View of brutality and sexual exploitation of women in. This study guide consists of approximately 36 pages of chapter summaries, quotes, character analysis, themes, and more everything you need to sharpen your knowledge of faceless killers. Teenage offspring of the herondales, carstairs, fairchilds, and other angeldescended nephilim continue their families demonfighting ways amid a round of elegant london balls, soirees, salons, picnics, and romantic. The themes in faceless by ama darko are poverty, rehabilitation, streetism, gender relations and some others. She was considered to be a bad omen because she was too fertile. Doc themes in faceless by amma darko james o g b o n n a. Amma darko biography, age, family, career, books, novels. Summary of faceless faceless is the third novel written by amma. However, the measures in the novel go off in all places in africa together with nigeria.
The key themes you should note in amma darkos novel, faceless 1. For darko, the trials of motherhood, as illustrated in faceless, her third novel, comes from within and without. Nonetheless, the social issues addressed in this book made me appreciate the story. Amma darko s novels, focus on the condition of mothers in ghana, among other topics. The market is close to a slum known as sodom and gomorrah. A street childs revolt against her mother and society. Amma darkos faceless is a wellresearched story and a really good read. Street life in the slums of accra is realistically portrayed in this sociallycommited, subtle novel about four educated women who are inspired by the plight of a 14year old girl, fofo. Here is my master list of the major themes in faceless by the ghanaian novelist, amma darko amma darko. As the main characters convert their library center into a practical street initiative, the novel invokes the squalor, health risks, and vicious cycles of poverty and violence that drive children to the. Summary of the story book one attempted rape as the novel opens, fourteen year old fofo is seen sleeping on an old cardboard at agbogbloshie market. Faceless 2003, amma darko s gendered text about the tragic experiences of children on the mean streets of accra, opens with a wrenching rape scene at the agbogbloshie market. Faceless 2003, the housemaid 1999, beyond the horizon 1995 and not without flowers 2007.
Faceless is the third novel written by amma darko, with an introductory essay by prof. A brief summary of the themes and characters in amma darko. The main theme of the text which is streetism is highlighted. Nov 17, 2018 considering i have my own world literature project in addition to participating in literary voyage around the world reading challenge, i ended up reading faceless by amma darko, who happens to come from ghana.
It is something concrete, touchable, physical and material. The author, amma darko, holds nothing back, nothing. She worked with a technology consultancy centre in kumasi. Key issues that come up in chapter four of amma darkos faceless. Faceless subsaharan, 2003, the housemaid heinemann, 1999, beyond the horizon heinemann, 1995 and not without flowers subsaharan, 2007. Gender relations has been a theme in many of the recent african novels ive read. The novel highlights details about poverty, child abuse and neglect, defilement of girls, issues about gender, child prostitution, single parenthood, child labour and child trafficking. He convinces her to sleep with him by using his authority as her uncle fofo was almost abused by poison at the beginning of the book, which. She herself believed this including her husband and motherinlaw.
Theme of fear in faceless by amma darko all characters chapter 1 how much is the. Fofo, a fourteenyear old girl, decides to sleep in an open shade at agbogbloshie. Nov 02, 2015 faceless by amma darko faceless is a strong engaging book of a society of indigenous yet classic women living in ghana. Child abuse this is a crime of harming a child, physically, sexually or emotionally. Faceless by alyssa sheinmel is a book for young adults about grief and survival. Mara, a woman from a small village in ghana, falls into a bad, arranged marriage to akobia man who is at best neglectful and at worse most of the time manipulative, unfaithful, brutish, and violent. Summary of faceless by amma darko unknown online books, schools gist. Darko s emergent voice gives a new feminist perspective on the issues of gender and class in contemporary african writing. Amma darko amma darko is one of the most significant contemporary ghanaian literary writers. A brief summary of the themes and characters in amma darkos. Subject matter the setting of the text themes the authors biography amma darko is a ghanaian. The story has the chain of events between characters such as fofo, kabria, sylv po, etc. A summary and analysis of chapter four of faceless by amma. It tells of the death of baby t, a child prostitute whose naked, beaten and mutilated body is found dumped behind a marketplace in agbogbloshie, a slum area in accra, the capital of ghana.
