It had all begun like a dream: writing as presence in Second Class Citizen, by Buchi Emecheta

Abstract

This paper analyzes the construction of writing as an instrument of presence in the novel Second class citizen (1974), by the Nigerian writer Buchi Emecheta, from the point of view of Adah, aiming to investigate how writing emulates the sense of presence through the character’s experiences. The narrative moves in two divergent spaces, Nigeria and England, resonating several issues concerning the female condition in the context of decolonization. Throughout the story, Adah fights against the system of male dominance and promotes independence based on her desire for writing. In this sense, the character writes herself out, becoming aware of her existence and marking her identity on the diasporic territory. To understand the effects of language and the role of writing as a presence, we base our discussions on Fanon (2008), Hall (2013), Anzaldúa (1987; 2000), and Evaristo (2008), among other contributions. We come up with the assumption that the character builds a presence-writing in the way she assumes her real identity, overcoming the oppressive condition imposed upon women.