Genre
Cultural novel
Setting and Context
Set in the late 20th century in the poor villages of Lagos, Nigeria and written in political and cultural issues.
Narrator and Point of View
Third-person narrative
Tone and Mood
Sad, horrific, disheartening
Protagonist and Antagonist
The central character is Elvis.
Major Conflict
The main conflict is that Elvis lives in a ghetto in Lagos with his family under difficult conditions. Elvis does all things, including impersonation to put food on the table. Elvis is willing to do anything to bring his family out of poverty, including crime.
Climax
The climax comes when Oke gets a passport from Redemption and convinces the immigration officer that he is the owner of the passport, and he leaves Lagos for good.
Foreshadowing
Oke’s troubled future and poverty are foreshadowed by the political environment that is not providing opportunities for its people to better their lives.
Understatement
Life in the ghetto is understated. Oke’s family and other ghetto residents go through hell in their lives. For instance, the people in the ghetto do not have access to basic goods and services. People live in poverty, and many are engaged in crime and other illegal activities to earn a living.
Allusions
The story alludes to poverty and the challenges people go through in ghettos.
Imagery
The images of abject poverty, abuse and violence depict the sense of sight to help readers comprehend the hard life the ghetto people are exposed to.
Paradox
The main paradox is that violence and abuse are generational. For instance, Elvis is abused by his father, who was also a victim of abuse from his father.
Parallelism
The images of abject poverty, abuse and violence depict the sense of sight to help readers comprehend the hard life the ghetto people are exposed to.
Metonymy and Synecdoche
N/A
Personification
The bulldozers destroying houses in the ghetto are incarnated as brutal.
