THE AGONY OF WIDOWHOOD

Subject: 

LITERATURE IN ENGLISH

Term:

FIRST TERM

Week:

WEEK 4

Class:

SS 2

Topic:

THE AGONY OF WIDOWHOOD

Previous lesson: 

The pupils have previous knowledge of

LONELY DAYS BY BAYO ADEBOWALE: AUTHOR’S BACKGROUND AND PLOT

that was taught as a topic in the previous lesson

Behavioural objectives:

At the end of the lesson, the learners will be able to

• Say something about the poet
• analyze the poem

Instructional Materials:

• Wall charts
• Pictures
• Related Online Video
• Flash Cards

Methods of Teaching:

• Class Discussion
• Group Discussion
• Asking Questions
• Explanation
• Role Modelling
• Role Delegation

Reference Materials:

• Scheme of Work
• Online Information
• Textbooks
• Workbooks

Content:

WEEK FOUR

THEMES IN LONELY DAYS

THE AGONY OF WIDOWHOOD

Lonely Days relates the agonies of widowhood; it shows the effects of unjust widowhood rites and rituals on women. Yaremi, Fayoyin, Radeke and Dedewe all suffer maltreatment and deprivations because they are widows. The loss of a loved one is demoralizing on its own, adding unwarranted punishments to it is simply unreasonable. Widows suffer discrimination and marginalization. They are made to sing dirges and confess sins that they did not commit. Fayoyin, for instance, is made to lick libation and sing a dirge. The people sprinkle cold water on her head to make it easier for the barber to shave her hair. Fayoyin’s appearance is terribly altered after the hair-shaving episode. Dewede is also made to confess her ‘sins’;she is forced to sit beside her husband’s corpse inside a dark room.

The three widows during a visit to Yaremi tell her of how they sank deep into despair when they lost their husbands and how “a thick cloud gathered in our sky covering our earth in pithy darkness”. Widowhood in kufi, as in many other places, especially rural communities, means a loss of dignity and social status. Widows have many things in common, “they shed tears for the same purposes and laughed the same hollow laughter with the tip of their tongues”. They all look the same in their black widow’s garment. The widows state emphatically that they are “the subjugated people of the world with no hope and no security!”. They face societal restrictions and maltreatment. Widowhood dehumanizes and reduces the affected woman from a high pedestal of respect which comes with marriage to the butt of every joke and topic for gossip and romantic advances from unreliable suitors. Yeremi is pestered by Olonade, Ayanwale and Lanwa, each boasting of his great ability to meet all of Yeremi’s needs. Lanwa even tells Yeremi that he is entitled to Ajumobi’s human and material property because he is Ajumobi’s half-brother. The woes of widowhood are devastating.

LONELINESS AND SOLITUDE

The widow suffers loneliness and solitude; she is alone, from dawn till dusk, a castaway. Yaremi’scase is especially pathetic because her children are now adults and they do not live in Kufi. Segi lives with her husband at Olode; Wura with her husband at Apon; and Alani lives in Ibadan. Woye, her grandchild, whose company she enjoys, is soon taken away from her. Thus, for Yaremi, loneliness is a loyal companion.

To combat loneliness, Yaremi makes Woye, her grandchild, her companion. She tells him stories and they sing together. She also recalls her times with Ajumobi, both the good times and the seemingly bad moments. She recounts his care, his love and his tenderness. She tends his grave often. She even dreams about him.

Yaremi’sloneliness is heightened after her refusal to pick a cap at the cap-picking ceremony. The villagers after the incident begin to avoid her. They are reluctant to share pleasantries with her. Alani, her son that she had thought would stay back in Kufi and manage his father’s property, announces to Yaremi’s amazement that he is returning to the city.

Lonely Days is a testament to Yaremi’s loneliness and the fact tat lonely days still lie ahead of her. For Yaremi, there is no hope that the lonely days would ever end; she is nevertheless willing to face the days that lie ahead without fear or fright.

THE DIGNITY OF LABOUR

The narrative underscores the fact that if women would be empowered, they most have something doing, that is they must be engaged in a meaningful occupation. Yaremi, the protagonist, in addition to her taffeta business, has a farm. The narrative stresses the need for women to be hardworking and diligent at work. Yaremi can stand tall and face the men of Kufi because she is self-sufficient. She stands by her decision not to replace Ajumobi with any other man beacause the proceed from her work can cater for needs

Yaremi is forced to work alone. She does all the work, both the one that belongs to her gender and those that women are not supposed to in. she treks to long distance to her husband’s farm to uproot cassava root for her goats. She dries maize in the sun. she makes and sells taffeta cloth, she threshes bean- seeds, tends cocoyam, stitches her old quilts, all without complaining. she is surprised when a woman remarks that she gradually becoming a man. Her hands are harsh from the hard labour she preoccupies herself with. Even her voice is becoming authoritative and sharp and her gait has become restive.

CHARACTERIZATION

1. Yaremi: yaremi is the heroine of the novel she once had a husband, Ajumobi, and three children. They are Segi, Wura and Alani. She is portrayed as a lonely woman in her early fifty. Though lonely, she is hardworking, generous and knows what she wants. The latter informs her decision not marry after the death of her husband. At the end of the work, is ostracized from Kufi but determines to fight it out with her last blood.
2. Ajumobi: Ajumobi was the husband of Yaremi three children. The writer informs the reader that he died nine months before the narration begins. He was a hunter and farmer. He played the roles of a husband while he was alive. We see him as a talkative and a boaster especially when his drunk. Yaremi see his death as a good one but the villagers see it in the other way round. From the little we could harvest from his wife, he is a hardworking, devoted and compassionate husband.
3. Woye: Woye is the grandson of Yaremi and her mother is Segy. He is an innocent boy full of live and humour. He plays the role of a companion to the grandmother. The grandmother teaches him how to be hardworking

Presentation

The topic is presented step by step

Step 1:

The class teacher revises the previous topics

Step 2.

He introduces the new topic

Step 3:

The class teacher allows the pupils to give their own examples and he corrects them when the needs arise

EVALUATION QUESTIONS

1. Discuss two themes in the work.
2. Describe the main character in the work.

GENERAL EVALUATION/REVISION QUESTIONS

1. Describe the main character in the work.
2. Describe two minor characters in the work.

WEEKEND ASSIGNMENT

1. “The star blinked and the wind wailed” is an example of _____(a) antithesis(b) euphemism (c) metaphor (d) parody (e) personification
2. Pick out the odd item from the following ____ (a) comedy (b) octave (c) Quatrain (d) sonnet (e) sestet
3. “United we stand, divided we fall”, illustrates the use of ____(a) anti-climax(b) antithesis (c) climax (b) irony (e) sarcasm
4. The writer’s freedom to use words to suit his own purpose is called_____(a) author’s freedom (b) author’s license (c) poetic freedom (d) poetic license (e) writer’s license
5. The expression, “Before Idi Amin breathed his last he admonished his children to shun violence” is a/an ____ (a) anecdote (b) metaphor (c) euphemism (d) onomatopoeia (e) paradox

THEORY

Analyze Yaremi as the major character in the work.

Conclusion

The class teacher wraps up or concludes the lesson by giving out short notes to summarize the topic that he or she has just taught.

The class teacher also goes round to make sure that the notes are well copied or well written by the pupils.

He or she makes the necessary corrections when and where the needs arise.