Table of Contents
Summary
In this story the victims Isidore Okpewho tells us the unhappy marriage between Obanua Ozoma a driver by trade, that later become a night watchman in a catholic church. The novel started at night while Nwabunor and her husband Obanua Ozoma is fighting, Obanua who is not contributing to his family refused to pay the school fees of his son Ubaka .
In the story Obanua Ozoma who married two wife Nwabounor the first wife and Ogugua the second wife Nwabounor gave birth to only a son in the story while Ogugua the second wife gave birth to twin girls before marring Obanua ,she late give birth to Bomboy. Obanua who is a drunkard don’t like coming home he prefer staying outside his house drink and merry with other people, after which he will come back very late at night when his children and wives had gone to bed, he is running away from his wives nagging of his two wives who always ask him for money. He prefer staying outside the house drinking with all the money he had than to west it on his wives he is a driver and because of his constant drinking an damaging of peoples goods he was sake from his driving job and he was lucky to find another work as a night watchman in a catholic church in his village where the roman catholic church are building their church he is meant watch over the stones used in the building of the church but after drinking for the day before going to work after the night work the thief will still come and carry the stone out that was why he was sake in that same job.
At home his two wives always fight and quarrel because of Oguga’s twin who always stole Nwabunors sales and money to go to school Nwbunor asked the twin and Ogugua but all of the denied it ,this continued until the day the twin fight because of ovaltine biscuit this was how Nwabunor get to know about what the twin are doing which made her to fight with Ogugua after the fight with Oguga she become unconscious which made Ma Neojide to ask her to go to her people until when she gets better, Nwabunor determined never to pushed out of her rightful place that made her to go to a native doctor to collect some poison that she used and kill Ogugua and her children her own son who eat Ogugua’s food . Finally in the story the man that gives her the poison was varnished from the house.
Plot
The story started with Obanua Ozoma and his wife Nwabunor who were fighting and disturbing their neighbours they were fighting because of their sons school fee Obanua refused to give his money to any member of his family he prefer using it to drink and not to give it to any member of his family He will stay outside till midnight to make sure that they have slept off.
His habit of drinking made him to lose two of his jobs the driving job and the night watch, he lost his driving job because if he is ask to go to work he will use that time to go and drink after being drunk he will damage all the good given to him including the car this continued until his boss could no longer stand it and ask him out of the house that was why he went in search of another job and he got a work as a night watchman who watch over stones that the thief use to carry at night he started workin no improvement because of his drinking habit that was why he was sake.
At home his two wife use to quarrel always because of Oguguas twin who always steal from Nwabunors she never belived that her two twin can steal anything but one day they were caught fighting over ovaltine biscuit that that stole from Nwabounor they confessed which made the two wives to start fighting and Nnwabunor became unconscious and was ask by her mother in law Ma Najide she determined not to be dragged out of her home which made her to go to Akpuka the medicine man who gave her poison that she put in Ogugua’s food which killed her and her children including Ubaka the only hope of Nwabunor who eat the food from Bomboy
Finally the medicine man who give her the poison that she use to kill Ogugu and her family was vanished from the villag
Setting
The novel was set in Ozala, and some events took place in other area like Aje Benin and Warri, Agwu and Okigwe it was set after the colonialism
Point of view
The narrator used third person limited point of view in telling us about Obanua and his family
Form
The novel is divided into nineteen chapters which made it easy and simple to understand by the reader
Language
The language used in telling the story is simple and direct for an average reader to understand but in the story language is limited the labourers in the story speaks pidgin while Gwam the man they are working for speaks correct English.
Themes
- Theme of determination
- Theme of death
- Theme of honest
Theme of Determination
Nwabunour determined not to allow herself to be paused out of her rightful position in her she determined not to leave her husband’s house no matter what that happened to her that made her to kill her husband second wife Ogugua who she believed that is the course of her problem and also her three children Ndidi and Ogo the twin girls and Bomboy his only son of Ogugua .And also their husband Obanua who determined not to spend her money or give her money to any of her wifes and children that made him to be drinking always.
Theme of Death
Nwabunor in the story was able to kill Ogugu and her three children, she poisoned them with the substance she put inside their food and also her son Ubaka who also eat the food died at the end of it.
Theme of Honest
Ubaka the son of Nwabunor in the story is honest he determined to take care of his brother Bomboy despite all that her mother is telling him he treat the boy as if he is his biological brother from the same mother and Bomboy also on the other hand loves him and love to share all he had with his sweet and lovely brother Ubaka who is always taking good care of him at all cost.
Characters and Characterisation
Obanua Ozoma
He is the main character in the story. He is a driver by tried who married two wives and have only two from the two wives Nwabunor the first wife and Ogugua the second wife, his first son from the first wife is Ubaka while the second wife’s son is Bomboy. He is a man of determination who never to give any of his money to any of his wives no matter what that happened, he prefer staying in a bar than to come to his house and nag with his wife he always come home when everybody in his house have gone to bed at night. He was a driver but was later sacked because of his drinking habit he always drink every day after which he will damage the trunk of the goods giving to him to supply he will damage it ,he later got another job as a night watch man but the same thing happened to him he was sake because of his drinking habit the stones which is kept in his care to guild because of the thief that use to carry it is been stolen that was why the rev father of the church sake him from work, he was left with nothing not even a child or wife because of his first wife that poisoned the whole family and she later became mad at the end of the story.
Nwabunor
She is the first wife of Obanua Ozoma who succeeded in given birth to a child Ubaka who she later killed at the end of the story because of his bad act , she believed that her childlessness and her ill health was caused by hr second wife Ogugua that made her to poison her and her children to death. She determined that nobody will push her out of her husband’s house and she determined that she will deal with anyone who tried to stop her or send her out of her husband’s house that made her to go to the native doctor house for a poison to poison her husband’s second wife. He always fought with her husband and quarrel with her husband’s second wife Ogugua , at the end of the story she became mad.
Odafe Gwam
In Ozala he is a great man rich that everybody respects him he grew up in Lagos where he was learning business he is a politician he come back to Ozala his village with a lot of money that made him to start building a house for his self he called workers and school children who fetch sand for him and promise to pay him after working for him but he later didn’t pay them including the labourers who worked for him. He told them to come and collect money on Sunday but he left Ozala before that Sunday he didn’t pay them any more till the end of the story. He is Ogugua’s lover, he is planning to marry Ogugua before he run away from Ozala because of lack of money.
Ma Nwojide
She is the mother of Obanua Ozoma who always come to his sons house any time they are having problem with each other. She is a good woman who want peace to reign in his sons house which made her to tell Nwabunor to go and stay with her parents to know if she will get better and come back home since his son Obanua is not taking good care of them .In the story she is the one that saw the two twine fighting over the ovaltine they stole from Nwabunor the first wife of her son.
Ubaka
He in the story is the only surviving son of Nwabunor he is a good, honest, and a kind boy who love his brother Bomboy and take good care of him always. He is among the boys that fetch sand for Gwam’s to enable him to pay his school fees which his father refused to giver his mother Nwabunor , at the end of the work during the holiday Gwam didn’t pay them he left with anger and later in school the headmaster ask him out of the school and told him never to see him around the school unless he is with his money, helater died in the story after eating the food that was poisoned by her mother Nwabunor the food that was meant to kill Ogugua and her children but he eat from Bomboy his good and lovely brother he can’t say no to him because he is about to live the village with her mother.