"They scarcely recognized the woman beside them as the Ramatoulaye they had always known, and they asked themselves where she had found this new strength. She had always been quiet and unassuming and gentle with the children; at the street fountain she never took part in the arguments, and she never spoke badly of her nieghbors. Where, then, had this violence been born?"(74)
The last sentence at the end of the third chapter was "and the men began to understand that if times were bringing forth a new breed of men, they were also bringing forth a new breed of women" (34). This idea has started to show in the fifth and sixth chapters. Rama and the other women living in her house have taken charge and are doing everything they can to keep the children and themselves alive. Personally, I did not think that this idea would take place until later in the novel.
Rama is also not the only woman changing. Mame Sofi also stands up to the water carrier and argues with him to let her pay for the water later. Eventually all the women around Rama go through a change when they stand up to the policemen that want to take Rama and their food from the ram. I am really enjoying the story that revolves around Rama and her "God's bits of wood." I love the power that the women are showing and I'm finding the mens view on the strike boring. But so far, this has been my favorite part because Rama is my favorite character and I love that she is standing up for herself.
I really like your quote about how a new breed of women was emerging. I think that women are taking charge because they can't tolerate seeing their kids suffer. They also can't tolerate seeing their kids eat dirt, so that's why they are taking initiative and trying to find ways to provide for their families.
ReplyDeleteI completely missed your quote when I read the chapters! But, yeah, I agree with you. There’s been much more about the woman than the men in recent chapters, and I like how the story seems to be focusing on Rama right now. She's a really interesting character in and of herself, but it’s also nice that the story has been more or less following her in the most recent chapters. It’s much easier to understand how all the events relate when they have a common character.
ReplyDeleteI agree that the women seem to be taking on a much greater role than that of the men in the resent chapters. I think the juxtaposition between the actions of the women, and those of the men (or rather, lack thereof) is really interesting.
ReplyDelete