Post #12: My Thoughts on Other Characters

In my last post, I chose to describe Jaja, because he was my favorite character.  I loved his love towards Kambili and his mother, his acceptance into his extended family's new way of life, and his defiance toward his father, but after reading this last passage, Aunty Ifeoma has almost pushed him out of the way for the title role of Number One.

Aunty Ifeoma

Before Jaja (and not counting the brief refusal to go to Mass in the beginning), Aunty Ifeoma was the only one who stood up to Eugene, and therefore, was the only one who ever got him to back down.  That is something that I am really proud of in her, that she is unafraid of the man who everyone fears, and by showing her outright defiance, she can get what she wants.  I really dislike Eugene; how he treats his kids, how he treats his wife, and how he treats his father, who gave him life and yet doesn't deserve to live because he is not a Catholic.  Aunty Ifeoma knows how horrible Eugene is but also knows that she isn't able to do anything to stop his behavior, so she does the only thing she can do: take Jaja and Kambili away for a week and treat them how she treats her own family.

Kambili

I feel sad that it has taken them up until now to witness it, but I love the respect and freedom that Aunty Ifeoma gives her children, and now her niece and nephew.  It lets them see a world outside their own, that you don't have to stay strictly on schedule and in a certain belief to have a good and successful life.  Jaja understood that early on, but it took Kambili a while to reach that mindset; parts of me were annoyed with her for disliking anything new and against her father's ways, because not only is life better when you are open-minded, but Papa is the person who Kambili should not be so keen to please and to strictly follow.  He is horrible to her, and instead of directly showing that, Aunty Ifeoma shows Kambili a life where she can stand up for herself and her freedoms without punishment.  One of my favorite parts of the novel is when Amaka makes fun of Kambili for not knowing how to prepare orah leaves, and instead of yelling at Amaka to be nice, like she usually does, Aunty Ifeoma yells at Kambili to stick up for herself.  It is this, more than anything else, that gives Kambili more confidence in the face of her family and friends.