Second+Class+Citizen

==//[|Second Class Citizen]// by [|Buchi Emecheta]== "The experience that had an impact on my writing as a woman is coming to Britain - the shock was tremendous. I was raised in a sort of missionary home where we had ideal young graduate English mistresses who came all the way from England to teach us - so the idea they gave us about England was quite different. So when I came through Liverpool, we came on a boat and it was a day like this, it was wet, but there was snow, it was in March, and I was so disappointed right from the word go. I can't put it into words what I was actually expecting but it wasn't what I got. And I'm still recovering almost 40 years on " //--// [|Buchi Emecheta]

Synopsis
This book follows the protagonist, Adah, through her life beginning as a young girl desperate for an education. Adah had a deep desire for something different than what [|Igbo] society allowed to women: rather than wifehood to an “old baldie” and honored motherhood as the mother of many sons, Adah aspires to get an education and go to Great Britain. Her life is spent in an attempt to manipulate her surroundings and the people around her to achieve her goal, and //[|Second Class Citizen]// follows her progress as she deals with racism and misogyny throughout her journey.

**Editorial Reviews**
An autobiographical novel, //[|Second Class Citizen]// follows its main character, Adah, through her years in Nigeria and England. As a young girl, Adah dreams of going to school and then to the United Kingdom which, "when pronounced by Adah's father sounded so heavy, like the type of noise one associated with bombs." Unfortunately, Adah's father dies, and she is sent to be a servant among relatives. Despite all obstacles she manages to make her way through school, but when she graduates, she is faced with a problem: society says she must marry to have a home. The man she chooses turns out to be self-centered, lazy, and chauvinistic, proud of his educated wife who can stay in Nigeria and financially support his own academic program in England. Adah follows him to England with their two children, only to discover that England presents both old and new trials. This is a book of intense anger and tremendous strength. Adah is inspiring, not only in her unwavering desire for education and love for her children, but in her growing determination to change her life. //-- For great reviews of books for girls, check out [|Let's Hear It for the Girls: 375 Great Books for Readers 2-14]//. //--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.//
 * From [|500 Great Books by Women]; review by Erica Bauermeister**

Response
//[|Second Class Citizen]// follows the protagonist, Adah, as she attempts to grow through the regulations dictating her actions within [|Igbo] society, including traditional ideas regarding wife and motherhood. This book is complex and many layered, although quite readable and of a length amenable to classroom study during the course of a semester. //[|Second Class Citizen]// is probably best suited for study at the college level.

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). Students will come to a greater understanding of [|Emecheta’s] work through putting it in context. A way to do this might entail:
 * 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 //[|Second Class Citizen]//, Adah skillfully manipulates her mother-in-law in order to get permission to join her husband in Great Britain. Ask students to write about ways in which they have attempted to manipulate a situation to go their own way, and compare and contrast their own treatment of their situation with that of Adah.

===Suggestion for a Classroom Focus in the Study of //[|Second Class Citizen]//:=== //[|Second Class Citizen]// is a semi-autobiographical novel written by [|Emecheta] reflecting her experiences as she came to Great Britain from Nigeria as a young woman. Given the novel's focus on [|Emecheta’s] experiences with racism and the struggle to reconcile her family life with her ambitions, it would be advisable to consider this aspect as a focus for classroom study. In order to do this, it is necessary to examine several points that make up the major components of this story: racism, women's roles in [|Igbo] culture, and [|Emecheta’s] experiences. A possible discussion topic could entail students relating their own experiences and that of people they know into the classroom discussion: racism and the attempt to reconcile family life with the rigors of getting an education are common obstacles for many students. Relating to [|Emecheta’s] experiences may allow them to more fully understand the text.

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, African Women Writers, and //[|Second Class Citizen]//=== http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0HST/is_2_3/ai_72275237/print An article on the lack of acclaim experienced by African-born women writers.

http://www.english.emory.edu/Bahri/Emech.html A biography of [|Buchi Emecheta].

http://www.wmich.edu/dialogues/texts/secondclasscitizen.html Another wonderful web site formed by Lynnea Page, it gives a variety of information and lists many resources pertaining to [|Buchi Emecheta] and //[|Second Class Citizen.]//

http://www.wmich.edu/dialogues/themes/africanwomen.html A web site on literature by African women. Comprehensive and detailed.