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In "Ghosts," James is an elderly retired Nsukka professor. His wife, Ebere, died as a result of "fake drugs," which are expired medications that don't work. In the 1960s, James fought for the state of Biafra and believed that it would emerge victorious. Now, as an old man, James doesn't speak about the horrors of the war or the death of his first daughter during the war. He takes comfort in the fact that Ebere's ghost visits him, and he worries that his American grandson hasn't learned Igbo. When he encounters Ikenna, an old friend he believed was dead, he remembers Ikenna's passion for fighting for what was right, though James now seems content with simply living his life and not fighting corruption.
Professor James Nwoye Quotes in The Thing Around Your Neck
The The Thing Around Your Neck quotes below are all either spoken by Professor James Nwoye or refer to Professor James Nwoye. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Ghosts
Quotes
But I am a Western-educated man, a retired mathematics professor of seventy-one, and I am supposed to have armed myself with enough science to laugh indulgently at the ways of my people.
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Perhaps... I would not need to worry about our grandson who does not speak Igbo, who, the last time he visited, did not understand why he was expected to say "Good afternoon" to strangers, because in his world one has to justify simple courtesies.
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Professor James Nwoye Quotes in The Thing Around Your Neck
The The Thing Around Your Neck quotes below are all either spoken by Professor James Nwoye or refer to Professor James Nwoye. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Ghosts
Quotes
But I am a Western-educated man, a retired mathematics professor of seventy-one, and I am supposed to have armed myself with enough science to laugh indulgently at the ways of my people.
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Perhaps... I would not need to worry about our grandson who does not speak Igbo, who, the last time he visited, did not understand why he was expected to say "Good afternoon" to strangers, because in his world one has to justify simple courtesies.
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
