Aunty Ifeoma

While reading this novel so far, Aunty Ifeoma has stood out to me as one of the more powerful, open-minded women in the story up to this point. Despite her grand, almost imposing stature, her willingness to speak her mind always impresses me. She works as a teacher at a nearby University, which reinforces the fact that she is not like most other women in the story. I believe that her job also gives her a more liberal view on life, and parenting in particular.

I fully respect the way Aunty Ifeoma acts in relation to her family.

She is one of the few good parents in the story, in my opinion. Despite being widowed and having to care for her three young children, Aunty Ifeoma does not resort to stern parenting, like her brother, Eugene. Rather, she feels as though there are other ways to raise a child. Although she is a devout Catholic, Aunty Ifeoma also recognizes the importance of keeping to her traditional Nigerian roots, just as her father, Papa-Nnukwu, does.

The way Aunty Ifeoma brings up her children, Chima, Amaka and Obiora, shines through in the ways they act differently from their cousins, Jambili and Jaja. Chima, Amaka, and Obiora are very willing to speak their minds, as their mother did while raising them in a loving environment, while Jambili and Jaja are too scared to do so, as they have been raised in a more strict, punishable environment. I believe, however, that soon enough, Aunty Ifeoma will begin to change this, and Jambili and Jaja will become more and more swayed by her way of parenting. Auny Ifeoma even hints at doing just this on page 119 when she says, "'Today we'll treat Kambili and Jaja as guests, but from tomorrow they will be family..."

Aunty Ifeoma reminded me slightly of the Grandmother in A Good Man Is Hard To Find, because of her attempts to try and mold the minds/manners/views on life of the children around her. However, Aunty Ifeoma is much more successful at this than the Grandmother is.