In  what  ways  is  the  reader  seduced  or  comforted  by  the  ideas  in  the  works  
studied  and  in  what  ways  challenged  or  alienated?  Refer  to  the  two  literary  works  
you  have  studied.  
 
Often,  when  we  come  across  ideas  in  literary  words,  we  see  their  applicability  in  the  
world  around  us.    That  is  what  makes  literature  universal  in  its  entirety:  we  read  not  
only  to  lose  ourselves,  but  also  to  find  answers  to  the  questions  we  harbor  inside  of  us.    
Some  ideas  comfort  us,  beckon  us  to  come  hither,  whilst  others  push  us  away  and  
challenge  us  to  think  beyond  the  norms  of  our  society.    In  both  Part  3  works  studied,  
The  Bride  Price  and  One  Day  in  the  Life  of  Ivan  Denisovich  by  Buchi  Emecheta  and  
Alexandr  Solzhenitsyn,  respectively,  the  reader  is  able  to  identify  both  groups  of  ideas  
relayed  through  various  literary  elements.    Both  novels  bring  to  light  conflicts  between  
the  protagonist  and  aspects  of  their  society,  as  well  as  with  themselves  and  their  inner  
peace,  dealing  also  with  rigid  social  structures  and  the  juxtapositions  of  free  will  versus  
fate.    As  such,  through  the  authors’  use  of  symbolism,  setting,  and  characterization,  
amongst  other  literary  devices,  we  as  readers  are  confronted  by  the  notion  that  we  can  
control  our  destinies  to  a  certain  extent  while  being  challenged  to  empathize  with  the  
characters  and  to  imagine  ourselves  in  the  worlds  they  have  created,  which  are  again,  
worlds  apart  from  our  own.    The  universality  of  these  ideas  comes  from  the  fact  that  
despite  the  peculiar  idiosyncrasies  of  each  sub-­‐culture,  very  similar  themes  can  be  
identified  in  vastly  different  physical  settings.  
 
The  Bride  Price  by  Nigerian  author  Buchi  Emecheta  is  a  story  of  a  young  girl,  Aku-­‐nna,  
whose  life  changes  after  her  father  dies,  as  she  has  to  move  back  from  Lagos  to  Ibuza,  
which  are  cultural  opposites  of  one  another.    From  the  beginning  of  her  time  in  Ibuza,  a  
much  more  traditional  town  than  Lagos,  the  culture  “was  such  an  unfortunate  
conglomeration  of  Nigerian  and  European  customs  that  you  ended  up  not  knowing  to  
which  you  belonged”  (Emecheta  29).    The  author’s  use  of  characterization  through  
actions  and  a  lack  of  speech  reveals  the  role  of  women  in  society:  “She  shed  silent  tears  
at  the  uncertainty  of  it  all”  (47).    This  creates  a  sense  of  claustrophobia  for  the  reader  
through  the  character’s  inability  to  express  her  feelings  and  acts  as  a  foreshadow  of  
what  is  to  come  in  the  rest  of  the  novel.    The  theme  of  repression  and  how  strict  societal  
hierarchies  can  be  detrimental  to  individual  members  within  society  is  prominently  
displayed,  and  is  an  idea  with  which  many  readers  may  no  have  experience  with  
firsthand.    This  sets  up  the  tone  for  Emecheta’s  continued  exposure  of  radical  ideas  in  
the  perspective  of  the  society  and  traditions  in  The  Bride  Price.  
 
In  addition,  The  Bride  Price  contains  irony  that  parallels  the  ethos  of  those  in  Nigerian  
subcultures,  as  well  as  the  shift  in  the  readers’  disposition.    It  is  claimed  at  the  beginning  
of  a  chapter  that  “we  are  all  equal  in  the  sight  of  the  Lord,”  yet  it  is  later  shown  that  for  
the  daughter  of  a  free  man  to  marry  the  son  of  a  slave  is  considered  an  abomination  
(45).    The  parallel  comes  in  the  fact  that  the  readers  is  at  first  comforted  by  the  allusion  
to  religion  and  a  religious  figure  with  whom  they  may  be  familiar,  yet  they  are  
simultaneously  baffled  by  the  forbidden  nature  of  Aku-­‐nna  and  Chike’s  relationship.    To  
put  the  reader  in  such  a  precarious  position  would  mean  that  they  can  easily  be  
challenged,  and  are  done  to  such  in  both  literary  works  studied.  
 