Search results for faceless by amma darko address by honorable william c. There are many layers to faceless, with selfacceptance being one of the major underlying themes. List and discuss three themes in the novel faceless. Darko lashes out at those mothers who have internalized a socially constructed sense of self that makes them consciously accept subservient. The desire not to become a mere object of facial sellout does not just remain an aesthetic endeavor. Sixteenyearold maisie loves to run track, and she secretly loves her boyfriend, chirag, although she hasnt yet t. Attempted rape as the novel opens, fourteen year old fofo is seen sleeping on an old cardboard at agbogbloshie. She had her education in kumasi where she received her diploma in 1980. Faceless by amma darko chapter by chapter summary read online african prose. Ebook amma darko as pdf download portable document format. A simplified summary of amma darkos novel, faceless. Attempted rape as the novel opens, fourteen year old fofo is seen sleeping on an old cardboard at agbogbloshie market. She was born in koforidua, ghana and grew up in accra, the capital of ghana. Oct 05, 2010 the use of the prostitute motif is also not new in african literature.
Key issues that come up in chapter four of amma darko s faceless. However, it is the subversive, the unsilencing, the harrowing, the shattering of longheld ideas and the uncompromising telling of maras story that makes beyond the horizon a compelling and provocative novel. Amma darko in graphical details presents sociological issues of childneglect, gender, child abuse, defilement of girls, childtrafficking, childlabour, and violence. Amma was born in koforidua, ghana and grew up in accra. Attempted rape the novel opens with fourteen year old fofo sleeping on an old cardboard at the agbogbloshie market. Men are mostly responsible for the plight of the children. Faceless by amma darko chapter by chapter summary utme. It seems to me that one of themes that appears throughout your. Amma darko in very graphic details presents mindboggling sociological issues of childneglect, child abuse, defilement of girls, gender, childtrafficking, childlabour, absent fathers, reproductive health risks, violence and failed governance through the grim experiences of. Home online books schools gist summary of faceless by amma darko. About the author analysis of faceless amma darko was born in koforidua, ghana, and grew up in accra. It is a story of street children in the chaotic slums of accra the capital of ghana and. For the novel faceless, she put on dingy clothes and mingled with the inhabitants of the suburb sodom and gomorrha in accra.
Faceless is a compelling story of children plunged onto the streets by poverty and parental neglect. Return to article details brutality and sexual exploitation of women in amma darkos faceless download download pdf. Her most recent novels, faceless and not without flowers, were published in ghana. This is a good read however i must say that i enjoyed darkos previous book, beyond the horizon, much more than this one. This is an african prose about the issue of abandoned children and how they face the scourge of street life in such tender age. A summary and analysis of chapter four of faceless by amma darko.
As chapter four of faceless opens, the narrator leaves behind maa tsuru, fofo and odarley s troubles in the previous chapter and continues with where she left off with the goings. The housemaid by amma darko displays the survival tactics of women to subvert their humiliation in a post colonial african societies,, how they deviated from their roles in that such they can get power and wealth,, same case as dar es salaam by night by ben mtobwa. Faceless, amma darkos third novel after beyond the horizon and the housemaid, is the tragic story of street children in accra, ghana told through a chaotic urban fabric where pressing social issues like the gap between rich and poor, hivaids, broken families and the role of women in society are allpervasive. Street life in the slums of accra is realistically portrayed in this socia. She has a job at the vegetable market in agbogbloshie where she washes carrots. In this novel, darko defines female sexuality in terms of a complex trope of transformation from voiceless voices to voices and movements beyond faceless to the face or the person. Biography of the author amma darko was born in koforidua, ghana, on june 26, 1956, and she grew up in accra. Founded in 1998 by now author kimberly pauley as a basic stopover for people looking for information on young adult books, yabc has since evolved into one of the largest professional book recommendation sites targeted towards tween and teen readers. Streetism is the main theme of the prose like like.
The book documents artistic and other strategies that point out options for appearing in the infinite book of faces whilst nevertheless avoiding being included in any records. A gracefully written if uneven first novel from ghanaian author darko describes the slow but steady slide of her heroine from innocence to forced prostitution. Sep 16, 2011 some of the relevant themes to look out for in this novel are that of superstition, ignorance, greed and corruption. In shocking and lurid details, darko s narrative captures the horrid reality females, especially young teenage girls, endure and cannot escape. Faceless by amma darko chapter by chapter summary utme, waecneco literature a. Jun 05, 2015 nonetheless, the social issues addressed in this book made me appreciate the story. The violation of women right in african novel faceless and. The third child is considered to bring bad luck to the family. In 2008, she received the most important literary prize in her country, the ghana book award. Faceless by ghanian author amma darko, is one of the saddest.
