Table of Contents
Brief Summary of the Novel
Tamara is a story written to show how a young girl’s life name Tamara was shade into pieces by the protection and hard hardened treatment of the father.
Tamara’s father was such a mean and disciplined man that he gave rules over everything that his family does in that house. Tamara and his brother Kizito had their separate timetables which governs everything they do. Most times when their mother tries to interfere the mother shuns her and told her. He knows how to train his children.
As all this continued, the children had no choice but to live with it, later their mother died and Kizito would not stand the taste of time so he disappeared into the thin air. Their father still did not change; later, Tamara fell in love with his drive Dunga and they started having an affair. When the father cut them, he sent Dunga out. Tamara also engaged herself in another actuation with her school mate by name Obed whom she got pregnant for. Following a friend advise, she aborted the baby and then flow with her to Italy. There, she became a professional prostitute.
She later ended up with Carlos who got married to her. Her sick bed when she was suffering from cancer and would died soon. This was all she wrote to her dad in a letter.
Plot
The chronological arrangement of this novel, started from when Tamara began her writing. The novel being an epistolary novel. Traced back what Tamara and her brother with her mother passed through in the hands of her father. How she summoned courage flew to Italy with her friend senorita Tamara later became a professional prostitute an steps with different men. She developed a sickness can of the kidney which was afterwards transferred to the lungs because of excessive drinking and smoking of cocaine
At the end of the letter, she narrated her ordeal with Carlos whom she late got married and her new baby.
Setting
The oval Tamara was set in the urban area in Onitsha to be praise because of the name “Toronto Hosp[ital where Tamara said she was born and also was set in Italy when she began her prostitution work.
The background of the novel was urban setting at that was during this modern period which is post colonial era. It world say to have a social background.
Diction Language
The language used in the novel is very simple and easy to understand.
Point Of View
The point of view of the novel is first person point of view and the novel was an epistolary novel (Written like a letter).
Mood/Tone/Atmosphere
The mood of the writer was a sad mood and her tone pathetic. The atmosphere was so sympathetic
Irony
The irony of the work is seen in the life of the father who tried to save his children or protect his children from bad but ended up destroying them.
Themes
- Theme of love
- Theme of love theme of strictness and over protection
Characters and Characterization
- Tamara – major
- Tamara’s father – major
- Kizito – major
- Dunga – minor
- Obed – minor
Tamara: she is the protagonist of the novel and she told story of her life that she was mislead and how and how the father contributed to it all. Tamara hand a brother Kizito and a loving mother and father. The father was a strict man. Tamara later went to Italy and was led into prostitution. She was a high prostitute and it was said that she could carry up to 80 men daily. She later developed cancer and was warned to stop drinking as she may have it, a man by name Carles came to love her and later married her. She born him a baby girl and was still in her sick bed. She wrote to his father to tell him about her life.
Tamara’s father: was a well disciplined man but his own discipline was far beyond what one can take. He had no time for his family and because of that, they kept on misbehaving and falling into the wrong hands.
Kizito: Kizito is Tamara’s sister and he lived in isolation. He hated his father for his attitude and later beg the house after the death of his mother.
Dunga: Dunga is the first love of Tamara and her driver. He did everything possible to make her happy, though he had his first love that he loved so much and still had in mind of going back to her someday
Obed: he is the one who got Tamara pregnant, he was a liar and was very deceitful. He deceived Tamara and got her pregnant. He fled out of sight and left Tamara to suffer.
Characterization
All the characters in the novel were made know to us through the “telling method”. Tamara told us all about the characters.
Style: the style used by the author was a very captivating one and the author never minced words. He was open to everything and made the readers understand what he meant. He was not an any way observe.