Changes: A Love Story Literary Elements

Fiction

Accra, the capital city of Ghana, shortly after Ghana has gained its independence, and women are slowly being given more opportunities and more freedoms.

The point of view is that of Esi, the novel's protagonist.

Sometimes optimistic, positive and happy, but also frustrating and filled with conflict.

Esi is the protagonist, both Oko and Ali, her husbands, are the antagonists, in different ways but for primarily the same reason, a lack of understanding of how to accept that women are their equals and not their subordinates.

There is conflict within Esi's first marriage; she is focused on her career, but her husband Oko wants her to give up her career and have another child, and basically to become a traditional and subservient African woman.

Esi is raped by her husband and decides to divorce him.

Ali's physical absence from the marriage foreshadows its eventual breakdown.

Oko wants a traditional African woman which is an understatement because his wife is so much the opposite of this. In his mind, traditional women are servile and "junior" in the marriage to men. This is the type of relationship he wants.

The narrative alludes to the political situation in Ghana which is evolving, as Ghana asserts her own freedoms and becomes far more independent.

The author paints a vivid picture of Esi's car which is battered and barely working, but nonetheless her symbol of freedom. The reader is able not only to create a visual image of the car but also to imagine the sounds and the smells of a car that is almost to mechanically challenged to go anywhere.

The more independent Esi becomes the more Oko tries to dominate and bring her in line with his view of what a woman should be.

There is a parallel between Esi's getting an education and her losing touch with her mother and grandmother, because he education widens the divide between them.

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