 
 
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Although  the  unfamiliar  setting  in  1950’s  Nigeria  in  both  Lagos  and  Ibuza  may  contain  
inherent  discomfort  for  the  readers,  they  are  able  to  find  solace  in  the  fact  that  an  
eminent  display  of  inner  peace  and  free  will  are  displayed.    This  brings  to  light  the  
universality  of  the  human  condition’s  incredible  ability  to  make  do  with  the  most  
repressive  conditions  if  they  can  learn  to  be  satisfied  with  what  they  have.    Aku-­‐nna’s  
daughter,  Joy,  is  a  symbol  of  hope  and  inner  peace,  and  that  message  is  not  lost  amongst  
readers  in  the  frenzy  at  the  end  of  the  novel.    Aku-­‐nna’s  death  in  childbirth  is  in  part  due  
to  love  and  in  part  die  to  her  unsuccessful  acquiring  of  a  rightful  bride  price.    The  baby  
shows  that  happiness  and  contentment  can  live  on  long  after  the  individual  has  passed  
away.    In  addition,  Aku-­‐nna’s  optimistic  and  grateful  speech  on  her  deathbed  reveal  how  
she  has  chosen  and  been  able  to  have  a  fulfilling,  albeit  short  life,  regardless  of  external  
circumstances.    “You  have  made  me  so  happy”  Aku-­‐nna  says  to  Chike.    Her  fearless  and  
grateful  tone  serve  to  show  the  readers  that  one  can  be  content  if  only  one  has  the  will  
to  be,  and  urges  the  readers  to  find  their  own  happiness.  
 
This  idea  is  reflected  in  One  Day  in  the  Life  of  Ivan  Denisovich,  where  religion  also  plays  
a  significant  role.    Alyoshka,  a  devout  Baptist  and  supporting  character,  urges  Ivan  
Denisovich  Shukov,  the  protagonist,  to  “pray  properly.”    He  finds  comfort  in  having  
religion  as  a  refuse  from  the  harsh  conditions  of  the  hard  labor  camp  (Gulag),  with  his  
bible  being  a  symbol  of  that  refuge.    On  the  other  hand,  the  setting  actively  works  to  
alienate  both  the  characters  in  the  novel  and  the  readers  through  “the  hole”  and  through  
the  cold  as  a  physical  manifestation  of  the  manner  with  which  the  prisoners  are  treated.    
The  “hole”  is  a  solitary  confinement  prison  cell  where  the  prisoners  are  thrown  if  they  
have  been  found  guilty  of  the  infraction  of  any  rules.    The  vivid  imagery  created  by  the  
author’s  use  of  figurative  language  and  the  sense  of  fear  created  by  Shukov’s  actions  
once  he  is  threatened  with  time  in  there  perpetuates  the  idea  that  physical  isolation  
only  strengthens  one’s  sense  of  emotional  and  spiritual  detachment.    As  a  result,  he  has  
stopped  writing  letters  to  his  family  and  even  denies  Tzesar’s  (a  fellow  prisoner)  
packages:  “people  imagine  that  the  package  a  man  gets  is  a  sort  of  nice,  tight  sack  that  
he  has  only  to  open  and  be  happy.    But  if  you  work  it  out,  it’s  a  matter  of  easy  come,  easy  
go.”    The  repetitive  use  of  the  term  “easy”  mirrors  the  circular  structure  of  Shukov’s  
“three  thousand,  six  hundred,  and  fifty  three  days  (with  the  three  extra  days  being  for  
leap  years”  in  prison.    The  effect  on  the  reader  is  to  create  a  sense  of  the  inability  to  
escape  this  microcosm  of  communism  in  Soviet  Russia  and  to  encourage  them  to  
question  the  purpose  of  their  own  actions  and  routines.  
 
On  the  other  hand,  the  fact  that  friendships  are  formed  in  the  most  physically  strenuous  
conditions  of  a  hard  labor  camp  in  Siberia  only  emphasizes  the  notion  that  we  are  
indeed  in  control  of  our  free  will.    This  is  again  supported  by  both  Alyoshka  and  
Shukov’s  satisfaction  with  less  worldly  pleasures  than  those  outside  of  the  prison.    In  
addition,  Fetuykov,  an  incorrigible  beggar,  acts  as  Shukov’s  foil  in  order  to  show  their  
many  different  paths  that  can  be  taken  even  when  we  all  start  at  the  same  beginning.    
Despite  this,  the  reader  is  further  alienated  by  a  loss  of  identity  and  individuality,  which  
itself  is  mirrored  by  the  structure  of  the  novel  and  its  organization.  
 
