In chapter 15 we finally meet Bakayoko and I don't find him that great. He has basically been traveling around and been spreading the news of the strike. He would have been more helpful if he were helping to find water and rebelling against the French from Dakar or Thies. When he does return and they hold the conference between the French and Senegalese, he is actually doing something that will affect his country in return.
Besides Bakayoko's big entrance into the novel, Penda decides to march the women from Thies to Dakar. If I have not already mentioned, I love Penda. She is so strong and I love how nothing gets in her way and she does what she wants. She successfully gathers all the women and marches them together to Dakar. Another interesting moment in this section was that we finally found out the father of the blind woman's child. I have a feeling that during this time period there were not a lot of single mothers and yet the blind woman wants to be a single mother and be independent. She is also one of my favorite characters and I can see that Penda looks up to her. She sees that the blind woman can do everything she can and more. The blind woman and Penda are very similar and it makes sense that they are drawn to each other.
I also find the Penda and the blind women to be very interesting. In a way I think that they are similar since they are both independent. Although, Penda is more of a rebel and does what she wants. She doesn't let the men boss her around. Like it was mentioned in the discussion I think that Penda is the modern African women because she isn't controlled by the men and is the one who takes charge.
ReplyDeleteI think the relationship between Penda and the blind woman is the most interesting. They both represent the future in a way. Penda is independent and head strong and the blind woman is raising a child by herself and trying to deal with the everyday struggles life presents.
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