response:
//[|The Joys of Motherhood]// is a detailed, psychologically advanced, and culturally relevant book. [|Emecheta’s] novel displays an intuitive feel for the characters, their motivations, and influences. A great deal of information is presented on [|Ibo] culture and custom. While the information is dense and much of the information will be new to high school and college age readers, [|Emecheta] manages to make her material absorbing enough that if given enough time over the course of a semester students should be able to make a detailed study of this book. [|Emecheta’s] ideas regarding [|Igbo] societal norms is apparent in her treatment of her books: indeed, //[|The Joys of Motherhood]// in particular is set up in a very definitive manner not only with the title but also with the naming of the chapters. For instance, there is a chapter in the book entitled "A Man is Never Ugly". This is enlightening with regard to the attitude displayed toward women, and therefore the protagonist of the book. As a partial result of this attitude, a woman's importance and relevance in society are demonstrated solely through their motherhood and consequent conformity. //[|The Joys of Motherhood]// has some frankly sexual passages which may exclude their use in the high school classroom; however, [|Emecheta] has highly insightful, intelligently written work that can be of great benefit in and out of the classroom, and is well worth the time spent studying.

Challenge One:
The most pressing challenge in the instruction of [|Emecheta’s] work does not encompass readability or necessarily even length, but the incredible lack of knowledge most students are faced with in regard to feminist and post-colonial studies. Understanding Igbo society is also a necessary component of understanding [|Emecheta’s] work, and without a thorough background in these areas, students will not comprehend the material as completely as they should. Prior to reading [|Emecheta’s] work, students should work on research projects of their own that entail aspects of [|Igbo] society (in particular perceptions of women and women’s roles), and post-colonialism. Students will come to a greater understanding of [|Emecheta’s] work through putting it in context. Information students may need to know in order to understand the effects British Colonialism had on [|Igbo] culture includes how violence and tyranny affected not only tribal leaders but civilians and families; in addition, the denigrating effect materialism and violence had on Igbo tradition. Also, students should look closely at the traditional roles of women in [|Igbo] culture. Please see the bottom of the page for a brief list of resources. > //"Some of those books are written as if I want the reader to think I'm there in the room with them and the idea is to make the reader feel I am the big mother telling the story so you don't have time to go around describing the world, I put all those things a bit but I try to limit them, just concentrate on the story. You can evoke such emotions especially when feel deeply about what you are talking about even if you use ordinary language. I think that is my style "// //--// [|Buchi Emecheta] How has oral storytelling influenced the writing of [|Buchi Emecheta] and that of other African writers? Students should come to understand the importance of oral storytelling in [|Igbo] culture, and that of many cultures around the world. They need to examine possible stylistic differences between the writing of authors who have been influenced in this manner and that of many Western authors who lack that influence. //Excerpt from [|http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/arts/features/womenwriters/emechetta_style.shtml]//
 * Suggestions:**
 * Journals on what they know and how what they know changes as they learn.
 * Seeking out blogs and web sites devoted to [|Igbo] society. Another aspect of this may entail doing research on music and food within the culture. While this may not directly relate to [|Emecheta’s] work, people have a tendency to connect more viscerally when they can literally experience an aspect of another culture.
 * In //[|The Joys of Motherhood,]// there is a passage that reads,
 * She was frightened as well but her culture did not permit her to give in to fears. She was supposed to be strong, being the senior wife, to behave more like a man than a woman. As men were not permitted open grief, she had to learn to hide hers as well. She heard Adaku crying, and she envied her her freedom.
 * Ask students to put this passage within context in their own culture: this may be a way in which men in particular may be able to connect, as men are traditionally less able than women to publicly grieve and give way to their feelings.
 * Another method for exploring [|Buchi Emecheta’s] work entails examining her attitudes toward women and sexuality, and the traditional [|Igbo] attitudes toward women and sexuality. How do their attitudes differ? Why may they be perceived in this way?
 * According to the BBC, [| Emecheta's] style is rooted in her culture - she describes herself as a storyteller. In the [|Ibo] community, as in other African cultures, there is an oral tradition - where stories are passed on by telling them aloud to a group of people. One technique they used was call and response, where the storyteller begins by having a dialogue with the listeners. [|Emecheta] believes that the oral tradition has influenced her style:
 * There is an excellent set of discussion questions on [|The Joys of Motherhood] by Vicky Whistler at [|http://www.wmich.edu/dialogues/texts/joysofmotherhood.html] that I highly recommend. These questions would be of great use in the classroom during the study of [|Emecheta's] book.

Resources on British Colonialism in Nigeria:
http://howgenocidesend.ssrc.org/Amadi/ A site discussing the link of colonialism and genocide.

http://www.qub.ac.uk/schools/SchoolofEnglish/imperial/nigeria/corrupt.htm A link that discusses the effect British Colonialism had on tribal structure, in particular, the effects of the institution of Warrant Chiefs within [|Igbo] culture.

http://www.southernct.edu/organizations/hcr/2002/nonfiction/colonialism.htm A brief article on the effects of colonialism on Nigeria, and particularly on the [|Igbo].

Resources on the Traditional Roles of Women in Igbo Culture
http://www.africaresource.com/war/vol2.1/oriji.html A great resource on the roles of women in [|Igbo] culture, and a discussion of the Aba Women's Revolt and its effect on Igbo culture.

http://www.kwenu.com/igbo/igbowebpages/Igbo.dir/Culture/culture_and_socialization.html A link that gives information on [|Igbo] culture and social roles.

http://www.usafricaonline.com/obinwaka.igbo.html An inside perspective on women's roles in [|Igbo] culture.

Further Resources on Buchi Emecheta and [|The Joys of Motherhood]
http://www.fb10.uni-bremen.de/anglistik/kerkhoff/africanlit/Emecheta/EmechetaAlgarin.htm An essay on //[|The Joys of Motherhood]// pertaining to gender ethics, familial roles, and debating on the “enslavement” of Nnu Ego.

[|http://www.tcnj.edu/~dunn6/] A comprehensive study site on //[|The Joys of Motherhood.]// Includes a chapter by chapter summary, information on Nigeria and its history, and study questions.

http://www.wmich.edu/dialogues/texts/joysofmotherhood.html This is an amazingly helpful web site, replete with links, discussion ideas, and information on both [|Buchi Emecheta] and [|Igbo] culture. I strongly recommend this site to anyone seeking to teach //[|The Joys of Motherhood.]//

http://www.wsu.edu:8080/%7Ebrians/anglophone/emecheta.html A chapter-by-chapter study guide on //[|The Joys of Motherhood.]//