In  One  Day,  Solzhenitsyn  purposely  does  no  divide  his  novel  into  chapters.    This  beings  
a  sense  of  discomfort  to  the  readers  as  it  only  emphasizes  the  unending  nature  of  one  
 
 
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day  in  the  labor  camp  and  his  stylistic  choice  of  focusing  solely  and  in  detail  on  one  
character  demonstrates  his  attempt  to  place  us  in  Shukov’s  shoes.    Furthermore,  this  
loss  of  identity  is  perpetuated  through  the  use  of  a  numbering  system  for  prisoners.    For  
a  group  of  people  to  be  called  Gang  104  and  for  them  to  wear  numbers  is  to  dehumanize  
them  completely.    As  such,  we  are  further  detached  from  the  characters  and  thus  cling  
dearly  to  those  whose  feelings  and  emotions  we  are  able  to  experience.    We  find  comfort  
in  this  because  we  aim  to  empathize  with  those  whose  experiences  we  have  never  
actually  shared.  
 
Both  The  Bride  Price  and  One  Day  contain  ideas  concerning  the  inability  to  free  oneself  
from  social  norms  and  traditions.    Whilst  both  deal  with  these  harrowing  and  
challenging  ideas,  each  deals  with  them  in  greatly  varying  ways:  The  Bride  Price  with  
gender  roles  and  One  Day  with  the  roles  of  prisoners  in  society.    In  The  Bride  Price,  a  
woman  is  so  clearly  shown  as  inferior  that  “her  mother  was  only  a  woman  and  women  
were  supposed  to  be  boneless.”    As  such,  the  transpiring  of  an  even  so  unfathomably  
unacceptable  in  our  society  is  considered  acceptable  in  their,  bringing  to  mind  moral  
and  ethical  questions.    Solzhenitsyn’s  use  of  a  Russian  peasant  as  a  wrongfully  convicted  
prisoner  defies  social  norms  of  his  time  and  serves  as  a  call  to  actions  against  these  
archaic  traditions  and  structures.      
               
As  both  novels  contain  both  outright  and  underlying  political  messages,  with  Buchi  
Emecheta  writing  of  a  subject  personal  to  her  culture  whilst  also  being  seen  in  other  
cultures  and  Solzhenitsyn  first  publishing  his  novel  in  a  literary  magazine  right  after  the  
end  of  Stalin’s  regime,  it  is  without  a  doubt  that  there  will  be  ideas  that  damn  and  
provoke  us  to  reconsider  our  own  discourse.    However,  the  satisfaction  each  
protagonist  has  with  his  our  her  situation,  with  Shukov  proclaiming  “a  say  without  a  
cloud.  Almost  a  good  a  day”  reflect  the  same  sentiments  of  Aku-­‐nna  right  before  her  
death  and  allows  us,  too,  to  feel  happiness  and  joy.    We  are  comforted  by  the  idea  that  
even  when  we  are  unhappy,  there  are  still  other  scenarios  that  could  be  even  worse.    In  
One  Day,  the  lack  of  bread  as  a  symbol  of  nourishment  also  conveys  the  importance  of  
learning  to  be  happy  with  what  we  have,  and  this  had  been  shown  in  The  Bride  Price  as  
well.  
 
Through  the  author’s  use  of  characterization,  setting,  figurative  language,  irony,  and  
other  literary  features,  they  have  been  able  to  rely  message  that  at  once  frighten  us  and  
give  us  comfort  in  the  fact  that  something  can  be  done  through  free  will  to  stop  these  
discriminating  and  punishing  actions.    The  irony  lies  in  the  idea  that  those  aspects  of  the  
novel  that  may  comfort  us  may  be  what  terrify  the  characters  themselves.    For  example,  
we  may  want  to  truly  understand  and  know  Shukov,  but  to  him,  it  may  mean  
punishment  and  deliberate  alienation  by  the  guards.    This  only  serves  to  show  how  
important  perspective  is  in  determining  the  ways  in  which  the  reader  is  either  
comforted  or  challenged  by  the  ideas  in  the  literary  works  of  Buchi  Emecheta  and  
Alexandr  Solzhenitsyn.      
 
Literature  is  timeless.    Whether  written  50  years  ago  or  50  days  ago,  certain  ideas  
within  the  work  will  resonate  for  the  reader,  as  even  though  our  world  evolves,  there  
are  detain  values  and  consequences  which  remain  at  its  very  core.    Through  Emecheta’s  
 
 
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and  Solzhenitsyn’s  works,  it  has  been  revealed  that  we  are  impacted  by  the  words  we  
read  on  pages,  and  that  they  can  serve  as  stimulants  for  change,  and  for  a  step  towards  a  
brighter,  more  accepting  future.    Until  then,  as  what  we  read  is  a  reflection  of  our  world  
as  well,  we  will  come  face  to  face  with  ideas  that  challenge  us  and  encourage  us  to  take  
the  action  that  we  must  find  within  ourselves  at  the  urge  of  empathy  for  the  characters  
whose  experiences  we  may  have  never  shared,  but  whose  ethos  and  beliefs  we  have  
certainly  comes  across  in  our  lifetime.      
 

 
 
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