The theme of parental neglect runs through the novel. The first instance of child abuse in the novel is poisons attempted rape of fofo. Amma darko was born in koforidua, ghana, and grew up in accra. And from a book with that storyline, i expected brilliantness. Faceless killers is the story of divorced police detective kurt wallanders quest to bring to justice the. A critical overview of amma darkos faceless iosr journal. Her name amma means saturday because she was born on saturday. What comparison and contrast exist between faceless amma darko highlight of violation of the right of women in african and that of women at point zero. She studied in kumasi, where she received her diploma in 1980. It is a tragiccomedy of women and girls who live with the forces of dogma and illiteracy in an effort to be accepted as members of the society. Faceless by ghanian author amma darko, is one of the saddest books ive ever read. Amma darko s novel beyond the horizon is still a gem and a more meticulously written book than the housemaid.
It tells of the death of baby t, a child prostitute whose naked, beaten and mutilated body is found dumped behind a marketplace in. She is one of the most significant contemporary ghanaian literary writers. Darkos emergent voice gives a new feminist perspective on the issues of gender and class in contemporary african writing. Amma darko is one of the most significant contemporary ghanaian literary writers. Maryellen ellie higgins interviewed ghanaian author amma darko on 9 august 2003 in. The phenomenon of street children in amma darkos faceless. She explores a recurrent theme of sexual exploitation of the most vulnerable members of society.
Maa tsuru is believed to have been cursed by her mother to suffer in life. Faceless is the pathetic and gripping story of children plunged into the streets by poverty and parental neglect. Setting the novel is obstinate in accra with locations in agbogbloshie marketplace and the notorious slum, sodom and gomorrah. In shocking and lurid details, darko s narrative captures the horrid reality females. Jan 18, 2016 such a huge and unimaginable trauma, both mentally and physically, works really well with a relatable background to bring the story back to something understandable. It shows how parents exposes their children to suffering. All the child characters on the street in faceless were neglected by their parents.
This is the reason why i consider chapter four of faceless to be one of the most important in the novel. Africa ghanaian author amma darko tours germany, her second home. This book also opens and because it is the last in faceless, it involves a lot of lessons. Aug 07, 2017 faceless themes, techniques theme of superstition in the prose, the characters believed that certain spiritual phenomena affects the lives of people. Summary of faceless faceless is the third novel written by amma darko, with an introductory essay by prof. Yabc is your first stop for all things book related. I am retired military and get a retirement check each month. She studied in kwame nkrumah university of science and technology, kumasi, and gained a diploma in 1980. Faceless captures the suffering of street children in ghana. Critical introductions to amma darko, in the 2001 doctoral thesis by louise allen zak writing her way. Considering i have my own world literature project in addition to participating in literary voyage around the world reading challenge, i ended up reading faceless by amma darko, who happens to come from ghana. That is, in faceless, amma darko does not only voice the problems of african women, to strike womens awareness to break the yoke of silence, but, also and mainly, the novel is addressed to the leaders whose attitudes and conspiracy of silence have exposed women to various kind of violence.
Amma darko is a renowned ghanaian writer whose contribution is geared. In faceless, amma darko presents throughsimple words what is the compound yard of poor people where fofo, if she did not decide to leaveforthe streets of accra, should be living. The novel is obstinate in accra with locations in agbogbloshie marketplace and the notorious slum, sodom and gomorrah. Im a lifestyle blogger, blogging a lot about books and. Rayeedah ebrahim, 16, a pupil at horizon private school in abu dhabi, shares her thoughts about faceless. Amma darkos novel beyond the horizon is still a gem and a more meticulously written book than the housemaid. Faceless subsaharan, 2003, the housemaid heinemann, 1999 and beyond the horizon heinemann, 1995. Fofo was betrayed by her mother because she allowed her to go on the streets. Significance of the study the study will be of benefit to all citizens of africans countries in that it will enable them see the need of protecting and advocating for the freedom of women. The settings of faceless, textual background, thematic structure and characterization.
This novel explores feminist insight into amma darko s philosophical reflection on the plight of women and girls in ghana. Faceless by amma darko and a great selection of related books, art and collectibles available now at. In fact, chapter four of faceless is pregnant with tons of motifs that help to develop major themes and characters in the novel. Significances and roles of mute in faceless by amma darko. Amma darko enjoys research and spends a lot of time with interviews and in archives. Discrimination against women is a constant theme of the novel and symbolically baby t is representative of the sins visited upon all women in a society where from. Living astride two cultures, exploitation and the quest for happiness. The key themes you should note in amma darkos novel, faceless.
Faceless by amma darko chapter by chapter summary utme, waecneco literature. Ghanaian author amma darko tours germany, her second home. Doc themes in faceless by amma darko james o g b o n n. In faceless, poverty is something one can see by ones eyes and touch with onesfingers. More pronounced is the message that no child should be brought into the world without visible means of providing for him physically, financially, psychologically and emotionally.