The Bride Price

Paper Summary:

In this article the writer notes that there are several dramatic themes in Buchi Emecheta's novel 'The Bride Price'. The writer points out that while each of them carries important messages to the reader, taken together they create a wonderfully rich human story. Also, the writer discusses that while the setting for this book is in Nigeria, Western Africa, because of the quality of the writing and the presentation of the characters, one could safely say the messages and themes are universal. The writer maintains that this universal literary dynamic is almost always true of well-written stories, and the study of literature reveals that important novelists fully expect readers to gain universal truths and confront universal human issues through the story being told.

Outline:
Themes and Issues
Important characters, messages, symbolism and irony in the plot
Climactic Ending
Comparing The Bride Price with The Lion and the Jewel

From the Paper:

"But Aku-nna will do something about it, and indeed, she is not along; Chike is also eventually a willing participant in the rebellion against Nigerian customs. He is very gentle and helpful with his sweetheart, even transcending custom by bringing Aku-nna a supply of sanitary napkins (and a booklet that tells how to use them) when she starts her first period; after all, he was raised to believe that while menstruating, a woman is unclean. And in fact because Aku-nna does not want to be married off, she keeps her menstruation a secret."
"But, and this is important to the novel, Aku-nna does not rebel against all customs in her community; when she begins her menarche she in fact still holds on to the fear that crossing a stream with her period runs the risk of being treated as an outcast leper. In this sense Aku-nna is a traditional African woman."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Emecheta, Buchi. (1976). The Bride Price. New York: George Braziller.
• Soyinka, Wole. (1964). Five Plays. London: Oxford University Press.

More papers on The Bride Price:

• Analytical Essay # 16446 : "Buchi Emecheta's "The Bride Price"
• Analytical Essay # 39508 : "Motherhood in Literature"
• Argumentative Essay # 121855 : "Ethical Treatment of Other Cultures"

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