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Chapter 21
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in The Girl with the Louding Voice, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Education, Empowerment, and Self-Worth
Gender Inequality and Solidarity
Wealth, Poverty, and Choice
Survival
Summary
Analysis
Adunni and Mr. Kola have been driving for at least three hours. Adunni is hungry but doesn’t dare ask Kola for a snack—the man seems tense and agitated. Adunni asks Kola when they will reach Lagos and what will happen to her once they arrive. Kola tells her that she will work and that he will write her name on a forged medical result slip. Adunni wonders what else Kola might be lying about. Kola tells Adunni he won’t stay with her in her workplace but will visit in three months. Adunni asks if she can go to school, and Kola say that if she is well behaved, then Big Madam might allow her to go to school. Kola instructs Adunni not to ask any more questions for the remainder of the ride
The Kola’s deceitfulness regarding the forged medical documents might be an indication that this new job isn’t quite what it seems. Perhaps Adunni is heading toward yet another oppressive, dismal situation rather than a better life. Despite these potential warning signs, Adunni stays positive by fixating on her goal of finishing her education.
Themes
Adunni sees a woman selling puff-puff on the side of the road, which reminds her of Mama. Adunni remembers a time when Mama was gravely ill and told Adunni to “sing away [her] pain.” In Mr. Kola’s car, Adunni sings a song about God’s love that Mama taught her. Kola tells her she has as very nice voice.
Mama’s advice to “sing away [her] pain” shows how she taught Adunni to be strong and hopeful even when everything seems hopeless. That Adunni sings now suggests that she’s worried about what her future at Big Madam’s house will hold.
Themes
Adunni eventually falls asleep. Sometime later, Mr. Kola wakes her to say that they have arrived in Lagos. Adunni opens her eyes and sees a noisy, chaotic scene of many cars squeezed onto the road and people on foot weaving their way around the traffic. She smells the scent of fruit, fresh bread, petrol, and armpits. When she tries to inhale, the air is thick and makes her cough. They pass by a young boy with vacant eyes holding a sign that reads “HUNGER. HELP PLS.” Adunni notes that in Ikati they don’t have begging children, because the girl children can be exchanged for a bride-price that can be used to feed the remaining children.
Lagos is a whole new world for Adunni, who has only known the rural village where she grew up. Adunni’s observation about girls being exchanged for a bride-price forges a connection between the novel’s themes of gender inequality and wealth and choice. Poor families might be faced with no choice but to sell their daughters to feed their other children. These desperate situations, born of financial struggle, end up perpetuating gender inequality, as girls are seen as a commodity that can be exchanged for food and other material goods.
Themes
Adunni tells Mr. Kola she is hungry, and he buys her a sausage roll, which is something she has never had and doesn’t end up liking all that much. Finally, the traffic breaks up, and Mr. Kola and Adunni continue onward, driving along a long road that winds above a river. Adunni sees a sign ahead and reads it aloud so that Kola knows she can read: “Third Mainland Bridge. Victoria Island. Ikoyi.” Kola tells her they are going to Ikoyi, where Big Madam, who is very rich, has a very large house.
Adunni is headed to Big Madam’s house, where she will likely have to adjust to a whole new set of norms, this time governed by the opportunities and customs of somebody who is very wealthy.
Themes
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Mr. Kola continues to drive, and they enter another bustling section of town. This time, Adunni sees many giant buildings covered with windows on both sides of the road. She is amazed. Mr. Kola tells her what some of the buildings are, pointing out a hotel, the Civic Center, the bank, and the Nigerian Law School. They drive a while longer, and Mr. Kola points to shop with mannequins in the window called “Kayla’s Fabrics,” which is owned by Big Madam and named for her daughter.
The tall, glistening buildings suggest that Lagos is a prosperous city. That Big Madam names her fabric store after her daughter Kayla seems to symbolize a mother supporting or lifting up her daughter, though on a much grander scale than Mama was able to do for Adunni.
Themes
Finally, Mr. Kola turns down a quiet street. He warns Adunni that she must behave at Big Madam’s: no stealing, lying, or meddling with boys. She must work hard and follow Big Madam’s rules. Finally, Mr. Kola tells her that Big Madam will pay her 10,000 naira every month, but that he will hold the money in a bank for Adunni. Adunni thinks that maybe, despite Kola’s serious demeanor and earlier lie about the medical results, he might be a good man.
Adunni’s optimism and hope lead her to trust Kola when he says he will hold her salary every month, but the reader might be a bit more suspicious of Kola, particularly given how other male characters have gone back on their promises. At any rate, Kola is Adunni’s only way out of her village, so she really has no choice but to trust him—even if his intentions are less than honorable.
Themes
They turn down one final road and approach a gate, which opens before them. A tall, gray Jeep appears behind Mr. Kola’s car, which Mr. Kola says belongs to Big Madam. Beyond the gate is a big white house with a red roof. The house is surrounded by palm trees and colorful flowers. Adunni thinks that Big Madam must be royalty.
This house is far grander than any house Adunni has set foot in thus far—that she believes Big Madam must be royalty underscores the newness of this all for Adunni. Becoming accustomed to the upper class’s rules and customs will be a learning experience for her.
Themes
